Skip to menu Skip to content Skip to footer

You're viewing this site as a domestic an international student

You're a domestic student if you are:

  • a citizen of Australia or New Zealand,
  • an Australian permanent resident, or
  • a holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa.

You're an international student if you are:

  • intending to study on a student visa,
  • not a citizen of Australia or New Zealand,
  • not an Australian permanent resident, or
  • a temporary resident (visa status) of Australia.
You're viewing this site as a domestic an international student
Change

Mine Site Environmental Management Program Part 1

Mine Water Fundamentals

Delivered by Sustainable Minerals Institute

Overview

Learn the basic skills to implement best practices for managing water on mining sites.

You’ll focus on GIS, hydrology and flood risk, and groundwater – essential knowledge that will form the basis for further studies in managing mine water. You'll engage with practical examples, analyse mine site data and identify the tasks that need to be undertaken.

This is part 1 of 3 courses on managing water within the Mine Site Environmental Management Program. 

Upcoming courses

Delivery mode
online, online classroom
Date
No dates currently available
Time commitment
50 hours

Register your interest to be notified when new courses are scheduled

Who should attend

Junior environmental personnel.

Entry requirements

An ArcGIS Pro license is required. If it is not available through employment conditions, a personal ArcGIS Pro licence can be purchased on Esri’s website.

 

What you'll learn

  • How to prepare and analyse GIS data effectively.
  • Interpret and understand the water cycle, rainfall runoff, and hydrological modelling as it applies to mine sites.
  • Understand and define the core aspects of hydrogeology, including groundwater modelling.

Time commitment

This is an online course that will require roughly 50 hours to complete.

  • 47 hours of online content and study
  • 3 hours of scheduled webinars
  • Over 12 weeks.

Course curriculum

The facilitator for this module is Dr Pascal Bolz. This module is divided into 4 sections plus an assessment:

  • Data Preparation 1 – 101 of digital elevation data. Brief overview of elevation data including acquisition technology and basic data characteristics, pros and cons of different elevation data formats.
  • Data Preparation 2 – Introduction of concepts for hydrological optimisation problems and procedures for elevation data.
  • Hydro Modelling 1 – Concepts and procedures of stream flow modelling in GIS.
  • Hydro Modelling 2 – Catchment delineation, concepts and procedures.
  • Assessment – Submit the site’s catchment based on Digital Elevation Model Report and maps.

The facilitators for this module are Professor Neil McIntyre and Dr Liliana Pagliero. This module is divided into 5 sections plus an assessment:

  • Basic hydrology – an overview of the water cycle, catchments, water balance, and the hydrograph.
  • Measurements – water levels, stream flows, evaporation, snow, and data quality control with a focus on surface water.
  • Design events and frequency analysis – design rainfall, rainfall depth-duration curves, areal reduction factors, temporal profiles, probable maximum precipitation, and using continuous rainfall.
  • Rainfall-runoff models – covering the main types of models, with a focus on the Australian Water Balance Model (AWBM), the RORB model, and snow.
  • Flood mapping – flood risk management process, hydraulic models, how to write a scope of works and reporting, and providing guidance materials.
  • Assessment – Write a Scope of Works for a flood study of the site.

The facilitator for this module is Louisa Rochford. This module is divided into four sections plus an assessment:

  • Groundwater basics – overview of groundwater and aquifers.
  • Aquifer water balance – key components of an aquifer water balance, including recharge and discharge processes.
  • Quantitative hydrogeology – hydraulic head, Darcy's Law, hydraulic conductivity, and solute transport.
  • Groundwater field investigations – drilling, groundwater monitoring, hydraulic testing, and other field investigation methods.
  • Groundwater modelling – conceptual models, numerical models, and the Australian Groundwater Modelling Guidelines.
  • Assessment – Calculate recharge for a scenario mine and summarise the key components of a numerical groundwater flow model.

Assessment

 This course has 3 assessments – one for each key subject area. 

Certification and accreditation

Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion to verify their skills and achievements.

Facilitators

Associate Professor Claire Côte, Director, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry
Associate Professor Claire Côte
Director, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry
Dr Pascal Asmussen, Research Fellow, Geospatial Science, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (CWiMI)
Dr Pascal Asmussen
Research Fellow, Geospatial Science, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (CWiMI)
Professor Neil McIntyre, Group Leader, Regional Water & Land Resources, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (CWiMI)
Professor Neil McIntyre
Group Leader, Regional Water & Land Resources, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (CWiMI)

Cost

Applicant Price
Individual domestic ex. GST A$3,000
Individual international (GST not payable) A$3,000

Please see the Terms and Conditions – UQ Pay (PDF, 123.12 KB).

GST is excluded from the cost

Payment options

We accept credit cards (Visa/MasterCard) for payment, including corporate credit cards. If you do not have access to a card, please contact our team at education@smi.uq.edu.au to discuss your options.

Related courses

This course is part of the Mine Site Environmental Management Program suite. There are 3 courses within this suite – see the other related courses below:

Contact

Sustainable Minerals Institute

For more professional development options, visit the Sustainable Minerals Institute website.