Mining Economics Course

Lesson 1 • Core Economic Concepts for Mining

Covers supply and demand, elasticity, and market equilibrium as they apply to mineral commodities. Builds the analytical vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • The Mining Industry Overview

Introduces the structure, scale, and economic significance of the global mining sector. Provides the industry context needed for all subsequent economic analysis.

Lesson 3 • Mining Business Models

Surveys ownership structures, operating models, and revenue mechanisms in mining. Grounds students in how mining enterprises generate and distribute value.

Lesson 1 • Cost Drivers and Sensitivity

Analyses labour, energy, consumables, and grade as primary cost drivers. Prepares students to identify which variables most affect project economics.

Lesson 2 • Cost Control and Reduction Strategies

Presents operational and strategic approaches to managing and reducing mining costs. Links cost discipline to long-term project viability and competitiveness.

Lesson 3 • Cost Estimation Methods

Covers factored, parametric, and bottom-up estimation techniques for mining projects. Equips students to select and apply the appropriate method by project stage.

Lesson 4 • Unit Cost Metrics and Benchmarking

Introduces cost-per-tonne, all-in sustaining cost, and all-in cost metrics. Enables comparison of operational efficiency across mines and commodities.

Lesson 1 • Revenue Calculation and Payability

Explains how gross revenue is adjusted for payability, penalties, and treatment charges. Connects commodity price to net smelter return and realised revenue.

Lesson 2 • Production Scheduling and Revenue Profiles

Links mine production schedules to annual revenue projections over the project life. Demonstrates how grade, throughput, and price interact to shape cash flow timing.

Lesson 3 • Price Forecasting Approaches

Covers consensus, long-run marginal cost, and scenario-based price forecasting methods. Students learn to select and justify price assumptions in project evaluations.

Lesson 1 • Model Validation and Auditing

Presents techniques for checking model integrity, logic, and consistency. Builds professional standards for delivering reliable financial models to decision-makers.

Lesson 2 • Taxation and Royalty Modeling

Explains corporate income tax, resource rent tax, and royalty regimes in financial models. Ensures accurate after-tax cash flow projections for project evaluation.

Lesson 3 • Capital Structure and Financing

Covers debt, equity, and hybrid financing options and their effect on project cash flows. Enables students to model financing structures and assess their economic impact.

Lesson 4 • Building the Project Cash Flow Model

Guides construction of a life-of-mine cash flow model integrating revenue, costs, and taxes. Produces the core analytical tool for investment decision-making.

Lesson 1 • Discounted Cash Flow Valuation

Applies NPV and IRR analysis to life-of-mine cash flow models. Enables students to rank projects and set investment thresholds using standard industry metrics.

Lesson 2 • Time Value of Money in Mining

Establishes present value, future value, and discounting concepts in a mining context. Provides the mathematical foundation for all valuation techniques in this chapter.

Lesson 3 • Sensitivity and Scenario Analysis

Quantifies how changes in price, grade, and cost assumptions affect project value. Teaches structured methods for communicating valuation uncertainty to stakeholders.

Lesson 4 • Comparative and Market Valuation

Covers enterprise value per resource, price-to-NAV, and transaction multiples for mining assets. Provides market-based checks on DCF valuations for investment decisions.

Lesson 1 • Probabilistic Risk Quantification

Applies Monte Carlo simulation and probability distributions to project cash flows. Produces probabilistic NPV and IRR distributions for informed decision-making.

Lesson 2 • Risk Mitigation and Contingency Planning

Designs risk registers, contingency budgets, and insurance strategies for mining projects. Connects risk identification to actionable mitigation plans and cost provisions.

Lesson 3 • Commodity Price Risk Management

Covers hedging instruments including forwards, futures, and options for price risk. Enables students to evaluate the cost and benefit of price protection strategies.

Lesson 4 • Mining Risk Taxonomy

Categorises geological, technical, market, regulatory, and social risks in mining. Establishes a shared risk language used throughout the chapter and course.

Lesson 1 • Study Stages and Accuracy Standards

Defines scoping, pre-feasibility, and feasibility study levels and their cost accuracy ranges. Establishes the progression of study rigour required before capital commitment.

Lesson 2 • Economic Criteria and Decision Thresholds

Establishes NPV, IRR, and payback thresholds used by mining companies to approve projects. Teaches how to interpret economic results against corporate investment criteria.

Lesson 3 • Technical Inputs to Feasibility Studies

Covers geology, mining method, processing, and infrastructure inputs to economic models. Shows how technical assumptions directly drive financial outcomes in feasibility work.

Lesson 4 • Stage-Gate Review Process

Explains the governance process for advancing projects through study and approval gates. Prepares students to participate in and lead investment decision reviews.

Lesson 1 • Closure Economics and Asset Retirement

Quantifies closure costs, rehabilitation obligations, and asset retirement provisions. Integrates end-of-mine-life economics into full life-cycle project valuation.

Lesson 2 • Corporate Strategy in Mining

Examines growth, diversification, and focus strategies used by mining companies. Connects corporate strategy to asset selection, capital allocation, and shareholder value.

Lesson 3 • Mine Life Extension and Brownfield Economics

Analyses the economics of resource extension, expansion, and brownfield development. Demonstrates why brownfield projects often deliver superior returns to greenfield alternatives.

Lesson 4 • Capital Allocation Across the Portfolio

Applies portfolio theory and capital rationing to competing mining investment opportunities. Teaches prioritisation frameworks that maximise returns across a project pipeline.