<p>Over the past two decades, microwave treatment has emerged as a promising method for enhancing efficiency and resource utilisation in mining excavation and comminution. Whilst previous studies have explored the effects of microwave energy on rock characteristics, there remains a notable gap in energy efficiency analysis crucial for practical application. Over 250 experiments were conducted, covering material characterisation, microwave treatment, thermal imaging, calorimetric measurements, and mechanical testing. Detailed temperature-dependent material properties of basalt are measured and analysed to predict the outcome of microwave treatment. Integrating thermal imaging and calorimetric measurements provided comprehensive insights into temperature dynamics within samples during treatment. The energy efficiency-based analysis offers quantitative data on the influence of microwave treatment on basalt rocks. Optimising the treatment scenarios significantly enhanced heat over microwave efficiency by over 15% and weakening over microwave energy by more than four times in select cases. In addition, insights into the impact of power levels on treatment efficacy are uncovered, revealing exponential increases in weakening over microwave energy from 0.15 to 61.6%/kWhr/t with an increase in power from 3 to 100&#xa0;kW. Optimising the microwave energy absorption resulted in a more efficient microwave treatment compared to previous literature. This study presents a novel approach for engineers and researchers to evaluate and leverage microwave treatment in mining operations, ultimately enhancing efficiency and resource utilisation in the industry.</p>