Careers › Engineering

How to become a Mining / Metallurgical Engineer

Gets minerals out of the ground safely and turns ore into usable metal.

This needs more than the degree

An engineering degree alone doesn’t make you a Professional Engineer. You register with ECSA as a Candidate Engineer after graduating, then need several years of supervised experience and a professional review before you can register as a Pr Eng and sign off your own work.

What does a Mining / Metallurgical Engineer actually do?

More about this career

Mining engineers plan how a mine is dug safely and efficiently – ventilation, rock support, extraction method – while metallurgical engineers take what comes out of the ground and turn it into usable metal. Both spend real time underground or on-site, not just in an office, especially early in their careers.

Where this degree can take you

  • Metallurgical Engineer
  • Mine Planning Engineer
  • Rock Engineer
  • Mineral Processing Engineer

This is our general description of the role and related jobs, not from an official source – it’s here to give you a fuller picture, not as a careers-counselling guarantee.

Not from an official source

Subjects that usually help

  • Mathematics
  • Physical Sciences

This is our general guidance about which school subjects suit this career. It is not an admission requirement and not from an official source – the real requirements are on the degrees below.

Not from an official source

Where to check this yourself

What the programmes we’ve captured actually ask for

  • Mathematics – asked for by 9 of 9 programmes
  • Physical Sciences – asked for by 9 of 9 programmes
  • Technical Mathematics – asked for by 4 of 9 programmes
  • Technical Sciences – asked for by 2 of 9 programmes

Counted from the requirements below (an “or” alternative counts for each subject named). Each programme links to the page it came from.

Programmes that lead here

9 programmes at 5 universities. More are added as we verify them.

University of Johannesburg

BEngTech in Mining Engineering

Engineering & the Built Environment · 3 years

UJ APS 23 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more) OR Technical Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more) OR Technical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

CONFIRMED 2026-10-02 against the user-supplied 2027 Undergraduate Prospectus PDF (MINING ENGINEERING, B6MINQ): APS 23, English 4 (50%+), Mathematics/Technical Mathematics 5 (60%+), Physical/Technical Science 5 (60%+), 3 years.

Source: View the official page (uj.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

BEngTech in Extraction Metallurgy

Engineering & the Built Environment · 3 years

UJ APS 30 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more) OR Technical Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

Read from the 2027 UJ Undergraduate Prospectus, page 60, programme code B6EXTQ. Technical Science not accepted.

Source: View the official page (uj.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

BEngTech in Physical Metallurgy

Engineering & the Built Environment · 3 years

UJ APS 30 points

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more) OR Technical Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

Read from the 2027 UJ Undergraduate Prospectus, page 60, programme code B6PY2Q. Technical Science not accepted.

Source: View the official page (uj.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of Pretoria

BEng Metallurgical Engineering

Engineering, Built Environment & IT · 4 years

UP APS 35 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 6 (70% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 6 (70% or more)

Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results. A 5-year extended BEng route (previously ENGAGE) exists at APS 33 with English, Mathematics and Physical Sciences at 65%.

Source: View the official page (drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

BEng Mining Engineering

Engineering, Built Environment & IT · 4 years

UP APS 35 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 6 (70% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 6 (70% or more)

Most UP closing dates are 30 June; Veterinary Science closes 31 May. Grade 12 applicants apply with their final Grade 11 results. A 5-year extended BEng route (previously ENGAGE) exists at APS 33 with English, Mathematics and Physical Sciences at 65%.

Source: View the official page (drupalwebprod-files.up.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of South Africa

No cut-off published

Diploma in Mining Engineering

Science, Engineering & Technology

No points cut-off published for this one – see the note below.

  • English: level 4 if it is your Home Language, level 4 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more) OR Technical Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 4 (50% or more) OR Technical Sciences: level 4 (50% or more)

Read 2026-10-04 from Unisa’s own qualification page (code 90140). NSC with Diploma endorsement (or equivalent). Unisa states percentages, not an APS, on this page. Mathematical Literacy is not accepted. Confirmed current for the 2027 intake: Unisa’s own pages state its 2027 application window as 17 August - 9 October 2026.

Source: View the official page (unisa.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

University of the Witwatersrand

BSc (Eng) Metallurgy and Materials Engineering

Engineering & the Built Environment · 4 years

Wits APS 42 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

Wits notes that level 5 across the board means you are likely to be wait-listed; level 6 is advised. Confirmed unchanged by a direct fetch of the 2027 course-finder page (2026-10-01 spot-check).

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

BSc (Eng) Mining Engineering

Engineering & the Built Environment · 4 years

Wits APS 42 points

  • English: level 5 if it is your Home Language, level 5 if it is your First Additional Language
  • Mathematics: level 5 (60% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 5 (60% or more)

Wits notes that level 5 across the board means you are likely to be wait-listed; level 6 is advised. Confirmed unchanged by a direct fetch of the 2027 course-finder page (2026-10-01 spot-check).

Source: View the official page (wits.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Vaal University of Technology

Diploma in Metallurgical Engineering

Engineering & Technology · 3 years

VUT APS 24 points

  • English: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Mathematics: level 4 (50% or more)
  • Physical Sciences: level 4 (50% or more)

Read 2026-10-04 from the VUT 2027 Undergraduate Minimum Admission Requirements poster (page images). Mainstream 3-year diploma: APS 24 with at least level 4 in Mathematics, Physical Sciences and English. From VUT’s 2027 Undergraduate Minimum Admission Requirements PDF. Academic applications close 30 September 2026 (residences 31 October 2026); fee R110.

Source: View the official page (vut.ac.za) (opens the official page) · 2027 intake

Are your marks enough?

Put your subjects in once and we’ll check them against every programme above – scored each university’s own way.

What do I qualify for?