APPSC Assistant Director (Mines) 2026: 450-Mark CBRT and Full Official Mining Engineering Syllabus

Notification 31/2026 | Exam scheme and syllabus from the officially issued 10-page brief, pages 3–5 | Exam date not announced.

This is a single-level objective Computer-Based Recruitment Test, not a Prelims-and-Mains process. The General Studies section and the Mining Engineering section have the same number of questions, but a 1:2 weight in marks. Multi-session score normalization may be used when APPSC considers it applicable. The separate CPT has a different function and is described in its own page.

Examination scheme: exact numbers

Negative marking: One-third of each question's marks is deducted for a wrong answer. Since Paper-I carries one mark per question, its wrong-answer deduction is ⅓. Since Paper-II carries two marks per question, its wrong-answer deduction is ⅔. The notification does not state a separate penalty for not attempting a question.

Paper-I: General Studies & Mental Ability — the ten notified topics

The syllabus does not publish a question quota for any of these ten topics. A 150-question Paper-I should not be falsely divided into 15 questions per topic. Andhra Pradesh-specific current affairs, history and geography appear explicitly in the list.

Paper-II: Mining Engineering — eleven numbered official syllabus heads

1. Geology, rock structures and field mapping

The published scope begins with structural geology—folds, faults, joints, unconformities, bedding, lineation, foliation, fractures and cleats—followed by field geology and geological mapping. The useful connection is between a mapped geological structure and the conditions encountered during mine development. Survey instruments are included in this topic.

2. Principles of stratigraphy

The paper specifically names stratigraphy as a distinct head. Read sequences of rock units, their relationships and the interpretative principles rather than assuming the geology section is entirely structural geology.

3. Exploratory drilling and borehole interpretation

The notice covers site selection, drilling layouts, equipment, drilling methods and their variations, and interpretation of borehole data. It tests the relationship between an investigation plan and evidence collected underground, not drilling equipment names in isolation.

4. Explosives and blasting

Learn classification and types of explosives, safe storage and transport, and blasting techniques for underground and open-cast mines. Regulatory and hazard questions connect this section with the mine-safety head listed at the end.

5. Mine supports

The named areas are objectives, limitations, types of support and systematic timbering. A sensible preparation path distinguishes why support is required, where a particular method is used and what its practical limitations are.

6. Opening of deposits and selection of mining methods

Official topics include deposit opening/development, method classification, bord-and-pillar, longwall, open-cast variants, and choosing a method against deposit thickness, depth, inclination and annual production. The important reasoning is matching method suitability to a particular deposit.

7. Metal mining

The notice calls out underground metal-mining methods, their classification, scope, limitations and applications under different conditions. This is a separate topic from the coal-oriented methods in the previous head.

8. Mine surveying

Surveying spans chain, compass, theodolite, plane-table, levelling, triangulation and correlation. It also includes mine plans and sections and regulations concerning them. Candidates should be able to understand the purpose of survey controls, not merely memorise instruments.

9. Mining machinery and transportation

The scheme includes rope and locomotive haulage, conveyors, aerial ropeways, trackless haulage, winding, drainage and pumping. The written text refers to the technical and economic indices of transport systems.

10. Mine environmental engineering and emergency response

The stated areas are mine atmosphere, natural and mechanical ventilation, design/installation/maintenance considerations, and fires, explosions, inundation, rescue and recovery. These are named technical subjects within the official Mining Engineering paper.

11. Mine legislation, safety and worker welfare

The paper ends with regulations on mineral conservation and exploitation, safety, and workers' welfare and hygiene. It is not just a generic mine-engineering maths syllabus: legislation and human safety form an express topic.

What is and is not officially announced

The written paper's 450 total marks, 150 questions per paper and 150 minutes per paper are explicit; the Mining Engineering syllabus is likewise explicit. The ten-page brief does not publish an exam date, city-wise timetable, Paper-II topic-by-topic marks, a fixed normalisation formula, interview marks or a separate preliminary test. Nothing here should be read as an announced numerical subject-weightage plan beyond the official 150 versus 300 paper totals.

Practical study order grounded in the published paper

First cover the connected mine-development sequence—geology → exploration → method choice → excavation/support → operations → ventilation/safety—and separately build confidence in survey, machinery and legal provisions. This is a study suggestion, not APPSC's order of questions. Alongside that, practise interpreting data, current issues and the AP-specific subject matter of Paper-I. The separate 100-mark qualifying CPT requires hands-on preparation too.