The course will address a range of rock cutting and mechanised rock excavation techniques applied in the mining industry. Fundamental engineering excavation mechanics will include: principles of coal and rock cutting mechanics; the performance of picks and free rolling cutters; cutting tool interaction; the design of cutting arrays for machine mining and tunnelling; impact breakage of rock; drill bit design and breakage mechanics; cutting tool materials and the effects of wear; methods of assessing rock cuttability; water jet cutting and water jet assisted drilling and cutting. Applications including full face and partial mining machines, drilling technologies and tunnel boring machines will be reviewed.