Events & Courses

This is an on-line CPD course developed by the Geology Department of the University of Leicester, together with other partners. It was developed with funding from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Chile Prosperity Fund. The course is in English and designed to be studied as part-time distance learning

This course gives a broad introduction to the different types of surface mining, and the techniques and equipment used. It is based on presentations and videos of a UK university undergraduate mining module given by Dr Bill Birch, formerly of the University of Leeds, and now Director of Blast Log Ltd. It is designed for those who want to develop their knowledge across open-pit, opencast (strip mining) and quarrying, and in the selection and optimisation of equipment

The course starts with an overview of open-pit mining, opencast mining and quarrying and then gives a detailed explanation of the different types of equipment and how to select and use them most efficiently. These include:

• Draglines
• Shovel and truck operations and productivity
• Motorscrapers
• Dozers
• Wheeled loaders
• Bucket wheeled excavators

The course also includes information on drilling and blasting, and gives examples of restoration/rehabilitation schemes in the UK.