Overview
Learn the skills needed to implement best practice management of soils, tailings and residue for mine site rehabilitation and closure.
You’ll focus on all aspects of soils management, including understanding the fundamentals of soil physics, soil hydrology, soil chemistry, soil sampling and characterisation of soil physical, chemical and hydrological properties. This will provide essential knowledge that will form the basis for further studies in managing soils on mine sites.
Learn about erosion and how to effectively manage erosion and sedimentation on site, and also learn how to control and manage the impacts of tailings and residue on water quality and how to deliver sustainable waste disposal structures. You'll engage with practical examples, analyse mine site data and identify the tasks that need to be undertaken.
Who should attend
This course is developed for environmental personnel working for mining companies to give them the foundational skills for managing water resources on a mine site. It is also suitable for professionals working with the mining industry including:
- environmental consultants
- water resources engineers and scientists
- government regulators and policy makers
- academics and researchers.
This course is targeted at professionals with less than 10 years experience working in the mining industry.
Entry requirements
You'll need an ArcGIS Pro license. If you don't have access to this software through your work, a personal ArcGIS Pro licence can be purchased on Esri’s website for US$100 for a one-year licence.
Computer system requirements: preferably 16GB of RAM (memory). 8GB is a minimum. All GIS workflows provided in the courses were tested with a 16GB Memory system, Intel i7 processor (3GHz), Intel Iris Xe integrated GPU (8GB) and Samsung NVMe SSD.
What you'll learn
- Acquire knowledge of the basic principles of soil chemistry, soil physics and soil hydrology.
- Develop knowledge in the characterisation of soil properties.
- Understand how mining impacts soil properties and the regulations related to soils management.
- Understand the importance of effective erosion and sediment control.
- Implement effective erosion and sediment control practices on mine sites.
- Performing soil loss erosion modelling using the GIS-based RUSLE tools using a real-world mine site case study site.
- Build safe and stable mineral residue facilities for tailings and waste rock.
Time commitment
This is an online course that will require roughly 70 hours to complete.
- over 1 semester
- Enrolments are accepted for 2 weeks after the official start date
Assessment
Assessments are part of every key subject area in this course, and are all related to a case study mine site that will accompany participants during this course.
Course participants will perform the following tasks as part of assessments:
- Excel-based derivation and calculation of key soil parameters in regard to soil physics, hydrology and chemistry and reporting of these.
- GIS-based soil loss modelling using the RUSLE, including derivation of RUSLE parameters with GIS-based approaches and excel-based work on rainfall data.
- Determining appropriate erosion and sediment controls.
- Identifying potential soil cover types for the waste rock dumps and tailings storage facility.
Certification and accreditation
Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion to verify their skills and achievements.
Facilitators
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).
If you wish to register for all 3 Mine Water Management courses, please use complete this form.
- Mine Water Fundamentals runs 4 March - 22 June 2025
- Mine Water Systems runs 22 July - 14 December 2025
GST is excluded from the cost
Students that enrol in all 3 Mine Water Management Program courses receive a 10% discount if they pay for all 3 at once. Companies with 5 or more attendees receive a 10% discount.
Payment optionsWe 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 Water Management Program suite. There are 3 courses within this suite – see the other related courses below:
- Mine Water Management Program 1 – Mine Water Fundamentals
- Mine Water Management Program 2 – Mine Water Systems
Contact
Sustainable Minerals Institute
For more professional development options, visit the Sustainable Minerals Institute website.