Course Staff

Course Coordinator
Professor Peter Dowd
peter.dowd@adelaide.edu
N146 (08) 8313 4543
School of Civil, Environmental, and Mining
Engineering, Engineering North, N136

Lecturers
Professor Peter Dowd peter.dowd@adelaide.edu.au
Jonathon Trewartha trewartha.j@gmail.com>
Andrew Robertson Andrew.Robertson2@bhpbilliton.com
Nicole Edkins Nicole.Edkins@gmail.com

On successful completion of this course students will be able to:

 

1	Recognise and appreciate the holistic nature of the mine management process
2	Identify the key stakeholders in a mining project and their respective needs.
3	Demonstrate an awareness of management theory and processes.
4	Recognise the factors that motivate people’s behaviour in the mine working environment.
5	Apply the principal performance measures used in mine management.
6	Demonstrate an awareness of mining law (safety, mining leases etc).
7	Recognise and appraise the factors contributing to safety & risk management issues in specific mining-related processes.
8	Investigate the causes and consequences of mining-related serious incidents and propose risk management strategies.
9	Demonstrate an awareness of contractor management (vs owner-operated).
10	Assess and understatd the economic conditions in which the mining industry operates.

 
The above course learning outcomes are aligned with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standard for the Professional Engineer.
The course is designed to develop the following Elements of Competency:

Runge, I. Mining Strategy SME
Maxwell, P. & Guj, P. (eds) Australian Mineral Economics; A Survey of Important Issues, AusIMM 2006.
International Mine Management Conf Proceedings 2006 AusIMM
Hunt, M. Mining Law

Other material that should be referred to in conjunction with this Course Outline include:

Mine management simulation game jointly developed by MEA and Proudfoot Consulting
Assignments.

All Resources for this Course are available on MyUni, the online learning system for the University
of Adelaide (https://myuni.adelaide.edu.au/) These include:
• Course Profile
• Projects/Assignments
• PowerPoint Presentations
• Sample quiz questions with model answers

• face to face lecturing and associated activities – e.g., annual reports;
• case studies – e.g., processes of management;
• guest lecturers; this is a special feature of this Course, as most lecturers are former
Mine Managers
• Web for lecture materials, powerpoints, stock market resources
• Simulation game for mine operations management

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the
course requirements.
· Lectures = 3 hours per week;
· Tutorials/labs = 1 hour per week
· Group Work = 2 hours per week
· Self Study = 4 hours per week

The University of Adelaide is a member of Mining Education Australia and offers the common 3rd and 4th year mining engineering curriculum offered by MEA participating universities (The University of Adelaide, The University of Queensland, The University of New South Wales and The Western Australian School of Mines at Curtin University of Technology). This course is run simultaneously at the four MEA universities in
which there is a total enrolment of over 200 students.

Another on-line tool used in this course is SPARKPLUS (Self & Peer Assessment Resource Kit). Students will use SPARK to assess each of their Team Member’s contribution to selected assignments. For assignment groups, 4- 5 students will be allocated to a team. Team members are expected to work together to achieve the objectives of the projects. SPARK will allow the course coordinator to monitor how your team is functioning and provide help as required. SPARK factors calculated by the system based on information you input, will be used to calculate the individual mark for the project. Please refer to Section 9 for more details on the use of SPARK.

Assessment Task	Weighting (%)	Individual/ Group	Formative/ Summative	Due (week)*	Hurdle criteria	Learning outcomes
Quiz 1: Law, safety and risk	10	Individual	Summative	Week 4		1. 2. 4. 6. 7. 8.
Assignment 1: Law, safety and risk	15	Group	Summative	Week 4		1. 2. 4. 6. 7. 8.
Quiz 2: Tactical Management 1	10	Individual	Summative	Week 8		1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Assignment : Tactical Management 1	15	Group	Summative	Week 8		1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Quiz 3: Strategic Minerals Management	10	Individual	Summative	Week 11		1. 2. 3. 5. 10.
Assignment 3: Strategic Minerals Management	15	Individual	Summative	Week 11		1. 2. 3. 5. 10.
Quiz 4: Tactical Management 2	10	Individual	Summative	Week 13		1. 2. 4. 9.
Assignment 4: Tactical Management 2	15	Group	Summative	Week 13		1. 2. 4. 9.
Total	100

* The specific due date for each assessment task will be available on MyUni.
 
This assessment breakdown is registered as an exemption to the University's Assessment for Coursework Programs Policy. The exemption is related to the Procedures clause(s): 1. c.   
 

Group performance is a key component of the assessment for this course, and will apply to
students’ contribution to group assignments (1, 2 & 4). The sole measure of performance of team
work is by peer review and self reflection. Teams which are having problems with unproductive or
non-cooperative members are encouraged to seek the intervention of the course coordinator as
early as possible. Do not leave these problems to the last minute. SPARKPLUS will be used as the
peer and self assessment tool. The PEER REVIEW is required for all group assessments.
SPARKPLUS is an online tool that will be used to collect Self and Peer Assessment data. These
data will be used to provide feedback to, and receive feedback from, your group members
regarding contributions to the project.

Based on a series of answers from each group member SPARKPLUS automatically produces two
weighting factors. The SPA or Self and Peer Assessment factor is a measure of how the group
overall viewed the contribution of each member of the group. This factor will be used to adjust the
group mark for the project into an individual mark.

Individual mark = Group mark x Individual’s SPA

For example; a student who receives an SPA factor of 0.9 for their project contributions, reflecting a
lower than average team contribution as perceived by a combination of themselves and their peers,
would receive an individual mark of 72% if their group project mark was 80%. The second factor
calculated is the SAPA factor. This is the ratio of a student’s own self assessment rating compared
to the average rating of their contribution by their peers. It provides students with feedback about
how the rest of the group perceives their contribution. For example, a SAPA factor greater than 1
means that a student has rated their own performance higher than they were rated by
their peers. Conversely, a SAPA factor less than 1 means that a student has rated their own
performance lower than they were rated by their peers.

Important: Students who do not complete and submit the required peer review tasks on time
using SPARKPLUS will lose 20% of the group’s assessment mark and their peer review mark
will be calculated based on the other group members’ submission. For example; if the group mark is
70% a student who does not submit a peer review will receive a mark of 56% which will then be
adjusted by the SPA factor given to the student by their peers. Both factors for each student will be
released to all group members. The idea of using SPARKPLUS is not only to make group work
fairer and provide feedback on your performance but to encourage the development of your
professional skills. These skills include giving and receiving both positive and negative feedback,
conflict resolution, collaboration, the ability to assess both your work and the work of your peers and
developing your professional judgment. If you successfully achieve these learning outcomes your
group experience should be productive. Teams that contain students who do not adequately
participate in group activities and/or develop their teamwork skills typically have friction between
group members.

Objections: The initial SPA and SAPA factors will be preliminary and only become official after any
protests are considered. Any students believing their SPARKPLUS assessments were unfair may
lodge an objection. Any objection to your self and peer assessment ratings must be made in writing
to the lecturer in charge of the project. Each objection must be a maximum of 500 words (12 point
Times New Roman font) clearly outlining why you believe your rating is unfair. Your protest will be
discussed with the other members of your group. Objections must be lodged within 3 days from the
date that the SPARKPLUS assessments are released. An objection usually indicates that at least
one member of a group has not achieved the teamwork learning objectives. Marks are only
awarded for successfully achieving learning outcomes. The lodgement of an objection will be
considered as a request for reassessment of the entire group. Hence if a student lodges an
objection the marks for the entire group will be reassessed and released after the objection has
been considered. In considering any objection the log books and or meeting minutes for a group will
be reviewed.

Students must put up a bond of 5% of the assessment result to lodge an objection. If the objection
is found to be unwarranted then the student who lodged the objection will lose the 5% bond. If the
objection is found to be warranted the saboteur or saboteurs will lose 5% and the groups SPA’s will
be altered accordingly. The course coordinator reserves the right to have the final say in application
of the SPA factors.

1. “Disaster” Case Study
Type: Group verbal presentation plus reports ( teams of 4 students)
Learning Objectives: 1, 3, 7
Dates: verbal presentation weeks 4 or 5 report Week 6
Weighting: 7.5 % verbal; 7.5% report
Duration: verbal 18 minutes or less; report 2500 words or less
Format: PowerPoint slide presentations + technical report as per MEA Guide
Areas covered: description & analysis of a mining accident or incident; scenario / events
leading up to incident; repercussions; how the incident could have been
avoided (use risk analysis or other tools to help your analysis and
synthesis )
Criteria & marking: Verbal presentations; structure, delivery & impact, content , teamwork,
questions and general awareness on topic.
Visual aids quality (7.5%)
Report: introduction & objectives, content & quality, conclusion, report
standard including grammar & referencing (7.5%).

2. Semester – long Assignment – Share Market Game (ASX)
Type: short report + diary, charts ( individual assignments )
Learning Objectives: 5, 7
Date: introduced week 1, due week 11 (shareholder)
Weighting: 15 %
Duration; From week 1 to Oct. 10th when you must terminate your investments.
Format: report with answers and graphs as appropriate
Areas covered: following market news on the media, mine valuation, mineral demand b&
supply
Criteria & marking: Shareholder Value Management; value created vs rest of class (5%),
investment rationale (5%), supporting documentation (5%)

3. Industrial Relations role-play game
Type: role-play presentation in class Groups of 7 - 8
Learning Objectives: 1,2 3 and possibly 7, 8
Date: Introduced week 8, presentations week 8, report week 11
Duration: Script prepared over two weeks, presentations of about 20 minutes
Weighting: 15 %
Format: role-play presentations, plus script
Areas covered: Industrial relations, stakeholders, holistic nature of mining


4. MEA/Proudfoot mine operations management simulation
Type: MegaMine simulation game – 2 x 1 hour ( to be advised – groups of 3-4)
Learning Objectives: 5, 6, 7
Date: weeks 12 & 13
Weighting: 15 %
Format: game spreadsheets and notes
Areas covered: Production, maintenance, inventory, environmental, safety, contractors,
union negotiations, community concerns
Criteria & marking: to be advised

5. Quizzes
Type: closed book
Learning Objectives: all
Date: weeks 5, 8, 11, and 13
Weighting: 10 % each
Format: as designed by individual lecturers and advised in class
Areas covered: Laws, OH & S, Risk, major incidents and human factors; mineral supply,
demand, markets, value chain; management fundamentals, industrial
relations, production & contractor management, asset, inventory, and
procurement management
Criteria & marking: emphasis on both lecture slides and class examples & discussion

You will be required to submit a hard copy with the appropriate University submission form attached, and to
retain an electronic copy, made available to the lecturer on request, for each assignment. Reports should be
submitted to the School office via the assignment drop-in box. The School office is located in the Engineering
North Building, room N136.

The lecturer will make every effort to return your reports and projects within three weeks of submission.

Late submissions will in most cases receive a zero mark. A late submission will only be allowed when a
deferred deadline has been approved by the course coordinator prior to due date because of medical or
extenuating circumstances. This will require documented evidence, e.g. Medical Certificate.