Awards presentation in the Chancellors Court

The UNSW Minerals Summer School (UMSS) began with a day at the university, involving a walk around the campus, some talks about the industry and career options including mining engineering, geological, environmental and other exciting possibilities. The first afternoon was spent in small work groups in the rock testing laboratory; the School’s mock-up underground mine; the computer laboratory finding mine sites around the country using “Google Earth”; and the most popular activity which was in the Virtual Reality Laboratory where students were each put through time trials on a load – haul – dump cycle for a large mine dump truck in a “virtual mine”.

The next day was a visit to the Orica Mining Services Technical Centre at Kurri Kurri, where the group were treated to some great talks and videos of blast designs, simulations and actual blasts in a diverse range of mines from around the world. Next was a drive up to Muswellbrook to visit one of the newest and largest open cut mines in the Hunter Valley – Mt Arthur North, owned by BHP-Billiton. Here the group saw some of the biggest trucks in the country carrying 325 tonne payloads around the mine, as well as gaining insights into the comprehensive community liaison and environmental management programs of the mine.

The final day included a morning at Boral’s Peats Ridge basalt quarry to see some spectacular geological features of columnar basalt, as well as finding out about the differing demands and economics of the quarrying sector.

The final event was a lunch back at UNSW with a number of awards presented, and a certificate to all participants, before much swapping of emails and phone numbers, then back to parents, home, holidays and hopefully some good memories and a lot of thought about the new career options that they had learned about over the past four days.

Some of the feedback and comments from the UMSS student survey conducted on the final day were:

• 82% of participants said they would now be considering a career in the minerals industry
• Areas where students learnt the most during the trip included – mining systems, equipment and technology; the size and importance of the industry; environmental practices and standards; and the involvement the industry has with local communities.
• “I learned lots about the mining industry – now it is a definite career option”
• “I learned a lot about the industry and people involved – I came to the Summer School unsure whether to consider a career in the minerals industry, but now I am quite convinced – excellent”.

UMSS was an independent initiative of the UNSW School of Mining Engineering. The students contributed financially to attend, but UMSS was underwritten by our major sponsor, Xstrata Coal. UNSW and the student participants all express their appreciation to Xstrata Coal and all of the host sites and personnel involved during the trip for their time and helpful support.

For further information about the 2006 UNSW Minerals Summer School or to know about plans for the 2007 UNSW Minerals Summer School, contact Professor Bruce Hebblewhite on 02 9385 5160, or email B.Hebblewhite@unsw.edu.au.

Bruce Hebblewhite