Friction

News and information for geotechnical professionals and rock engineers working in the mining industry.

Safety in design in geotechnical engineering

Design optimisation is frequently front of mind when designing a mining project. However, in an industry with a high potential of risk, it is of the utmost importance that we, as geotechnical engineers, place higher value on incorporating safety measures in the design process to ensure the safety of workers on a mine site.

Scott Lines, Senior Geotechnical Engineer at Red Earth Engineering, discusses how safety must be prioritised in every phase of operations, including from the conceptual to the detailed design phase, and provides key tips on how to incorporate the essential safety measures in design to best prepare for the common pitfalls.

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News

Q&A with David Reid

People are the bedrock of our industry, so let’s get to know David Reid, Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia. This month, we ask him the important questions from how he got his start in the sector to the advice he’d give to up and coming geotechnical professionals.

Q&A with Michael Munro

Like a geologist inspecting all rock discontinuity, let's unearth the hidden layers of Michael Munro, Technical Director at GMEK, by asking the important questions in our monthly Q&A feature.

First things first, just look at the rocks

For geotechnical engineers, it’s easy to go straight for the detail, the data, and pour energy into what’s perceived, and known, to work best. In this article, Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics Director Tim Cartledge explores the simple yet often overlooked process of stepping away from the desk, getting out on site and just looking at the rocks – adding another dimension to the benefits of numerical modelling – to gain the fullest picture of what’s really going on.