mining research project - course outline€¦ · course in the series mine4450 mining research...

SCHOOL OF MINING ENGINEERING

MINE4440 MINING RESEARCH PROJECT I

COURSE OUTLINE

SEMESTER 1, 2013

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CONTENTS

1. General Course Information ............................................................................................ 1 2. Course Content............................................................................................................... 4 3. Learning Outcomes and Graduate Attributes .................................................................. 5 4. Recommended Texts and Resources ............................................................................. 6 5. Learning Activities ........................................................................................................... 7 6. Course Assessment ........................................................................................................ 8 7. Assessment Process .................................................................................................... 11 8. Assessment Criteria ...................................................................................................... 12 9. University Policies ......................................................................................................... 22

1. GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Course Details

Course Title: MINE4440 Mining Research Project I Semester Offered: Semester 1 Level: Undergraduate Number of Units/Credits: 6 UOC Course Convenor: Paul Hagan. Rm 159D, First Floor, Old Main Building. Phone: 9385 5998, email: [email protected] Contact Hours per Week: Two contact hours to be utilised for workshops and seminars. In addition to these contact hours, students are required to devote time to activities associated with planning the research project. Contact times are scheduled for:

Monday 10:00am – 12noon, OMB145

Wednesday 4:15pm – 6:00pm, OMB145 To satisfactorily complete the course, the student will be required to spend a minimum total time of approximately 150 hours in a combination of direct contact time and other activities during the semester. Learning Guide: Detailed information related to the course including assessment requirements can be found in the Learning Guide: Mining Research Project. Learning & Teaching Management System (LTMS): The Learning & Teaching Management System (LTMS) used with this course is Moodle which can be accessed from the my.unsw website. For up to date information on lectures and workshops, see the Calendar section in LTMS and the School Noticeboard.

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Support material for this course including, copies of lecture notes, recommended readings, assignments and results for assignments etc whenever available can be found in LTMS. All correspondence should be undertaken using the email facility within LTMS. Changes in the lecture schedule, seminars, workshops and assignment dates will be posted on the Calendar in LTMS. It is important that students regularly check LTMS for changes in calendar events and for email messages. It is strongly recommended that students use the mail redirection facility to forward LTMS emails to their usual email address.

Assessment

Assessment in the course will take the form of a number of assignment items which are associated with the planning stages of a research project as well as reports on industry seminar presentations.

Course Completion

Course completion requires:

submission of all assessment items; failure to submit all assessment items will result in the award of an Unsatisfactory Failure (UF) grade for the Course.

submission of a completed copy the Project Plan Agreement (PPA) form by the student. The form must be signed by the student’s project supervisor; failure to submit the PPA will result in the initial award of Withheld or WD grade for the Course which will stand until the end of the midyear recess when the grade will be changed to Unsatisfactory Failure (UF) grade for the Course.

As a consequence in either circumstance, the student will be ineligible to undertake the second course MINE4450 Mining Research Project II.

Course Description

This course is the first of two courses that run in consecutive semesters that have as the main focus completion of a major research project. It is an individual student project, not a group project. The course is only offered in the first semester of each academic year. The second course in the series MINE4450 Mining Research Project II cannot be undertaken unless the student has satisfactorily completed this first course MINE4440 Mining Research Project I. This course is intended to develop the capability and requisite skills of an engineer to build a foundation of knowledge related to a particular industry-related problem. This foundation provides a basis on which to design a solution that is robust and safe, cost effective and appropriate to the end-user. It is essential that this foundation reflects not only established thinking and practices but equally important, it should account for divergent and newly developing views as well as any limitations or weaknesses that underpin current understanding. The

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quality of the engineering solution is therefore a function of the quality and timing to complete this investigation; an investigation that forms part of a process known as research. The course is structured in two modules:

the preparatory work on the final year’s major research project; and

reporting on a series of seminar presentations by speakers from industry that will require some additional research on the seminar topic.

Both modules run concurrently within the semester. The first module relates to activities involved with the planning phase of a research project. The second module is structured as a series of industry seminars spread over the semester that are intended to broaden the student’s knowledge and encompass topics relevant to a professional mining engineer. While some of the topics may be presented in earlier parts of the Mining Engineering Program, each seminar allows for a more in-depth analysis by the student. The seminars may involve a range of technical and non-technical issues, dealing with such diverse topics as environmental management, mines inspectorate and investigations, safety management, industrial relations, change management in organisations, leadership, research and development of technology and intellectual property.

Assumed Knowledge

The prerequisite for this course is MINE3430 Mining Systems. Only students enrolled in the Mining Engineering program for the current semester are permitted to undertake this course. Students enrolled in this course are assumed to have satisfactorily completed courses in Stages 1 to 3 of the Mining Engineering Program and are in their final year of the program. This course assumes that a student has sound knowledge of mining terms and systems and has had previous exposure to mining operations through vacation employment and/or filed trips.

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2. COURSE CONTENT

The course is divided into two assessable parts, these being:

Research Project – Planning Phase. This involves the student selecting a minerals related industry research project, undertaking background reading and preparing a report that incorporates a critique of the current state of knowledge related to the project topic and a detailed project plan. To assist the student to achieve the project milestone, a series of workshops will be conducted over the course of the semester.

Industry Seminars. A series of seminar lectures presented by persons from industry in various weeks throughout the semester.

If the student has satisfactorily completed all activities and assessment items then by the end of the semester, the student will be in a commanding position to begin the investigative/experimental phase of the project from day one in the following semester. Quite often the project plan highlights certain constraints and tasks with long lead times such as gathering material, assembling instrumentation, constructing apparatus and/or data collection from a mine-site. As a consequence of drafting the schedule for the remainder of the project, students quite often realise how much time can be saved by undertaking at least some minor tasks such as arranging to get test samples or other materials during the mid-year recess. Other students go further and commit some time to undertaking the bulk of the test work during the mid-year recess leaving some contingency should any unplanned major issue arise and thereby ensure on-time completion.

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3. LEARNING OUTCOMES AND GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the course, the students are expected to be able to:

1. Define the major issues and benefits associated with a research topic;

2. Conduct library searches relevant to the research topic and obtain reference material from various relevant sources needed to draft an annotated bibliography;

3. Produce a literature review encompassing a critique of the current state of knowledge related to the topic and other related information;

4. Develop a project management plan that outlines the objectives of a proposed research project; including defining the tasks, activities and resources necessary to achieve that objective; developing a schedule of activities and significant milestones; and, a risk assessment with appropriate management and controls measures; and

5. Critique a seminar presentation that incorporates some further research on the topic.

6. Prepare a technical report that is consistent with the requirements and standards of the School of Mining Engineering and relevant professional society.

Graduate Attributes

This course will contribute to the development of the following Graduate Attributes:

appropriate technical knowledge

having advanced problem solving, analysis and synthesis skills with the

ability to tolerate ambiguity

ability for engineering design and creativity

awareness of opportunities to add value through engineering and the

need for continuous improvement

being able to work and communicate effectively across discipline

boundaries

having HSEC consciousness

being active life-long learners.

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4. RECOMMENDED TEXTS AND RESOURCES

Required textbooks

There is no required textbook for this course. Reference Materials

Report Writing Guide for Mining Engineers, 2011. P Hagan and P Mort (Mining Education Australia (MEA)).

Guide to Authors, 2011. (Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy: Melbourne)

Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, 2002. 6th edition (John Wiley & Sons)

The Research Project – How to Write It, 2000. R Berry, 4th edition (Routledge: London)

How to Write a Better Thesis, 2002. D Evans and P Gruba (Melbourne University Press: Melbourne)

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Project Management. G Campbell and S Baker (Alpha: New York)…or other equivalent.

Other Resources

Other material that should be referred to in conjunction with this Course Outline include:

Learning Guide: Mining Research Project

Student Resource Book: Mining Research Project Selected readings as well as other supporting material e.g. course outline and lecture notes will be made available in LTMS. It is recommended that students review ELISE, the on-line study skills tutorial, as well as ELISE Plus. Both tutorials will be useful to students when preparing the Annotated Bibliography and Project Progress Report assignments, particularly the latter as it includes a tutorial on EndNote and Refworks. The tutorials can be accessed at < http://info.library.unsw.edu.au/skills/tutorials.html >.

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5. LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Schedule of Learning Activities

Course Week1

Week beginning

Activity/task/milestone Assessment item2

1 4 Mar

Outline of course objectives, activities and assessment. Further consideration of alternate research project topics

2 11 March Industry Seminar #1

3 18 March

Workshop #1. Mechanics of a literature search – tools and tips on use of library information databases. Using EndNote to manage your database of references. Refer to ELISE and ELISE Plus before workshop.

Project Proposal

4 25 March Industry Seminar #2 Report on Seminar #13

1 April mid-semester recess

5 8 April Workshop #2. How to structure a literature survey. Bring details of literature search found to date to the workshop.

Report on Seminar #23

6 15 April Workshop #3. Technical editing includes exercise on technical editing and Peer Assessment

Annotated Bibliography

22 April non-teaching week

7 29 April Workshop #4. Help! How to collate concepts and write the literature review

8 6 May Workshop #5. Project Plan: what is expected in a project plan, Gantt charts, risk assessment

9 13 May Industry Seminar #3 – reserve / tbc

10 20 May Industry Seminar #4 – reserve / tbc Project Progress Report

11 27 May Industry Seminar #5 – Mitsubishi Lecture on 30th May Report on Seminar #33

12 3 Jun Consultation with and sign-off on project by Supervisor

Report on Seminar #43 & 53 Project Plan Agreement (PPA)

Notes:

1. Course Week does not necessary align with the official week in a semester.

2. Assessment submission dates are listed in Section 6 Course Assessment.

3. While only two industry seminar reports are required by a student, generally at least three seminars may be scheduled during the semester, one of which includes the Mitsubishi Lecture which can be taken in lieu of a scheduled Industry Seminar.

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6. COURSE ASSESSMENT

Assessment Summary

Assessment of the research project is based on the submissions made at various project milestones over the course of the year. Specific details of the requirements of the project milestones related to each item of assessment are contained in the Learning Guide: Mining Research Project. The range of assessment tasks have been designed to ensure a student can demonstrate they have satisfactorily attained the minimum requirements of the course as defined in the Learning Outcomes of the course and Graduate Attributes of the program. The student is also advised to review the relevant Assessment Criteria before completing each of the assessment items.

Assessment item Course

Week due Weighting

Learning outcomes

Project Proposal plus self-assessment 3 5% 1

Annotated Bibliography plus self-assessment & peer assessment 6 12% 2

Technical Editing 6 5% 6

Project Progress Report (PPR) plus self-assessment 10 50% 3, 4, 6

Consultation with Supervisor 1-12 5% 1

Project Plan Agreement (PPA) 12 3% 1, 2

Industry Seminar Reports (submit minimum two reports or, best mark of two out of maximum three reports) plus self-assessment

* 20% 5, 6

Assignment attachments

All assessment items must be submitted to the Course Convenor NOT to the student’s individual Project Supervisor – this includes the Project Proposal, Annotated Bibliography and Project Progress Report as well as the Industry Seminar Reports. Submission requirements for all assignments are listed in Sections 4 and 7 of the Learning Guide. Attached to each assignment must be:

an official School Coversheet at the front of each assignment except in the case of the Industry Seminar Reports. The Industry Seminar Reports (ISR), must be submitted in the approved manner – see following section on ISR Submission; and

the requisite self-assessment form at the end of the assignment with the assessment criteria for the assignment completed by the student.

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If either or both of these are not attached then the assignment will be deemed non-compliant with the assessment requirements. A non-compliant submission will not be marked and zero marks will be awarded for that assessment item. See the section on Assignment Submissions within the later section on University Policies.

Assignments due date and time

If not otherwise stated the default deadline for submission of an assignment is 12:00 noon on the first business day in the nominated week. If Monday coincides with a Public Holiday then the due date is the next business day in the nominated week. Penalties will apply for non-conformance with Assessment Deadlines as detailed in the Course Outline. Early submission is required in cases where the student will otherwise be absent on the due date of submission – no extensions will be granted.

Industry Seminars

A range of experts from industry will be invited to the present a seminar. The duration of each seminar will vary between 45 minutes and 1.5 hour. A notice on the forthcoming speaker and topic will be posted on the Calendar in LTMS about a week before each seminar. Please check to confirm any changes in the time, date and venue. While every effort will be made to schedule the Industry Seminars at the Course Contact time, there may be occasions when it may be scheduled on a different day of the week and/or time due to commitments of the industry speaker or for other course requirements. Whenever an alternate time has to be scheduled for a seminar then every endeavour will be made to provide reasonable notice to students via the Calendar in LTMS. Students are therefore advised to regularly check for any notices concerning late changes to the seminar date and venue.

List of Attendees

A list of student attendees at each seminar will be recorded. Students must ensure they sign the attendance form provided at each seminar. Only the Industry Seminar Reports (ISR) of those students whose names appear on the attendance list for that Seminar will be marked. A report from student who did not attend the seminar will not be marked and no marks will be awarded.

Industry Seminar Report (ISR)

While a number of Industry Seminars will be scheduled throughout the semester, a student need only submit a minimum of two ISRs. If a report is submitted for more

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than two seminars then the marks for the best two reports will be counted towards course assessment. The length of an ISR and the detail contained therein is a matter for each student to decide. In order to achieve a Credit grade for the seminars, the report is expected to be no less than 750 words. In any case each report must not exceed 2000 words. Bear in mind that a longer report does not necessarily equate to a better quality report or a higher mark and, marks will be deducted for reports that exceed the word limit. The ISR must conform to the report writing standards of format, style and structure as outlined in the latest edition of the MEA Report Writing Guide. Students are expected to provide an objective report on the seminar presenting on the whole present a balanced view on the topic. Unsubstantiated statements or personal views of the student must be avoided. As this is part of a course on research, students are required to also undertake additional research on the topic and incorporate this into the report. The report should cover at a minimum the subject matter presented in the seminar. and include a discussion of the topic, further information related to the topic and constructive comment and conclusions.

ISR submissions

Each ISR must be submitted in the approved form that is contained within the manila seminar folder provided to students at the start of semester. Only those reports submitted in the approved form will be marked which includes a copy of the student’s self-assessment for each report. The seminar folder is a portfolio of the student’s work and must contain in addition to the latest report, a copy of all previous reports should be arranged in reverse order with the latest report at the front of the folder. Do not place reports in plastic insert sleeves within the manila folder. A non-compliant report will be returned unmarked.

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7. ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Overview

Each student must have a Project Supervisor who is a member of academic staff in the School. In some instances, the Project Supervisor may deem it appropriate to appoint a Project Co-Supervisor who is either an academic from the School or some other School/Faculty/University or, a person from industry. The Project Supervisor is responsible in conjunction with the Course Convenor for assessment of the student’s performance in the research project. In general, students should arrange to consult regularly with their Project Supervisor to discuss project progress, options and future direction and, issues that may potentially impact performance and/or project completion. The onus is on the student not the Project Supervisor to initiate regular meetings. With frequent communication there is less likelihood “surprises” will arise that could adversely impact on the successful and timely completion of the project and ensure the various milestones in the project are attained.

Assessment Process

Depending on the assessment item, grading will be undertaken by the Course Convenor and/or Project Supervisor. In the case of the:

Project Proposal, Annotated Bibliography and the Industry Seminar Reports, assessment will be undertaken by the Course Convenor and/or Teaching Assistant.

Project Progress Report assessment will be undertaken by the student’s Project Supervisor and the Course Convenor.

Grading of the Project Progress Report usually involves some or all of the following steps.

A student must submit each assignment item to the Course Convenor who will record the date of submission.

The Project Report will then be given to the student’s Project Supervisor.

The Project Supervisor will assess the work. A provisional mark will be returned to the Course Convenor.

The relativity between Supervisors of the provisional mark will be audited.

Provisional marks will be distributed to all Project Supervisors in confidence. Marks will not be released and the reports are not returned at this stage.

A meeting of all Project Supervisors will discuss relativities.

Penalties will be deducted from the adjusted provisional mark.

The final mark will be released after which reports can be collected from the Project Supervisor.

Note: Do NOT submit any assessment item directly to your Project Supervisor as a late submission penalty will be applied.

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8. ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

The following assessment criteria provide a framework for students when preparing major assignments in the course as well as a guideline for assessors when marking an assignment. The student is advised to review the relevant framework before undertaking their assignment. The criteria listed for each item of assessment and the descriptions contained therein are not intended to be prescriptive nor is it an exhaustive list. Rather it should be viewed as a framework to guide the student as to the type of information and depth of coverage that is expected to be evident in an assignment; the framework illustrates for example what would distinguish an excellent achievement from a poor achievement. The student should be cognisant that a range of factors is often being assessed in any one assignment; not just whether the final results are numerically correct. Consideration is given to other relevant elements that contribute to the Learning Outcomes of the course as well as the Graduate Attributes of the overall degree program. The student is cautioned against merely using the assessment criteria as a checklist. When assessing an assignment, elements in the framework will be examined in terms of quality and creativity. Hence ensuring all elements are merely covered in an assignment is often not sufficient in itself and will not automatically lead to full marks being awarded. Other factors such as how the student went about presenting information, how an argument was structured and/or the elements supporting a particular recommendation or outcome are also important. Finally the framework can also be used to provide feedback to a student on their performance in an assignment. Periodically the criteria are reviewed and updated, consequently changes may be made to the framework to improve their effectiveness in achieving both these objectives. Note: Reference to RWG in the assessment criteria refers to the MEA Report Writing Guide, and GTA to the AusIMM Guide to Authors.

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Industry Seminar Reports

The assessment criteria and relative weighting that will be used in assessing the Industry Seminar Reports are summarised in the following table.

Assessment Criteria – Industry Seminar Reports

Criteria Excellent Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory Poor nil

Quality of report

Report contained all essential subject matter of the seminar with extensive discussion that expanded on and aided understanding of the topic; and,

evidence in report of further relevant supplementary information on the topic that had been sourced from at least five sources that was well integrated and significantly contributed to the weight of the discussion; and,

conformed entirely with RWG; and,

all referencing and references were correct and in total accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG; and

total word count was not less than 1000 and did not exceed 2000 words.

Report contained majority of essential subject matter of the seminar with discussion that contributed to understanding; and,

evidence in report of further relevant supplementary information on the topic from at least four sources; and,

conformed in all respects with the RWG; and,



Report contained most of the subject matter of the seminar with some discussion of the topic; and, some further information had been sourced from at least three that are relevant; and,

conformed in most respects with RWG with only a few very minor exceptions and

all referencing and references were correct and in accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG with only a few very minor exceptions; and


Report contained only some elements of the important subject matter presented in the seminar with little further discussion of the topic; and/or

little further information on the topic had been sourced that was relevant from fewer than three sources; and/or

many minor exceptions to RWG; and/or

many errors in referencing and/or references were not correct and were not in accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG; and/or

total word count was less than 500 words.

Report contained scant details of subject matter presented in the seminar with very little further discussion of the topic; and/or

no further information on the topic had been sourced; and/or

major non-conformance issues with RWG; and/or

majority of referencing and/or references were not correct and were not in accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG; and/or

total word count was less than 250 words.

No report submitted; and/or

not submitted on time; and/or

did not conform with assignment submission requirements for ISR; and/or

did not have attached a completed self-assessment form; and/or

did not conform with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG and/or

did not conform with RWG report writing requirements.

10 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 5.0 4.5 3.0 2.5 0.5 0

Note: Mark for each assignment reported to ±0.5.

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Research Project Proposal

The assessment criteria and relative weighting that will be used in assessing the Project Proposal is summarised in the following table.

Assessment Criteria – Research Project Proposal


Quality of proposal

Proposal contains all essential elements including o well defined

Project Objectives and Expected Outcomes; and

o a clear description of the research elements associated with the project; and

o evidence of preliminary background reading on the topic; and

conformed entirely with RWG; and,



Proposal contains most essential elements including o a generally well

defined Project Objectives and Expected Outcomes;

o a clear description of the research elements associated with the project;

o evidence of some preliminary background reading on the topic; and

conformed in all respects with the RWG; and,



Proposal contains most essential elements including o a vaguely

defined Project Objectives and Expected Outcomes;

o a description of the research elements;

o little or no evidence of preliminary background reading on the topic; and

conformed in most respects with RWG with only a few very minor exceptions and



Proposal lacks essential elements with o poorly defined

Project Objectives and Expected Outcomes;

o poorly defined or incomplete description of the research elements;

o no evidence of preliminary background reading on the topic; and/or

many minor exceptions to RWG; and/or


total word count is less than 500 words.

Proposal does not contain any of the essential elements with o little/no defined

Project Objectives and Expected Outcomes;

o missing description of the research elements;

o no evidence of preliminary background reading on the topic; and/or

major non-conformance issues with RWG; and/or


total word count is less than 250 words.

No proposal submitted; and/or

not submitted on time; and/or

did not conform with assignment submission requirements; and/or

did not have attached an Assignment Coversheet and/or a completed self-assessment form; and/or

did not conform with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG and/or

did not conform with RWG report writing requirements.

10 8.5 8.0 7.5 7.0 5.0 4.5 3.0 2.5 0.5 0

Note: Mark for assignment reported to ±0.5.

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Annotated Bibliography

The assessment criteria and relative weighting that will be used in assessing the Annotated Bibliography is summarised in the following table.

Assessment Criteria – Annotated Bibliography


Relevance of references to topic

All references were relevant to the topic.

Majority of references were relevant to the topic.

Most references relevant to the topic with few exceptions,

Few references were relevant to the topic.

Majority of references were not relevant to the topic and/or had only a tenuous link to topic.

References had no relevance to the topic.

15 13 12 10 9 8 7 4 3 1 0

Variety of sources

A balanced array of a minimum of five or more reference sources different used (e.g. journals, conference papers, monographs, and websites); and ten references included

A variety of at least four different reference sources used; and ten references included.

Several different references sources of at least three used; and ten references included.

Few different reference sources use; and/or fewer than ten references included.

Very few different sources used; and/or fewer than six references included.

Only the one source used; and/or fewer than five references included.

15 13 12 10 9 8 7 4 3 1 0

Quality of annotations

Excellent discussion and significant key points of interest identified.

Good discussion and many key points of interest identified.

Some discussion and some key points of interest identified.

Some discussion but few key points of interest identified.

Little discussion or key points of interest poorly identified.

No discussion or identification of any key points of interest from the reference.

30 26 25 20 19 15 14 8 7 1 0

Referencing

all in-text citations were correct as per the RWG; and

all sources of information were referenced; and


there were no missing References

majority of in-text citations were correct with only a few minor errors; and

majority of sources of information were referenced with a few exceptions; and


there were a few references missing from the References section

most in-text citations were correct though there are several errors and/or some information is not referenced; and


the References section was mostly complete

limited/poor range of references and/or some were not appropriate to the topic; and/or

many errors with in-text citations; and/or

too little use of in-text citations and/or many instances of information not being properly referenced to identify source of information; and/or


the Reference section was incomplete/missing some references

too few references and/or most were not appropriate to the topic; and/or

most in-text citations had errors; and/or

little use of made of in-text citations to identify source of information; and/or


there were many references missing from the References section

there was no References section; and/or

no in-text citation in report; and/or

incorrect system of referencing was used; and/or

incorrect system of listing in the References section


did not have attached an Assignment Coversheet and/or a completed self-assessment form

40 36 35 28 27 20 19 12 11 1 0

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Project Progress Report

The assessment criteria and relative weighting that will be used in assessing the Project Progress Report is summarised in the following table.

Assessment Criteria – Project Progress Report


Extent and depth of research on topic

comprehensive range and variety of references sources which are all relevant to the topic area associated with research objectives

no gaps in references sources

good broad range of references that are mostly relevant and appropriate to the topic

all significant references included except for a few minor omissions

reasonable range of references from different sources

most significant references considered with some minor omissions

limited range of references and/or some that are not appropriate to the topic

some significant references were missing

poor range of references and/or many are not appropriate to the topic

many significant references were missing

little/no evidence of any research

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Critique and interpretation of the information and, justification of research objectives

all information has been appropriately critiqued and cross-referenced that demonstrated significant insight into topic

considered all up-to-date and relevant issues with no gaps in discussion on the topic

full integration of the appropriate sources e.g. differences in results, critiquing different theories

research objectives are all clearly defined with each being fully justified and clearly linked to the findings outlined in the literature review

good evidence of some information being critiqued with some insight into topic and some cross linkage

nearly all of the relevant information and issues were discussed with few gaps

most sources are well integrated e.g. differences in results, critiquing different theories

research objectives are well defined and each are adequately justified by the literature review

a mixture of critique and paraphrase of information with limited evidence of any significant insight being demonstrated

most of the major relevant information and issues were discussed

some effort made to integrate the variety of sources e.g. differences in results, critiquing different theories

research objectives are adequately defined though they are poorly justified and/or with tenuous links to the literature review

information has largely been paraphrased with little sight provided

some relevant information and/or issues were missing and/or inadequately discussed

limited effort made to integrate the variety of sources e.g. differences in results, critiquing different theories

research objectives are poorly defined or are poorly justified, – further consideration is required

little or no interpretation of information

large amounts of and/or some major relevant information and/or issues were not discussed

no/little effort made to integrate the variety of sources e.g. differences in results, critiquing different theories

research objectives are poorly defined and poorly justified – major revision is required

no critique or interpretation provided

no discussion of relevant information and/or issues

no statement and justification of research objectives

30 26 25 20 19 15 14 8 7 1 0

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Discussion on tasks, activities and resource requirements with link to research objectives

contains a comprehensive list of the various tasks and activities that need to be undertaken to achieve the objectives

detailed list of all required resources (materials and equipment) has been identified

demonstrated sufficient depth and quality of consideration to the tasks, activities and resources such that there is a high level of confidence the project outcomes can be achieved

contains all the various major tasks and activities and many of the minor tasks and activities that need to be undertaken to achieve the objectives

list of required resources (materials and equipment) has been identified

depth and quality of consideration has addressed most of the major tasks, activities and resources requirements with few minor omissions such that there is good level of confidence the project outcomes can be achieved

contains a list of many tasks and activities that need to be undertaken to achieve the objectives

list of some required resources (materials and equipment) has been identified

depth and quality of consideration has addressed many of the major tasks, activities and resources requirements with some omissions such that there is a reasonable level of confidence the project outcomes can be achieved

contains some tasks and activities but some important elements were not considered

incomplete list of the required resources missing many important resources (materials and equipment) has been identified

many omissions in tasks, activities and/or resources such that there is a low level of confidence the research objectives can be achieved – further consideration is required to this section

list is largely incomplete with significant gaps evident

limited list of the required resources (materials and equipment) has been identified

many major omissions in tasks, activities and/or resources such that there is very low level of confidence that the research objectives can be achieved – major revision required to this section

no list of tasks, activities and materials provided

no alignment with achieving the research objectives

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Project schedule

comprehensive schedule of all required activities and events was clearly and neatly indicated

all project milestones were identified.

all tasks on the project’s critical path were clearly identified and discussed

schedule appears to be realistic and practical demonstrating detailed level of planning with sufficient allowance given to contingencies such that there is a high level of confidence the project outcomes can be achieved on time

schedule of activities and events was provided

all major milestones were identified

tasks on the project’s critical path were clearly identified with some discussion

the schedule is realistic and clearly demonstrates good planning with reasonable allowance to contingencies such that there is good level of confidence the project outcomes can be achieved on time

reasonable schedule of activities and events was provided

some major milestones were identified

some tasks on the project’s critical path were identified though there was little discussion

schedule is reasonable with some minor issues such that there is a reasonable level of confidence the project outcomes can be achieved on time

incomplete schedule of activities and events was presented

few milestones were identified.

tasks on the project’s critical path were not identified and/or not discussed

schedule is poorly defined such that there is a low level of confidence the project objectives can be achieved on time – further consideration needs to be given to the schedule

haphazard schedule of activities and events was presented

no project milestones were identified

tasks on the project’s critical path were not identified and not discussed

schedule is unrealistic such that there is a very low level of confidence project objectives can be achieved on time – major revision of the schedule is required

no schedule of tasks and activities provided

no identification of project milestones

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

COURSE OUTLINE 18



Risk management plan

student, in the role of Project Manager, has considered all relevant and potential physical and process hazards associated with the project

applied an appropriate method to rate the risk of each hazard and ranked these risks to identified major risks

appropriate and comprehensive set of controls to manage all major risks that will contribute to successful project completion

student, in the role of Project Manager, has considered most of the relevant and potential physical and process hazards associated with the project

assigned appropriate rating and ranked the risks

defined appropriate controls to manage most major risks that will contribute to successful completion

student, in the role of Project Manager, has considered many of the relevant and potential physical and process hazards associated with the project

applied simple rating and ranking of the risks

appropriate controls defined for many of the major risks though lacks appropriate controls in some minor areas

student, in the role of Project Manager, has considered few of the relevant and potential physical and process hazards associated with the project

inappropriate rating or ranking the risks

poorly defined, inadequate and/or incomplete set of controls that do not address some major risks such that there is a low level of confidence the research objectives can be achieved – further consideration in managing the risks is required

student, in the role of Project Manager, has considered few or none of the relevant and potential physical and process hazards associated with the project

no rating and ranking of the risks

very few, inadequate and poorly defined controls such that there is a very low level of confidence project objectives can be achieved – major revision in managing the risks is required

no risk assessment provided

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

Contingency plans

detailed appropriate and realistic alternate action plans such that there is a high level of confidence the project outcomes can be safely achieved on time and within budget

reasonably appropriate alternate action plan(s) such that there is good level of confidence the project outcomes can be safely achieved on time and within budget

some consideration given to some an alternate action plan such that there is a reasonable level of confidence the project outcomes can be safely achieved on time and within budget

poor/little discussion on appropriate alternate action plan provided – further consideration is required in this section

unclear/confused/inappropriate and/or incomplete discussion of appropriate alternate action plan – major revision required to this section

no contingency plans provided

5 4 3 2 1 0

Conclusions

clear, concise and comprehensive statement of project objectives that reflects state of understanding of topic

all project management issues relevant have been identified

good statement of project objectives that reflect current state of understanding of topic

most of the major project management issues have been considered

reasonable statement of project objectives that reflect to some degree current state of understanding of topic

many of project management issues have been considered with some minor omissions

poorly revised project objectives that does not account for current state of understanding of topic

inadequate outline of the project management issues

project objective is ambiguous and/or does not account for current state of understanding of topic

poorly outlined project management issues

no concluding remarks about the project objectives and project plan were provided

5 4 3 2 1 0

19 COURSE OUTLINE



Referencing

all in-text citations were correct as per the RWG; and

all sources of information were referenced; and

all listings in the References section were correct and exactly in total accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG; and

there were no references missing from the References section

majority of in-text citations were correct with only a few minor errors; and

majority of sources of information were referenced with only a few minor exceptions; and

all listings in the References section were correct and in total accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG; and

there was only one reference missing from the References section

most in-text citations were correct though there were several minor errors; and

some information was not referenced; and

all listings in the References section were correct and in accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG with only a few very minor exceptions; and

there were only a few references missing from the References section

many errors with in-text citations; and/or

limited/poor range of references and/or not relevant to research topic; and/or

too little use of in-text citations and/or

several instances of information not being properly referenced to identify source of information; and/or

many errors in the References section and/or references were not correct and were not in accord with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG; and/or

there were several references missing from the References section

most in-text citations had errors; and/or

most references were not relevant to research topic; and/or

only a few references cited in the text to identify source of information; and/or

many instances of information not being properly referenced to identify source of information; and/or


References list was largely incomplete.

there was no References list and/or

References list not in required form; and/or

no details provided for References; and/or

no in-text citation of information sources; and/or

incorrect system of citing references with respect to RWG; and/or

did not conform with AusIMM referencing style as defined in the GTA and RWG.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

COURSE OUTLINE 20



Standard of report presentation

report structure contained all required sections as required for a formal technical report and was in accord with RWG; and

structure followed a logical progression; and

format of report was completely in accord with the report writing conventions detailed in RWG; and

use of tables, figures and equations was correct and completely in accord with the RWG with no errors; and

writing style was appropriate and completely in accord with a formal technical report; and

no spelling and grammatical errors etc in report.

report structure and contained all major elements; and

format was largely in accord with RWG with only a few minor errors; and

use of tables, figures and equations was largely correct with only a few minor errors; and

style was largely appropriate for a technical report with a few minor exceptions; and

largely free of spelling and grammatical errors.

report structure was mostly correct and/or some minor elements could have been added; and

format of report was mostly in accord with the RWG though it had some minor errors; and

use of tables, figures and equations was mostly correct though there were several minor errors; and

style was appropriate in most instances with some minor errors; and

several minor spelling and grammatical errors.

several issues with report structure and/or many minor errors and/or omissions; and/or

many issues with format of report as it deviated from RWG; and/or

several issues with use of tables, figures and/or equations; and/or

writing style was inappropriate in some instances; and/or

many instances of spelling and/or grammatical errors.

significant issues with report structure and/or many major errors and significant omissions; and/or

large number of significant major issues in format of report; and/or

use of tables, figures and/or equations was largely inconsistent with RWG; and/or

writing style was inappropriate in many instances; and/or

large number of spelling and/or grammatical errors.

information not presented as a formal technical report and/or not compliant with RWG; and/or

most essential elements of report structure were missing; and/or

report had no logical structure; and/or

significant amount of information was missing; and/or

format of report was not in accord with the RWG standards; and/or

use of tables, figures and/or equations was incorrect; and/or

inappropriate report writing style; and/or

major issues /numerous spelling and/or grammar errors; and/or


did not have attached an Assignment Coversheet and/or a completed self-assessment form

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

21 COURSE OUTLINE


Consultation with Supervisor

The assessment criteria and weighting that will be used in assessing the quality of the student consultations is summarised in the following table.

Assessment Criteria – Consultation with Supervisor


Quality of consultation

student maintained regular contact with academic supervisor (at least once a week), and

clearly demonstrated consistent effort and progress, and

discussed options to resolve issues related to project, and

was able to clearly demonstrate significant initiative and competence that contributed to successful completion of first stage of project

student maintained regular contact with academic supervisor (at least once a fortnight), and

demonstrated to a reasonable degree some effort and progress of project, and

discussed some issues related to project, and

demonstrated competence in completing project and was largely self-directed

student had intermittent contact with academic supervisor (at least once a month), and

indicated sporadic progress, and

some initiative in resolving issues

but had to be largely guided in project by Supervisor

student had infrequent contact with academic supervisor (e.g. two to four times during semester), and/or

little evidence to suggest otherwise that the project was not high on agenda and not left until final weeks before submission, and

little initiative demonstrated nor ownership shown of the project unless directed by Supervisor

student had very little contact if any with academic supervisor (perhaps only once for the semester), and/or

little evidence to suggest otherwise that large portion of the project was left till the last minute, and

lack of any initiative demonstrated nor ownership shown of the project

lack of any meaningful consultation by student with academic supervisor

5 4 3 2 1 0

COURSE OUTLINE 22


9. UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Assignment Submissions

All assignments submitted for assessment in this course must be made in accordance with the School Policy on Assignment Submissions, hereafter in this subsection termed the Policy. Details of the Policy can be found in the School Policies section of the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au /information-about/our-school/policies-procedures-guidelines >. Students are required to read the latest version of the Policy and be aware of the various requirements including submission requirements and academic integrity. Failure to adhere to the requirement and/or submit an assignment that is fully compliant with the Policy may result in forfeiture by the student of all marks for that assignment. An Assignment Coversheet must be attached to each assignment submitted for assessment whether the assignment is submitted in electronic or hardcopy form. The coversheet identifies the student, assignment, course and contains a declaration of academic integrity – see later section on Academic Honesty and Plagarism. Assignments not containing a fully completed copy of the official coversheet for the assignment will be deemed non-compliant and not marked resulting in the student will be awarded zero marks for the assignment. Each student assignment must also have attached at the end of the submission the requisite self-assessment form that contains the assessment criteria for the assignment which must be completed by the student. By default all assignments for courses in the School must be submitted as an electronic document. The submission requirements for electronic submissions are detailed in the Policy. All assignments submitted electronically may be submitted to Turnitin. In the case where a hardcopy submission of an assignment is required for an the assignment then the submission requirements for hardcopy submissions as detailed in the Policy must be followed. The student must attach to the front of the assignment a completed and signed copy of the appropriately coloured Assignment Coversheet for the particular Course Convenor which in this case is LIGHT GREEN. A copy of the coloured Coversheet is available from the Course Convenor one week before the assignment due date. Students are advised to retain a copy of every assignment submitted for assessment for their own record either in hardcopy or electronic form. From time to time assignments may be mislaid and a student can be asked to re-submit.

Late Submission of an Assignment In the normal course of events late submission of an assignment will automatically result in a zero mark being awarded to the student team for the assignment.

23 COURSE OUTLINE


The onus is on the student to ensure each course assignment is submitted on-time during normal business hours and no later than the required time on the due date as stated in the relevant assignment briefing document. For further details see Late Submissions in the School Policies section on the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/information-about/our-school/policies-procedures-guidelines >. See also the later section on Adverse Performance – Special Consideration. Late submission of the Project Proposal, Annotated Bibliography and/or Industry Seminar Reports will automatically lead to a zero (0) mark being awarded for that assignment – see the section on Adverse Performance – Special Consideration. In the case of the Project Progress Report, marks will be deducted by the Course Convenor at the following rates if not submitted by the due date:

fifteen (15) percentile points of the maximum possible mark for the first week overdue or part thereof; and

an additional five (5) percentile points for each week or part thereof therafter. For example if a student submitted the Project Progress Report ten days after the due date and the unadjusted assignment mark was 68% then the final adjusted mark for the assignment would be 48% – that is 68% (raw mark) less 15% (1st week penalty less a further 5% (2nd week penalty).

Unsatisfactory and/or Non-completion of Course A student who has not satisfactorily completed MINE4440 Mining Research Project I will not have met the prerequisite requirements and therefore will not be eligible to undertake MINE4450 Mining Research Project II.

Course Results For details on assessment policy, assessment process and an explanation of course results, see the Assessment Policy section in the School Policies section on the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/information-about/our-school/policies-procedures-guidelines >. In some instances a student’s final course result may be withheld and not released on the usual date. This is indicated by a course grade result of either:

WD – which usually indicates that the student has not completed one or more items of assessment or there is an issue with one or more assignment; or

WC – which indicates the student has applied for Special Consideration due to illness or misadventure and the course results have not been finalised.

In either event the onus in on the student to contact the Course Convenor as soon as practicable but no later than five (5) days after release of the course result. Failure to take this action will normally result in forfeiture of any additional assessment granted to the student. In which case the student may be required to re-submit an assignment or re-sit the final exam. Failure to contact the Course Convenor within the stated period may result in the student failing the course.

COURSE OUTLINE 24


If contact has not been made and/or course assessment has not been finalised by commencement of the following academic semester then the grade will be automatically altered to a course grade of NC (course not completed) in Week 2. This will require the student to re-enrol in the course at some later time.

Adverse Performance – Special Consideration In cases of illness or other extenuating circumstances that may have adversely impacted on a student’s performance in a course, it is recommended the student apply to Student Central for Special Consideration. It is incumbent on the student to contact the Course Convenor immediately following lodgement and acceptance of the Special Consideration preferably in person and no later than one week from lodgement. Failure to make contact can result in forfeiture for any consideration and subsequent finalisation of the mark for the assignment and/or course. Only following acceptance and official notification from the University, will any decision be made by the Course Convenor as to an appropriate response based the circumstances outlined by the student. For further information, see Special Consideration – Illness and Misadventure within the section on UNSW Policies on the School webpage at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au /information-about/our-school/policies-procedures-guidelines >.

Academic Honesty and Plagiarism The University has certain expectations in terms of academic behaviour related to study and research. This is expressed in the University Policy on Academic Misconduct. Students should be aware of and understand this Policy. For further information, see Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism in the section on UNSW Policies at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/information-about/our-school/policies-procedures-guidelines >. Plagiarism is one form of Academic Misconduct. It is the presentation of the thoughts or work of another as one’s own1. Examples include:

direct duplication of the thoughts or work of another, including by copying work, or knowingly permitting it to be copied. This includes copying material, ideas or concepts from a book, article, report or other written document (whether published or unpublished), composition, artwork, design, drawing, circuitry, computer program or software, web site, Internet, other electronic resource, or another person’s assignment without appropriate acknowledgement;

paraphrasing another person’s work with very minor changes keeping the meaning, form and/or progression of ideas of the original;

piecing together sections of the work of others into a new whole;

presenting an assessment item as independent work when it has been produced in whole or part in collusion with other people, for example, another student or a tutor; and,

1 Based on that proposed to the University of Newcastle by the St James Ethics Centre. Used with kind permission from the

University of Newcastle.

25 COURSE OUTLINE


claiming credit for a proportion a work contributed to a group assessment item that is greater than that actually contributed2.

Submitting an assessment item that has already been submitted for academic credit elsewhere may also be considered plagiarism. The inclusion of the thoughts or work of another with attribution appropriate to the academic discipline does not amount to plagiarism. Students are reminded of their Rights and Responsibilities in respect of plagiarism, as set out in the University Undergraduate and Postgraduate Handbooks, and are encouraged to seek advice from academic staff whenever necessary to ensure they avoid plagiarism in all its forms. The Learning Centre website is the central University on-line resource for staff and student information on plagiarism and academic honesty. It can be viewed at < www.lc.unsw.edu.au/plagiarism >. The Learning Centre also provides substantial educational written materials, workshops, and tutorials to aid students, for example, in:

correct referencing practices;

paraphrasing, summarising, essay writing, and time management;

appropriate use of and attribution for, a range of materials including text, images, formulae and concepts.

Individual assistance is available on request from The Learning Centre. Students are reminded that careful time management is an important part of study and one of the identified causes of plagiarism is poor time management. Students should allow sufficient time for research, drafting, and the proper referencing of sources in preparing all assessment items. In line with this university expectation, a student must attach to each assignment a fully completed official coversheet which contains a declaration of academic integrity. The following is an extra from an assignment coversheet.

Extract from an Assignment Coversheet ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS Before submitting this assignment, students are advised to review:

the assessment requirements contained in the briefing document for the assignment;

the various matters related to assessment in the relevant Course Outline; and

the Plagiarism and Academic Integrity website at < http:/www.lc.unsw.edu.au

/plagiarism/pintro.html > to ensure they are familiar with the requirements to provide

appropriate acknowledgement of source materials.

If after reviewing this material there is any doubt about assessment requirements then in the

first instance the student should consult with the Course Convenor and then if necessary with

the Director – Undergraduate Studies.

While students are generally encouraged to work with other students to enhance learning, all

assignments submitted for assessment by a student must be their entire own work and they

may be required to explain any or all parts of the assignment to the Course Convenor or other

authorised persons. Collusion is where another person(s) assists in the preparation of an

assignment without the consent or knowledge of the Course Convenor.

2 Adapted with kind permission from the University of Melbourne.

COURSE OUTLINE 26


Plagiarism and Collusion are considered as Academic Misconduct and will be dealt with

according to University Policy.

STUDENT DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC INTEGRITY I declare that:

This assessment item is entirely my own original work, except where I have

acknowledged use of source material [such as books, journal articles, other published

material, the Internet, and the work of other student/s or any other person/s].

This assessment item has not been submitted for assessment for academic credit in this, or

any other course, at UNSW or elsewhere.

I understand that:

The assessor of this assessment item may, for the purpose of assessing this item,

reproduce this assessment item and provide a copy to another member of the University.

The assessor may communicate a copy of this assessment item to a plagiarism checking

service (which may then retain a copy of the assessment item on its database for the

purpose of future plagiarism checking).

Continual Course Improvement

Periodically the process of course evaluation is undertaken. One aspect of this evaluation is feedback from students gathered by various means including:

UNSW's Course and Teaching Evaluation and Improvement (CATEI) which is an anonymous, on-line survey system.

Student feedback is taken seriously, and continual improvements are made to the course based in part on such feedback. Significant changes that are made to a course as a result of such student feedback will be communicated to students by the Course Convenor at commencement of semester when the course is next run.

Correspondence and Email Messages

University policy states that official correspondence with a student will be made using the university provided email address and that it expects students will regularly check their official university email account. The School assists in this by providing free access to computing facilities and the internet. In line with this policy, messages will be sent to students through their LTMS account. Students can retrieve messages from the mailbox in each LTMS course account.

Administrative Matters

Students should ensure they are familiar with the various policies related to expectations of students. Links to the Policies can be found on the School web page at < www.mining.unsw.edu.au/information-about/our-school/policies-procedures-guidelines >. Equity and diversity: those students who have a disability that requires some adjustment in their teaching or learning environment are encouraged to discuss their

27 COURSE OUTLINE


study needs with the course convener prior to, or at the commencement of, their course, or with the Equity Officer (Disability) in the Equity and Diversity Unit (< www.equity.unsw.edu.au/disabil.htm >). Issues to be discussed may include access to materials, signers or note-takers, the provision of services and additional exam and assessment arrangements. Early notification is essential to enable any necessary adjustments to be made. Information on designing courses and course outlines that take into account the needs of students with disabilities can be found at < www.secretariat.unsw.edu.au/acboardcom /minutes/coe/disabilityguidelines.pdf >.

Document Management:

Filename: CourseOutline_MINE4440_2013_130220.docx

Date last update: 20-Feb-13

Changes made by: Paul Hagan

Revision number: 6

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