The Business of Mining
Mining underpins much of our technology and industries as well as modern society in general. A successful mine should be run efficiently and responsibly from exploration through to closure, with sound economic management every step of the way. In this course you’ll examine the business aspect of mining, focusing on the life cycle of a gold mine and discovering the technical and economic issues that affect the exploration, planning, operation and closure of a large-scale mining project.
The Business of Mining has recently won the Best in Class in the University category of the Interactive Media Awards in the USA. The judging criteria included design, content, feature functionality, usability, standards compliance and cross-browser compatibility.
- By the end of this course you will be able to:Discover how new mineral deposits are found and examine the economic factors that govern their development.
- Plan the complete life cycle of a mine, from initial infrastructure requirements through to operation, closure and rehabilitation.
- Experience the 'living plan' of a mine and see how extraction and processing of minerals is constantly adjusted to suit market conditions.
- Investigate how economics and market forces influence the decision to close a mine.

Felix is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University and a Fellow of the Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand. He joined the School of Economics and Finance in 2006 as a Senior Lecturer. He was previously appointed as a Statistical Analyst for the WA Police Service in 2004 and Australian Post-Doctoral Fellow Industry (APDI) in 2005. Felix was also co-founder and partner of Insight Horizon Consulting.
Felix has published in a number of international referred journals such as: Journal of Econometrics, Econometric Theory, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Econometric Reviews, Scientometrics, Tourism Management, Applied Economics, Mathematics and Computers in Simulation and Environmental Modelling and Software. He is an investigator of several projects funded by the Australian Research Council and actively engaged in research with various industry partners including the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority and Chamber of Commerce and Industry (WA).


