Mine Water Fundamentals

You’ll focus on GIS, hydrology and flood risk, and groundwater – essential knowledge that will form the basis for further studies in managing mine water. 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

An ArcGIS Pro license is required. If it is not available through employment conditions, a personal ArcGIS Pro licence can be purchased on Esri’s website for US$100 for a 1-year licence.

Computer system requirements

Preferably 16GB of RAM (memory); 8GB is recommended as a minimum.

All GIS workflows that are provided in the courses were tested with 16GB memory system, Intel i7 processor (3GHz), Intel Iris Xe integrated GPU (8GB), Samsung NVMe SSD.

What you'll learn

• How to prepare and analyse GIS data effectively.
• Interpret and understand the water cycle, rainfall runoff and hydrological modelling as it applies to mine sites.
• Understand and define the core aspects of hydrogeology, including groundwater field investigations and modelling.

Time commitment

This is an online course that will require roughly 50 hours to complete.

• Over 1 semester
• Enrolments are accepted until 14 April 2026
• If you enrol early, you can start as soon as 3 March 2025

Course curriculum

Geographic Information System (GIS)Hydrology and Flood RiskGroundwater

Assessment

This course has 3 assessments – 1 for each key subject area.

Certification and accreditation

Students who successfully complete the course will receive a Certificate of Completion to verify their skills and achievements.

Facilitators

Dr Pascal Bolz Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining (CERM)
View Dr Pascal Bolz's profile

Professor Neil McIntyre Group Leader, Regional Water & Land Resources, Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining (CERM)
View Professor Neil McIntyre's profile

Dr Louisa Rochford Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining (CERM)
View Dr Louisa Rochford's profile