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SME Webinar The Geotechnical Center of Excellence - Solving Difficult Geotechnical Problems
Thursday, May 13, 2021, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PDT
Category: Other

The Geotechnical Center of Excellence - Solving Difficult Geotechnical Problems

Presented by the SoCal Section of SME: Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration

This meeting is free and can be joined via the zoom link below at the start time of 6pm Pacific Time on May 13, 2021.

ABSTRACT:

The Geotechnical Center of Excellence (GCE) is dedicated to solving difficult mining geotechnical problems through research and education. This will be a presentation by the GCE team and will provide some background about the Center and discuss some its recent and ongoing work. On the education side Gillian Noonan will talk about the world-class Geotechnical Radar Monitoring Course and the upcoming Water in Mine Operations and Slope Stability Course. Ed Wellman will discuss some exciting research sponsored by NIOSH on the use of thermal imaging cameras to monitor rockfall events. Chad Williams will provide an update on really interesting research that he has done to understand the Bingham Canyon Mine Landslide as a follow-on to the September 2020 SME SoCal Section meeting. Finally, Brad Ross provide an update on progress the University of Arizona is making to expand mining education and research by planning to create a new School focused on mining and mineral resources.

GCE BACKGROUND:

The genesis for the Geotechnical Center of Excellence is the massive slope failure at the Bingham Canyon Mine in 2013. Both Dr. Ross and Chad Williams worked on the mine’s recovery from the event as well as the complete redesign of the mine. During that time, they experienced firsthand the level of damage and devastation that large geotechnical events can have. They also learned some of the gaps and issues that can lead to these events. Armed with this knowledge and a drive to prevent future large geotechnical events, Dr. Ross and Mr. Williams created the GCE at the University of Arizona in the fall 2017 with the support of industry partners and the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources.

The GCE is growing and has 5 people as a part of the team. Although still small the GCE’s impact is greater than it size would indicate. This is because of the way the team is able to collaborate with and leverage experts from across the industry for performing innovative research and building effective training courses.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://arizona.zoom.us/j/83396309769

Meeting ID: 833 9630 9769