This course aims to provide students with the advanced knowledge to apply soil and rock mechanics to the solution of complex underground and surface mining problems.

At the end of this course the student will:

Have a higher level understanding of rock mass behaviour and failure mechanisms in underground rock excavations;
Develop a theoretical understanding and some practical skills in computational modelling and design methodologies for underground rock mechanics problems;
Understand the mechanics and applications associated with dynamic geotechnical events in relation to blasting and high stress environments;
Develop an understanding of various specialist geotechnical design applications;
Have a detailed understanding of the geotechnical engineering issues associated with open pit mine slopes, tailings dams and other surface or near-surface infrastructure.