mine4910 mining in a global environment · mine4910 mining in a global environment 1 unsw mining...

SCHOOL OF MINING ENGINEERING

MINE4910

MINING IN A GLOBAL

ENVIRONMENT

SESSION 1, 2012

MINE4910 MINING IN A GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT 1

UNSW Mining Engineering COURSE OUTLINE

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Course Details Course Title: Mining in a Global Environment Semesters Offered: Semester 1 Level: Undergraduate Number of Units/Credits: 6 (UNSW) Contact Hours per Week: 4 contact hours to be utilised for Lectures, tutorials, assignment work, library research and other Activity Based Learning. Contact times are scheduled for

0900 – 1300 hours, Tuesdays, Mech Eng 402 (however as the course does not require face to face teaching, not every Thursday will be used for this purpose)

Assessment: Assessments will take the form of two assignments, and an end-of-course quiz. Course Convenor David Laurence, Rm 159H, Old Main Building, Phone: 9385 4597, [email protected] Course Description

This course provides students with the tools necessary to meet the challenges of working for mining companies as mining engineers and managers in an international (and/or remote Australian) setting. The focus will be on developing countries and an aim will be to draw comparisons between the Australian and international contexts. The course will draw extensively on case studies. It will provide an international perspective of mining; governance and regulatory frameworks; financing; mining companies as agents of change; cross-cultural management; gender; small-scale mining; indigenous communities; health and safety issues; and the influence of China and India.

Assumed Background This course assumes that students have attained a certain level of maturity to enable them to understand the issues involved. It will be thus suitable for final year mining students. Students should have completed Socio-Environmental Aspects of Mining.



Course Content This course will require an evaluation and application of at least the following topics:

International perspective of mining globally

Governance issues in developing countries

Financing international mining projects – roles of government & private banks – equator principles

The role, responsibilities and influence of major mining companies in developing countries

Small scale mining – importance and role wrt large companies

Blood diamonds – blood gold – Kimberley process;

Cross cultural management – theory and practice

Environmental economics – eg resource rich v resource poor countries – the resource curse?

Social impact of mining on women - gender and the mining industry

Principles of community engagement in international settings

The role of the NGO

Living and working with indigenous peoples

Health issues and safety in developing countries

Climate change and implications for Australia and global mining companies eg Hunter Valley coal producers

China and India and their influence



AIMS, LEARNING OUTCOMES & GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

Course Aims

This course aims to provide students with the tools necessary to meet the challenges of working for mining companies as mining engineers and managers in an international setting.

Learning Outcomes It is intended that students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of:

Legal, political and cultural context of mining in international locations

The application of Sustainable Mining Practices to mining globally

The global impacts of mining coal, uranium, gold, copper, nickel and other significant commodities

Cross cultural management strategies

Topical items affecting Australians working in mining overseas Graduate Attributes This course will contribute to the development of the following Graduate Attributes:

appropriate technical knowledge

having advanced problem solving, analysis and synthesis skills with the ability to tolerate ambiguity

ability for engineering design and creativity

being able to think and work individually and in teams

listening, influencing, motivating and communication skills

having HSEC consciousness

awareness of sustainability, multi-cultural and global issues

being active life-long learners



Recommended Texts and Resources There are no set textbooks for this course. Students will be expected to research topics and case studies in depth through various media including newspapers, the internet, current affairs programs, documentaries and so on. See learning guide for additional information. Online and Other Resources All online resources for the learning guide, the reading pack and presentations will be available on Moodle, the Learning & Teaching Management System (LTMS).



Learning Activities Summary (Please see latest schedule of lectures)

Week

Activity Hours

Content

Country

Case Study

Mining

Case Study

Week

1

Presentation

Readings

Case studies

4 International perspective of mining

globally

Who is mining where, what and how

The Role of the UN Treaties and summits

Principles of

Sustainable Mining Practices

Various All

Week 2

4 Governance issues in

developing countries International mining

laws – a comparison

Zimbabwe Bre-X

Week 3

4 Financing international mining

projects – roles of government & private

banks – equator

principles

New Caledonia

Myanmar

Ambotovy

Week

4

4 The role,

responsibilities and influence of major

mining companies in developing countries

Examples of best

practice in global mining operations

Why do Australian mining companies

(and individuals)

want to work overseas?

Fiji

Laos

Sepon

Week

5

4 Small scale mining – importance and role

wrt large companies

Blood diamonds – blood gold –

Kimberley process;

Congo Brazil

Mt Kare

Week

6

4 Cross cultural management – theory

and practice

Iran Bangladesh

Mt Kasi

Week

7

4 Environmental economics – eg

resource rich v resource poor

Romania Zambia

Baia Mare Copperbelt



countries – the

resource curse?

Week

8

4 Social impact of

mining on women -

gender and the mining industry

Indonesia

India

Kaltim

Prima

Week 9

4 Principles of community

engagement in

international settings The role of the NGO

Living and working with indigenous

peoples

Peru Ranger

Week

10

4 Health and safety

issues in developing

countries

Technical challenges in developing

countries -

PNG OK Tedi

Porgera

Week

11

4 Climate change and

implications for Aust and global mining

companies eg Hunter Valley coal producers

Vietnam Hunter

Valley

Week 12

4 China, India and their

global influence (incl. economic colonialism)

China

India

ZMG

Coal India



Assessment of Learning Outcomes The learning outcomes will be assessed by the assignments (individual and group), quizzes and presentation. Teaching & Learning Methods Teaching & Learning Methods

1. Activity-based learning: This course utilises activity-based learning methods. Activity-

based learning is different from the traditional face-to-face lecture format of a lecturer in the front of the class doing most of the talking. The interactive sessions could include a traditional lecture using a PowerPoint presentation or a tutorial session or a group activity to reinforce the learning.

2. Lectures and tutorials: Project work will be supported with weekly consultative and

information-sharing session. The content of these are aligned with the projects to help students. Although this is an activity-based course, it is a requirement that all work is conducted within the School. The course has been set up to allow the student to work at their own pace through the presentation material on Moodle. There will be no planned face to face lectures however guest lecturers will be invited from time to time.

3. Group work: Each project will have a number of focus areas. Members of a group

may elect to work on a topic of the project they feel more comfortable with, but should integrate their work into the whole project. This should be reported back at their team meetings. A peer review will have to be submitted by each team indicating the proportion of each individual group member's contribution to the project. Some marks will be taken from the underperforming students and allocated to the other group members. If a student makes no contribution to the project, he/she will receive zero for that project. Ideally groups of 4 will be selected by the course coordinator.

4. Effective Communication: One of the most effective means of learning is to effectively

communicate what has been learned. Part of the assessment in this course will be determined by how effectively the results are communicated. There are a number of opportunities for this in the form of presentations and final reports. The process of writing reports, brainstorming within a design team, peer assessment, preparation and presentation of report both in front of an audience and in report form, requires clarity of thinking, defending and revising a design and analysing the risks inherent in a project.

5. Peer Assessment:.

Group performance is a key component of the assessment for this course. The sole measure of performance of team work is by peer review. 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. SPARK will be used as peer assessment tool. The PEER REVIEW is required for all group assessments. SPARK 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 SPARK 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 SPARC on time will lose 20% of the group’s assessment mark and their peer review mark will be calculated based on the other group members’ submission. Both factors for each student will be released to all group members. The idea of using SPARK 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 judgement. 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 initially SPA and SAPA factors will be preliminary, and only become official after any protests are considered. Any students believing their SPARK assessments were unfair may lodge an objection. Any objection to yourself 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 SPARK 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 final right to review and alter the SPA factor.

Assessment

Assessment Summary

Assessment Due Weighting Process of Assessment

Assignment 1 – Country risk Wk 4 30% Individual

Assignment 2 – Mining in a Sensitive Environment

Wk 10 40% Group of 5

End of Course Quiz Wk 12 30% Individual

Assignment Details: ASSIGNMENT 1 – Country Risk – 30% Individual assignment Part A – Country Risk Report (20%) Max length – 1500 words plus plans, photographs etc (word count needed) You have been asked by a bank to provide a report for them on the potential risks in investing in mining in a particular country*. Mining is considered an important component of the country’s economy. You may wish to use the themes below as a guide. Socio-political

Government

Economy

People o Education & literacy o Per capita income etc

Workforce

Ethnicities

Religion etc

NGOs Geography

Location

Climate



Topography

Geomorphology etc Geology

Regional

Local

Seismically active etc

Prospectivity Governance

Mining laws o Incl OHS o Environmental o Security of tenure o Royalty regime

Corruption, human rights Mining

Existing and potential new mines You may wish to use the Case Study Notes or any other source for your reference material. Part B – You will be asked to present your findings to the class in a 10 minute presentation (10%). * You will be allocated your country in a “lottery” The choices will include: PNG, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, China, India, Vietnam, Chile, Peru, DRC (Congo), Philippines, Madagascar, Romania, New Caledonia, Brazil, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi, Kazakstan, Argentina, Bolivia, Mongolia, Russia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mexico, Fiji This assignment is handed out in Week 1 and due COB Friday Week 4



Assignment 2 – 40% Mining in a Sensitive Environment – Ranger Uranium Mine Groups of 4 Due: 25 May 2012 Background: The Ranger Uranium Mine is situated approximately 3 hours east of Darwin on the border of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. The mine and its leases are surrounded by the Kakadu National Park. The mine is unique for a number of reasons including its location adjacent to the Park, the proximity of its indigenous communities, the prevailing tropical climate and the commodity itself. Your assignment will take place in both the real world and the simulated world (AVIE). The module has been loaded into the AVIE. In this exercise you have the ability to interact with various panoramas of the mine and its surrounds; images of mining, processing and other mining aspects and very importantly, short interviews with key mining personnel including the General Manager, the Mine Manager, and other personnel. You will be allowed a 4 hour session in AVIE. A. Group Report (75%) Please prepare a group report of approximately 8000 words outlining the following: 1. Sustainable Mining Practices (25 marks) – what are the main sustainability challenges of mining at Ranger. You may wish to use the main pillars of Sustainable Mining Practices:

Environment

Community

Economic

Efficiency - Resource utilization and other technical challenges

Safety Briefly explain how managing the Ranger uranium mine is different to managing a mining operation elsewhere in Australia. 2. Environmental Impact Assessment (25 marks) Your task is to review extracts of the EIS for the Ranger Uranium Mine and report whether the company has achieved the aims and objectives set out in that document. In particular, the processing plant, the open cut, the waste dumps, the TSFs and water management. Please explain the reasons for any significant deviation from the EIS. How have EIAs changed in 30+ years (5%)? 3. Greenfields site (20 marks) It is the year 2015. The Australian government is now allowing mining in national parks subject of course to exhaustive environmental and social impact assessment. Using the Ubirr panorama, imagine this as a greenfields site, where a new uranium mine is planned. The local Indigenous community is supportive of the mine. On the Ubirr panorama and aerial photo you will be given the location of the open pit. You will also be given infrastructure templates or shapes of the process plant; tailings storage facility; waste dump; water retention pond etc. Your task is to produce a basic mine layout in AVIE which optimizes the location of this infrastructure based on the sustainability issues previously identified, including dust, noise, vibration, water management etc. Explain your rationale for the mine layout.



b) If you had the option of an open cut or underground mine, which would you choose in this location and why?

This assignment is a major piece of work so you should allocate your time accordingly. Please note that a word count should be shown. Please also use Turn-it-in before you submit. You need to clearly define who has done what in the report as well as doing a peer review. 5 marks will be allocated for polish and layout. B. Presentation (25%): In week 11, each group will have a 30 minute presentation to demonstrate its deep understanding of the sustainability issues at Ranger. By using the various panoramas and the library of photographs and other information, a) discuss the sustainability issues of mining at Ranger in the following areas (10 marks):

Open cut

Processing

Waste dump

Tailings disposal b) discuss the cultural aspects of mining in the Kakadu region from both an Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspective (10 marks) c) demonstrate and explain your design for the greenfields mine (see 4 above) (5 marks) Resources: 1. Ranger EIS (1974) – 2 hour reserve from “My Course” – UNSW Library (622.349309)

search MyCourse by course code MINE4910 rather than “Ranger EIS” since this doesn’t bring up any results. The title is Environmental impact statement, February 1974 / and the author is Ranger Uranium Mines Pty Ltd.

2. Report of the Office of the Supervising Scientist 2007/8 – available at http://www.environment.gov.au/about/publications/annual-report/ss07-08/index.html 3. ERA Rio Tinto website and other web-based resources 4. Module Interactive Sustainable Uranium Mining in AVIE – One (4 hour max) session per group (including a brief introduction by AVIE team) 5. Database of photographs supplied 6. Other resources including interviews etc David Laurence Course Designer February 2012

http://www.environment.gov.au/about/publications/annual-report/ss07-08/index.html



UNIVERSITY POLICIES Assignment Submissions

All assignments submitted for assessment in this course must be made in accordance with the School Policy on Assignment Submissions, hereafter in this subsection termed the Policy. Details of the Policy can be found in the School Policies section of the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance /policies.htm >. Students are required to read the latest version of the Policy and be aware of the various requirements including submission requirements and academic integrity. Failure to adhere to the requirement and/or submit an assignment that is in full accordance with the Policy can result in forfeiture of all marks for that assignment by the student. By default all assignments for courses in the School must be submitted as an electronic document. The submission requirements for electronic submissions are detailed in the Policy. In the case where a hardcopy submission of an assignment has been permitted in the assignment briefing document then the submission requirements for hardcopy submissions as detailed in the Policy must be followed. The student must attach to the front of the assignment a completed and signed copy of the appropriately coloured Assignment Coversheet for the particular Course Convenor which in this case is orange. A copy of the coloured Coversheet is available from the Course Convenor one week before the assignment due date. Students are advised to retain a copy of every assignment submitted for assessment for their own record either in hardcopy or electronic form. From time to time assignments may be mislaid and a student can be asked to re-submit.

Group Work – Peer Assessment

Group work is a key Graduate Attribute in the MEA program. As such it is integrated into the assessment activities of many MEA courses to determine whether a student has satisfactorily attained one or more of the Learning Outcomes. An important indicator of a student’s performance and of their contribution to the group’s overall performance is reflected in the results of a formalised system of peer review. The Course Convenor uses these results and other factors in their determination of an individual student’s result for the assignment. For further details see Peer Assessment in the School Policies section at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance/policies.htm >.



Students should be aware that participation in the peer review process is compulsory and that failure to do so can result in withholding of marks and/or zero marks being allotted to the student for that assignment.

Late Submission of an Assignment

In the normal course of events late submission of an assignment will automatically result in a zero (0) mark being awarded to the student/project team for the assignment. The onus is on the student to ensure each course assignment is submitted on-time during normal business hours and no later than the required time on the due date as stated in the relevant assignment briefing document. For further details see Late Submissions in the School Policies section on the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance/policies.htm >. See also the later section on Adverse Performance – Special Consideration.

Course Results

For details on assessment policy, assessment process and an explanation of course results, see the Assessment Policy section in the School Policies section on the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance/policies.htm >. In some instances a student’s final course result may be withheld. This is indicated by a course temporary grade result of either:

WD – this usually indicates that the student has not completed all assessment components; or

WC – this indicates the student has applied for Special Consideration and results have not been finalised due to illness or misadventure.

In either event the onus in on the student to contact the Course Convenor as soon as practicable but no later than five (5) days after release of the course result. Failure to take this action will normally result in forfeiture of any additional assessment granted to the student. If contact has not been made and/or course assessment has not been finalised by commencement of the following academic semester then this temporary grade will be automatically adjusted to a final grade of NC (course not completed) by Week 2 in the next academic semester. This will require the student to re-enrol in the course at some later time.

Adverse Performance – Special Consideration

In cases of illness or other extenuating circumstances that may have adversely impacted on a student’s performance in a course, it is recommended the student apply to Student Central for Special Consideration. It is incumbent on the student to contact the Course Convenor immediately following lodgement and acceptance of the Special Consideration preferably in person. Failure to take this action will normally result in forfeiture of any additional assessment granted to the student.



Only following acceptance and official notification from the University, will any decision be made by the Course Convenor as to an appropriate response based the circumstances outlined by the student. For further information, see Special Consideration – Illness and Misadventure within the section on UNSW Policies on the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance/policies.htm >.

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism

The University has certain expectations in terms of academic behaviour related to study and research. This is expressed in the University Policy on Academic Misconduct. Students should be aware of and understand this Policy. For further information, see Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism in the section on UNSW Policies at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance/policies.htm >. Plagiarism is one form of Academic Misconduct. It is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own1. Examples include:

direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying work, or knowingly permitting it to be copied. This includes copying material, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or another person’s assignment without appropriate acknowledgement;

paraphrasing another person’s work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of ideas of the original;

piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole;

presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people, for example, another student or a tutor; and,

claiming credit for a proportion a work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than that actually contributed2.

Submitting an assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit elsewhere may also be considered plagiarism. The inclusion of the thoughts or work of another with attribution appropriate to the academic discipline does not amount to plagiarism. Students are reminded of their Rights and Responsibilities in respect of plagiarism, as set out in the University Undergraduate and Postgraduate Handbooks, and are encouraged to seek advice from academic staff whenever necessary to ensure they avoid plagiarism in all its forms. The Learning Centre website is the central University on-line resource for staff and student information on plagiarism and academic honesty. It can be viewed at < www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism >.

1 Based on that proposed to the University of Newcastle by the St James Ethics Centre. Used with kind permission from the

University of Newcastle. 2 Adapted with kind permission from the University of Melbourne.



The Learning Centre also provides substantial educational written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students, for example, in:

correct referencing practices;

paraphrasing, summarising, essay writing, and time management;

appropriate use of and attribution for, a range of materials including text, images, formulae and concepts.

Individual assistance is available on request from The Learning Centre. Students are also reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items.

Continual Course Improvement

Periodically the process of course evaluation is undertaken. One aspect of this evaluation is feedback from students gathered by various means including:

UNSW's Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI) which is an anonymous, on-line survey system.

Student feedback is taken seriously, and continual improvements are made to the course based in part on such feedback. Significant changes that are made to a course as a result of such student feedback will be communicated to students by the Course Convenor at commencement of semester when the course is next run.

Correspondence and Email Messages

University policy states that official correspondence with a student will be made using the university provided email address and that it expects students will regularly check their official university email account. The School assists in this by providing free access to computing facilities and the internet. In line with this policy, messages will be sent to students through their LTMS account. Students can retrieve messages from the mailbox in each LTMS course account.

Administrative Matters

Students should ensure they are familiar with the various policies related to expectations of students. Links to the Policies can be found on the School web page at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/Governance/policies.htm >. Equity and diversity: those students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their teaching or learning environment are encouraged to discuss their study needs with the course convener prior to, or at the commencement of, their course, or with the Equity Officer (Disability) in the Equity and Diversity Unit (< www.equity.unsw.edu.au/disabil.htm >). Issues to be discussed may include access to materials, signers or note-takers, the provision of services and additional exam and assessment arrangements. Early



notification is essential to enable any necessary adjustments to be made. Information on designing courses and course outlines that take into account the needs of students with disabilities can be found at < www.secretariat.unsw.edu.au/acboardcom /minutes/coe/disabilityguidelines.pdf >.

mine4910 mining in a global environment · mine4910 mining in a global environment 1 unsw mining...

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