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18.1 Computer Functions, Office Applications & Data Governance

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PRC Mining Engineer Licensure Examination Philippines

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1 Chapter 1: Surface Mining Methods & Pit Optimization

1.1 Surface Mining Unit Operations & Method Selection 1.2 Bench Geometry, Slope Stability & Geotechnical Pit Design 1.3 Cut-Off Grade Optimization & Lerchs-Grossmann Pit Limits

2 Chapter 2: Underground Mining Methods & Strata Control

2.1 Underground Mining Method Classification & Selection 2.2 Rock Mechanics, Stress Analysis & Strata Control 2.3 Underground Ground Support Systems & Excavation Design

3 Chapter 3: Materials Handling, Equipment & Mine Economics

3.1 Drilling, Blasting & Explosives Engineering 3.2 Mine Loading, Haulage & Materials Handling Systems 3.3 Mine Capital (CAPEX), Operating Costs (OPEX) & Financial Evaluation

4 Chapter 4: Mine Safety, Ventilation & Philippine Mining Laws

4.1 Mine Ventilation Network Analysis & Environmental Quality 4.2 Philippine Mine Safety Rules, Health & Disaster Prevention 4.3 Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (RA 7942), DAO 2010-21 & Mining Ethics

5 Chapter 5: Physical Geology, Mineralogy & Philippine Deposit Types

5.1 Structural Geology, Tectonics & Ore Controls 5.2 Igneous, Metamorphic & Sedimentary Ore Mineralogy 5.3 Major Philippine Ore Deposit Models

6 Chapter 6: Mineral Exploration, Geophysics & Core Logging

6.1 Geochemical & Remote Sensing Exploration Techniques 6.2 Geophysical Exploration Methods in Mining Geology 6.3 Diamond Drilling, Core Logging & QA/QC Protocols

7 Chapter 7: Geostatistics, Resource Estimation & PMRC Code

7.1 Ore Body Block Modeling & Spatial Variography 7.2 Inverse Distance & Ordinary Kriging Grade Estimation 7.3 Philippine Mineral Reporting Code (PMRC 2020) & Resource Classification

8 Chapter 8: Comminution, Sizing & Physical Mineral Separation

8.1 Crushing, Grinding & Bond Work Index Calculations 8.2 Particle Screening, Hydrocyclone Classification & Sizing 8.3 Gravity Concentration & Magnetic/Electrostatic Separation

9 Chapter 9: Froth Flotation & Extractive Hydrometallurgy

9.1 Froth Flotation Chemistry, Reagents & Cell Kinetics 9.2 Leaching Technologies (Heap, Agitation & Tank) 9.3 Precious Metal Recovery: CIP, CIL, Merrill-Crowe & Electrowinning

10 Chapter 10: Process Plant Flowsheets & Environmental Tailings Management

10.1 Metallurgical Plant Flowsheets & Pulp Mass Balances 10.2 Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) Design & Dam Safety 10.3 Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) Mitigation & Environmental Protection (EPEP/FMR/DP)

11 Chapter 11: 2025 PRC Blueprint, Prospecting Tools & Exploration Decisions

11.1 Official 2025 TOS, Three-Paper Structure & Exam Strategy 11.2 Prospecting Instruments, Base Maps & Surface Geological Mapping 11.3 Integrating Direct and Indirect Evidence for Exploration Decisions

12 Chapter 12: Mine Infrastructure, Sustainable Development & Climate

12.1 Power, Water, Drainage & Support-Facility Selection 12.2 Sustainable Development, Progressive Rehabilitation & Community Impact 12.3 Mining, Climate, Reforestation, Coal & Energy-Transition Minerals

13 Chapter 13: Mine Valuation, Financial Analysis & Due Diligence

13.1 Time Value of Money, Future Value & Present Value 13.2 Financial Statements, Mine Economics & External Price Drivers 13.3 Exploration Provenance, Technical Review & Legal Due Diligence

14 Chapter 14: Mine Organization, Communication & Accountable Leadership

14.1 Line and Staff Functions in a Mining Organization 14.2 Communication With Superiors, Peers & Subordinates 14.3 Authority, Responsibility, Delegation & Safety Accountability

15 Chapter 15: Philippine Mining Law, Indigenous Rights & Professional Ethics

15.1 Legal Hierarchy, Mineral Tenure & Compliance Analysis 15.2 Constitutional Participation, IPRA, FPIC & Ancestral Domains 15.3 RA 4274, Professional Scope, Ethics & Document Integrity

16 Chapter 16: Applied Mathematics & Mine Surveying

16.1 Engineering Mathematics for Safe, Efficient Mine Decisions 16.2 Survey Control, Instruments, Traverses & Error Adjustment 16.3 Topographic Maps, Underground Set-Out & Survey Timeliness

17 Chapter 17: Feasibility Studies, Data Quality & Project Decisions

17.1 Scoping, Pre-Feasibility & Final Feasibility Study Maturity 17.2 Data Accuracy, Assumption Control & Go/No-Go Decisions 17.3 Multidisciplinary Integration, Interfaces & Independent Review

18 Chapter 18: Mining Computer Applications, Digital Control & Global Developments

18.1 Computer Functions, Office Applications & Data Governance 18.2 Geological Modeling, Mine Planning, Scheduling & Valuation Software 18.3 Real-Time Control, Critical Minerals & Regional Mining Developments

19 Chapter 19: Earth Systems, Geologic Time & Philippine Hazards

19.1 Solar-System Origin, Earth Interior & Atmospheric Layers 19.2 Rock Cycle, Landforms & the Geologic Time Scale 19.3 Philippine Tectonics, Geologic Hazards & Mitigation

20 Chapter 20: Metallurgy, Foundry Practice & Assaying

20.1 Extractive, Physical & Adaptive Metallurgy Principles 20.2 Foundry Materials, Casting, Solidification & Defects 20.3 Sampling, Fire Assay, Cupellation, Parting & Assay Calculations

21 Chapter 21: Solid–Liquid Separation, Environmental Law & Mine Ecology

21.1 Thickening, Filtration & Solid–Liquid Separation 21.2 Philippine Air, Water, Waste & Hazardous-Substance Controls 21.3 Mine Ecology, Closure, Tailings, Waste & Community Livelihood

18.1 Computer Functions, Office Applications & Data Governance

Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI

The four basic computer functions are input, processing, storage, and output or movement, coordinated by control; mining systems apply all five concepts.

Word processors communicate controlled reports, spreadsheets calculate and analyze, presentations summarize decisions, and databases preserve structured relationships and constraints.

Spreadsheet quality requires separation of inputs, calculations and outputs, units, validation, protected formulas, version control, peer review, and independent reconciliation.

Data governance defines ownership, authoritative source, naming, access, backup, retention, cybersecurity, metadata, quality rules, and change history.

Automation accelerates both correct and incorrect work; users remain responsible for validating inputs, logic, outputs, and operational consequences.

Last updated: August 2026

Computer applications support nearly every mining decision, but software does not create reliable information automatically. A system receives input , performs processing , preserves storage , sends output or data movement , and uses control to coordinate operations. A fleet-dispatch system, for example, receives GNSS and payload inputs, calculates assignments, stores events, sends instructions, and applies permissions and logic.

  • Office Applications by Purpose
  • Word Processing

Use controlled templates, headings, cross-references, captions, citations, revision marks, comments, and approval metadata for reports and procedures. A report exported to PDF should retain the source, revision, approver, and appendices. Track changes is review evidence, not final content; accept or resolve edits deliberately.

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheets are effective for transparent calculations and exploration but fragile when formulas, units, and overrides are uncontrolled. Structure a workbook:

  • instructions and scope;
  • source inputs with units and references;
  • calculations separated by topic;
  • checks and reconciliation;
  • outputs and sensitivity; and

change log and approval.

Avoid hard-coded values inside formulas. Use data validation, named ranges cautiously, protected cells, consistent signs, and error handling that does not hide failures. Inspect formulas across rows and columns for discontinuity. Test limiting cases and reproduce a sample independently.

Presentations

A presentation summarizes a decision; it should not conceal uncertainty with simplified graphics. Label data dates, units, assumptions, and source. Use a clear takeaway, evidence, alternatives, risk, and requested decision. Keep the technical report as the auditable record.

Databases

Relational databases store entities in linked tables with keys, types, constraints, and controlled transactions. A drillhole system separates collar, survey, geology, sample, assay, density, and QA/QC tables linked by identifiers and intervals. Constraints can prevent overlapping samples or assays without a sample record. A spreadsheet copy is not a substitute for the controlled database.

  • Data Quality Dimensions
  • completeness: required records exist;
  • validity: type and range conform;
  • consistency: related fields agree;
  • uniqueness: duplicates are controlled;
  • accuracy: values reflect the source or reference;
  • timeliness: data are current for the decision; and

lineage: origin and transformation are traceable.

A zero, blank, not sampled, below detection, and not applicable are different states. Encoding them all as zero corrupts analysis.

Governance and Access

Assign a data owner accountable for meaning and quality and a custodian responsible for technical management. Define authoritative repositories, naming, metadata, permissions, retention, and approval. Use least-privilege access: users receive only permissions needed for their role. Separate development, test, and production systems where practical.

Version control should identify who changed what, when, why, and under which approved request. Hashes or signed releases can confirm that the model reviewed is the model used.

Backup and Recovery

A backup exists only if it can be restored. Use multiple copies, different media, and an off-site or logically isolated copy proportionate to risk. Define recovery-point objective (acceptable data loss) and recovery-time objective (acceptable outage). Test restoration, including application configuration and access—not just raw files.

Cybersecurity and Operational Technology

Phishing, ransomware, weak remote access, shared accounts, removable media, and unpatched systems can disrupt dispatch, ventilation, pumping, processing, or laboratory data. Segment operational technology from business networks, control vendor access, use multi-factor authentication where appropriate, log changes, and maintain manual safe-state procedures. Safety systems should fail predictably when communications are lost.

Spreadsheet Example

A production workbook calculates tonnes as volume times density. One row uses density in kg/m3 while other rows use t/m3, overstating tonnes by 1,000. Dimensional checks and a range rule would flag the result. A chart that looks smooth does not validate the underlying units.

Exam Trap

The most sophisticated software is not necessarily the correct answer. Select the application that matches the data structure and decision, then state validation, access, backup, and review controls.

Formula Assurance

For a high-impact workbook, use a second person to inspect formula consistency, named ranges, external links, circular references, hidden rows, macros, and manual overrides. Reconcile control totals after every import. Lock the approved release as read-only and distribute a checksum or controlled link. If users email editable copies, the organization soon has several plausible sources of truth.

Responsible Automation

Scripts and macros should have an owner, purpose, input schema, tests, error logging, and change control. They must fail visibly on missing or invalid input instead of converting an error to zero. Retain enough documentation for another competent person to reproduce the process.