Skills for the Future
First published in the September 2025 issue of Quarry Management
Skill up with the EPC-UK, UoD and IQ Diploma in Surface Mining Explosives Engineering
Registration is open for industry learners to enrol on the next accredited Diploma in Surface Mining Explosives Engineering, a ‘future skills’ course produced through collaboration by EPC Groupe, the University of Derby (UoD), and the Institute of Quarrying (IQ).
The groundbreaking, one-year, Level 5 course is a globally recognized programme and has been created to meet the growing need for specialist knowledge and skills across the mineral products sector. The next course begins this month (September 2025) with a second cohort starting in March 2026.
Design and delivery
Delivery of the qualification is predominantly online for ‘work schedule compatibility’ with classroom elements expertly taught by senior lecturer Chris Rowan, formerly of the Centre for Mineral Products at UoD, at EPC-UK’s Learning & Development Centre in Alfreton, Derbyshire. Since the programme’s developmental stages, Mr Rowan, who now works for EPC-UK, has worked passionately to apply his own knowledge and expertise to writing the modules alongside field experts, namely: EPC-UK’s Dr Rob Farnfield, Dr Geoff Adderley, and Dan Richards; EPC Groupe’s Javier Munoz; and IQ’s Julian Smallshaw. In the classroom, Mr Rowan’s delivery is enhanced with sessions by Dr Adderley and Mr Richards.
The diploma programme focuses on enhancing professionalism, safety, and competence within the surface mining, mineral extractives, explosives products, drilling and blasting, and services sector. Studying for the diploma will set learners on a ‘pathway to industry’ at Level 5 and offer the potential for them to specialize further within the extractive industries field.
Course highlights:
Business Ethics; Geology; Geotechnical Engineering; Health and Safety; Environmental Management; Learning, Thinking and Study Skills; Explosives; Initiation Techniques; and New Technology.
‘The diverse range of subjects we’ve woven into the course programme have been designed to give learners a better knowledge base regarding the surface mining and quarrying industries, helping them to develop lifelong learning benefits such as health and well-being, enhanced professional competence, and personal growth and self-improvement,’ said Mr Rowan.
What learners are saying:
‘Excellent course, informative and inspiring.’
‘The tutor’s knowledge and experience of the subjects makes learning more interesting.’
‘The course material is excellent.’
‘Chris has exceptional experience and is very passionate about his work.’
‘A well-developed programme with a wide variety of relevant topics.’
‘Good teamwork, bonding and networking…and we even started a WhatsApp group.’
‘I feel more confident about my learning.’
‘The course is well delivered by expert mining and drilling and blasting professionals.’
‘The tuition made us feel comfortable and at ease, encouraging engagement from all those involved.’
Skills for the future
‘We want to get the best out of our learners, so have included the development of metacognitive and lifelong learning skills within the diploma programme,’ said Mr Rowan. ‘This not only improves professional competence but also career outlooks, aspirations, and opportunities. It gives learners greater capabilities for their employers to benefit from too, and encourages more confident leadership and management skills, adaptability, and resilience, as well as better cultural awareness and global understanding.
‘Lifelong learning is an area I feel truly passionate about, enjoying the challenge of developing non-traditional learners who pursue higher education at later stages of their lives. The new skills harnessed can increase a learner’s confidence, self-esteem, and also serve to achieve a more satisfying personal life, something I have witnessed happen with the first two course cohorts.’
Biographies
Chris Rowan
Chris Rowan has more than 45 years’ experience in the mineral extractives industry in the UK, the Middle East, and Africa. Among his significant achievements have been setting up a flagship asphalt production and laying business in Qatar, and assisting in the development of early lasers and software to profile quarry faces whilst working as a quarry manager in North Yorkshire. In a specialist capacity, he worked in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, and in both Nigeria and Zambia he took on safety roles to improve the use of explosives, drilling operations, and shotfiring practices. In Nigeria, he consulted for a large cement producer with relation to blast designs and bench and face design.
Mr Rowan joined the University of Derby’s Centre for Mineral Products as programme leader for the Asphalt Technology programmes, then took on the role of programme leader for Mineral Extractives and Cement in 2017. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Quarrying and the current chair of the Derbyshire branch. He has also gained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and HE level 4 teaching status through his postgraduate Cert in Higher Education.
Chris.Rowan@epc-groupe.co.uk
Dr Geoff Adderley
Dr Adderley is a Chartered Engineer with more than 18 years’ experience in the mining and explosives industry across operational, consultancy, commercial, and academic positions. Originally trained as a mining engineer at Camborne School of Mines, he has worked in the UK and internationally across the surface and underground mining sectors.
Dr Adderley has a specific interest in research and development and has published multiple papers and a thesis on the advancement of blasting practices. He has been recently appointed as head of engineering (explosives and blasting) having previously gained experience at EPC-UK as a commercial manager and senior explosives engineer. In this role he leads delivery of the wider explosives training portfolio offered by EPC-UK, including Shotfiring and Explosives Supervisor courses taught both in the UK and internationally. Dr Adderley is also a member of the QNJAC Drilling & Blasting working group, and FEEM Blasting working group.
Dan Richards
Dan Richards also trained at Camborne School of Mines. He too is a Chartered Engineer and comes from a strong academic background. He has worked overseas as a graduate blast technician and his field experience has given him an in-depth knowledge of subjects related to blast design, environmental compliance, use of drones, and blast performance analysis.
Mr Richards joined EPC-UK in 2018 and transferred to EPC Metrics in 2022. Since then, he has been appointed to the role of senior explosives engineer. His specialisms involve problem solving for technical challenges, consultancy, and the delivery role he performs within EPC-UK’s Learning & Development department.
An advanced qualification
‘On behalf of IQ, I’d like to say what a privilege it’s been to successfully produce a Level 5 qualification, the first of its kind in the UK, validated by the University of Derby. This course is a valuable tool to support career development within our industry, creating a long-term objective to promote progressive improvements in all aspects of operational performance through education and training,’ said IQ chief executive officer James Thorne.
An altruistic approach
EPC-UK’s managing director and IQ president, Ben Williams, commented: ‘I’m very proud of EPC Groupe’s collaborative success in developing the educational materials for this course. We’re a company committed to building expertise and sharing our learning content through bodies including MPQC, IQ, and IExpE, so we can help to improve, update, and educate the industry for everyone’s benefit. The sectors we support are evolving to perform more sustainably, and blasting processes are becoming increasingly integral to creating the civil engineering, renewable energy, and UK mining projects needed to encourage security and sustainability. This leads effective training in the use of commercial explosives here in the UK to be ever more important and I would strongly recommend anyone looking to progress within our industry to investigate opportunities such as these.’
The revised Explosives in Quarrying handbook, launched at the end of 2023, supports the Blasting Diploma and provides complementary learning material for all the EPC-UK delivered blasting courses. For more details, visit: learning.quarrying.org; or to register course interest, email: mail@quarrying.org
To find out more about EPC-UK’s course of learning programmes, visit: www.epc-groupe.co.uk/training-courses/; tel: 01773 832253; or email: Learning@epc-groupe.co.uk.
Subscribe to Quarry Management, the monthly journal for the mineral products industry, to read articles before they appear on Agg-Net.com
