GEOL338-14S2 (C) Semester Two 2014

Engineering and Mining Geology

15 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 14 July 2014
End Date: Sunday, 16 November 2014
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Sunday, 27 July 2014
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Sunday, 12 October 2014

Description

Principles and practices of engineering geology and environmental management associated with mining activities.

Engineering Geology as a discipline is concerned with site and foundation conditions, geological and geotechnical hazards affecting a particular development, and availability of construction materials. All civil and mining projects impact on the natural environment, and concern for sustainable development requires careful consideration and the mitigation of negative effects of projects. Conventional civil site investigation practice involves evaluation using invasive techniques (drilling; trenching; etc), and can benefit from the use of non-invasive geophysical methods to provide additional site data. Mining operations and their environmental impacts require careful consideration of the landscape, and of the geochemical effects associated with ore recovery, processing and waste management.

GEOL338 develops the basics of site investigation practice, and extends into rock mechanics studies for surface and underground projects. Specific applications of engineering geology to mining geotechnics and related environmental management are then developed, with a series of case studies to conclude the course. The course is focused on practical solutions to engineering issues. Students completing the course will have a sound understanding of principles and practices in both engineering and environmental geology, and will have necessary background for postgraduate study in Engineering Geology or Environmental Science.

Learning Outcomes

  • The overall goal of the course is to introduce students to the fundamentals of two applied streams of geology: engineering geology and mining geology. The first half of the course will focus on the application of geological techniques to civil engineering projects. The second half of the course will focus on mining life cycle from investigation and model building and how they affect the mine design, to ore processing, waste and mine decommissioning.

    Students successfully completing this course will be able to:
  • Utilise site investigation techniques for civil engineering projects.
  • Analyse laboratory test data from geological materials.
  • Build an engineering geology model using site investigation and laboratory data.
  • Analyse exploration geology data to assess ore reserves.
  • Select appropriate mine design, ore processing, mine waste and decommissioning solutions given different ore types and reserves.

Prerequisites

GEOL242 and 15 points from GEOL243-245

Course Coordinator / Lecturer

Marlene Villeneuve

Lecturer

David Bell

Assessment

Assessment Due Date Percentage  Description
Laboratories on site investigation and field mapping/logging 20% Laboratories on site investigation and field mapping/logging
Laboratories on engineering geology models 20% Laboratories on engineering geology models
Laboratories on mine models and mine design 20% Laboratories on mine models and mine design
Final examination 40% Final examination

Textbooks / Resources

Recommended Reading

Bell, F. G; Engineering geology ; 2nd ed; Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007.

Goodman, Richard E; Engineering geology : rock in engineering construction ; J. Wiley, 1993.

Hartley, John S; Drilling : tools and programme management ; Balkema, 1994.

Johnson, Robert Britten , DeGraff, Jerome V; Principles of engineering geology ; Wiley, 1988.

Moon, Charles. et al; Introduction to mineral exploration ; 2nd ed; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 2009.

Moore, T. A; Metal contaminants in New Zealand : sources, treatments, and effects on ecology and human health ; Resolutionz Press, 2005.

Smith, M. R. , Geological Society of London; Stone : building stone, rock fill and armourstone in construction ; Geological Society, 1999.

There are no textbooks required for this course, and extensive handouts will be given instead. The following books are recommended reading and are placed on reserve in the Library:

Course links

Library portal

Additional Course Outline Information

Academic integrity

Summary of the Course Content
The topics coved by this course are:
• Site investigation philosophy and techniques for civil and mining engineering projects
• Rock and soil description, including logging methods for cores and faces
• Rock and soil properties and field/laboratory measurement methods
• Development of engineering models using field and laboratory data
• Surface and underground design and construction considerations through case study examples
• Mine life cycle and the application of geological assessment techniques to each stage
• Mine design principles and related geotechnical/environmental issues
• Ore processing and waste management
• Mine decommissioning


Marks and Grades
The Department of Geological Sciences uses the following scale to convert marks into grades:
100 – 90 A+ 74 – 70 B 54 – 50 C-
89 – 85 A 69 – 65 B- 49 – 40 D
84 – 80 A- 64 – 60 C+ Below 40 E
79 – 75 B+ 59 – 55 C

The Department of Geological Sciences reserves the right to adjust this mark/grade conversion, when deemed necessary.

Late Work
It is the policy for this course that late work is not accepted. Or, late work should be accompanied with a detailed explanation of why the work is late. The work will be marked and marks will be subtracted for each day the work is late. Days late include week-end and holidays.

Academic Liaison
Christopher Oze (room 329, HUchristopher.oze@canterbury.ac.nzUH, is in charge of liaison with students in geology courses. Each year level will appoint a student representative(s) to the liaison committee at the start of the semester. Please feel free to talk to the Academic Liaison or the student rep about any problems or concerns that you might have.

Students with Disabilities
Students with disabilities should speak with someone at Disability Resource Service. Their office is room 317 in the Rutherford Building. Phone: 364 2350 (or ext. 6350), email: disabilities@canterbury.ac.nz

Policy on Dishonest Practice
Plagiarism, collusion, copying and ghost writing are unacceptable and dishonest practices.
• Plagiarism is the presentation of any material (text, data, figures or drawings, on any medium including computer files) from any other source without clear and adequate acknowledgement of the source.
• Collusion is the presentation of work performed in conjunction with another person or persons, but submitted as if it has been completed only by the names author(s).
• Copying is the use of material (in any medium, including computer files) produced by another person(s) with or without their knowledge and approval.
• Ghost writing is the use of another person(s) (with or without payment) to prepare all or part of an item submitted for assessment.

In cases where dishonest practice is involved in tests or other work submitted for credit, the student will be referred to the University Proctor. The instructor may choose to not mark the work.

Reconsideration of Grades
Students should, in the first instance, speak to the course co-ordinator about their marks. If they cannot reach an agreeable solution, students should then speak to the Head of the Geological Sciences Department. Students can appeal any decision made on their final grade. You can apply at the Registry to appeal the final grade within 4 weeks of the end of the semester. Be aware that there are time limits for each step of the appeals process.

Aegrotat Applications
If you feel that illness, injury, bereavement or other critical circumstances has prevented you from completing an item of assessment or affected your performance, you should complete an aegrotat application form, available from the Registry or the Student Health and Counselling Service. This should be within seven days of the due date for the required work or the date of the examination. In the case of illness or injury, medical consultation should normally have taken place shortly before or within 24 hours after the due date for the required work, or the date of the test or examination. For further details on aegrotat applications, please refer to the Enrolment Handbook. You have the right to appeal any decision made, including aegrotat decisions.

Missing of Tests
In rare cases a student will not be able to sit a test. In such cases, the student should consult with the course co-ordinator or the Head of the Department of Geological Sciences to arrange alternative procedures. This must be done well in advance of the set date for the test.

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $777.00

International fee $3,563.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Geological Sciences .

All GEOL338 Occurrences

  • GEOL338-14S2 (C) Semester Two 2014