PE Mining study guide
PE Mining · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) exam in Mining and Mineral Processing is one of the more than 20 PE discipline exams offered by NCEES. It is a computer-based licensure exam that tests for a minimum level of competency in the discipline; NCEES describes the PE exam generally as designed for engineers who have gained a minimum of four years of post-college work experience in their chosen engineering field. The PE Mining study guide has 6 sections and about 1,885 words.
01Mining Methods and Mine Planning
Surface versus underground is decided economically, not geologically. A pit is deepened only while the incremental stripping ratio (waste tonnes per ore tonne in the next pushback) stays below the break-even ratio (BER).
305 words, about 2 min02Geotechnical Engineering and Ground Control
RMR (Bieniawski), Q (Barton) and GSI (Hoek) describe the same rock mass from different angles. Q = (RQD/Jn)(Jr/Ja)(Jw/SRF).
310 words, about 2 min03Drilling and Blasting
ANFO is cheap and safe but degrades in water and is low density; emulsions and heavy ANFO are water-resistant and more energetic. Know density, velocity of detonation (VOD), relative weight and bulk strength, and critical diameter.
323 words, about 2 min04Mine Ventilation and Environmental Control
Airflow is area times velocity: Q = A × V. Pressure loss follows the Atkinson equation, P = kCLQ²/A³, usually written P = RQ² with R the resistance.
321 words, about 2 min05Materials Handling and Mineral Processing
Materials handling links stopes to the mill: LHDs and trucks in stopes, ore passes, conveyors and hoists. Truck productivity is driven by cycle time (load, haul, dump, return, queue) and payload - measure tonnes per operating hour, not kilometres travelled.
315 words, about 2 min06Mine Economics, Health, and Safety
Value is created through discounted cash flow. NPV = Σ CFt/(1+r)^t; IRR is the discount rate at which NPV = 0; payback ignores time value and is a screening tool only.
311 words, about 2 min