Mining the Future - 2021 entry

What raw materials will be needed in the future, where will they come from and how will they be extracted? This research-centred module will enable you to learn about what mining may look like in 10 or 20 years’ time and also learn some of the skills required to innovate and change. With lectures on current topics from researchers and leading practitioners, seminars, and your own supervised investigations, this module will help prepare you for future leadership and development roles.

Knowledge of undergraduate geology is assumed together with a preliminary knowledge of mining, such as obtained from the CSMM135 Economics, Processing & Environment modules which is a pre- or co-requisite.

The module will teach a range of topics to cover some of the most exciting developments likely to revolutionise mining and provision of raw materials in the future. The topics will change from year to year to keep up with current research and innovation. Examples of likely topics include automation and remote mining, combining geothermal and mine waters, future manufacturing needs, life cycle assessment, circular economy, responsible sourcing, space mining, deep sea mining, , closing oil and coal and how mining maps to the Sustainable Development Goals. The aim is to present a range of topics so that all course participants have a good overview. Seminars will facilitate more discussion and understanding. A deeper understanding of two topics will come from assignments involving independent research and writing. These will help with learning and understanding about the innovations themselves, and how research is translated to industry innovation and change. 

On successful completion of this module you should be able to:

Topics include automation, remote mining, ‘solution mining’, remote sensing, ‘big data’, artificial intelligence, geothermal and mine waters, future manufacturing needs, critical raw materials, Life Cycle Assessment, Circular economy, including combining primary and secondary raw materials, Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) and responsible sourcing, New frontiers – space mining, deep sea mining, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Closing oil and coal, leadership skills for creativity, innovation, interdisciplinary working and managing change. The topics will be presented as a series of lectures by university staff and guest lecturers. The plan is to have two lectures, usually one a general introduction and a more in detailed view of a particular part of the topic and then a seminar to facilitate further discussions on each topic. For example:

Week 1 – Intro  lecture and session on leadership skills (FW)

Week 2 - How will we mine  (DV)    Guest lecture e.g. on automated mining, narrow vein mining, seminar (DV)

Week 3 - What resources will we need  (FW) Guest lecture  Seminar (FW)

Week 4 –‘Big Data, IoT (guest lecture) Satellite applications (Guest lecture, e.g. Sat Cat.)   Seminar (FW)

Week 5 – Mining in Space (guest)  Mining in the deep oceans (guest) Seminar (FW)

Week 6  -  Life Cycle Assessment (Guest) Circular economy (Guest lecture e.g Business School) Seminar (FW)  

Week 7 – ESG and SDGs lecture (FW), Guest lecture, seminar

Week 8 – seminars on assignments, further guest lecture

Week 9  - 11 assignments/provide flexibility for weeks where students are on mapping classes etc.

Students will each choose two aspects of the topics presented that particularly interest them and do two pieces of assessed work: an article or other presentation aimed at the general public, and a longer report and discussion that will contain either literature review or some original research such as structured 

Resubmission of either the article for public audience or Report on a topic of innovation depending on overall module performance. All referral marks are capped at 50%.

Basic reading:

• Lecture notes will be provided, and lectures will be video captured where possible. They will be suitable for online delivery, e.g. by MS Teams. Guest lecturers will be asked to suggest further reading.
• Most learning will come from papers, online research and direct from researchers and companies rather than from text books
• Links to general reference text books and relevant background materials in other modules will be given as relevant to the topics being covered

Web-based and electronic resources:

Further reading will involve websites (such as company websites) and journal papers available as online resources

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

A list of web resources and academic papers are available through ELE. In addition, the course site contains comprehensive online resources including lectures, PowerPoint presentations, documents and reference material in pdf format, mp3 podcasts, videos, e-tivities, discussion boards; and links to the University of Exeter electronic library and its comprehensive resources.

Other resources:

• Research may also be done direct with company staff, e.g. via a structured interview

Reading list for this module: