Everyone has a story to tell, and this month we asked Mining One’s Head of Technology & Innovation Stephan Arndt the hard questions.

Background ambient noise conditions are ever-present right around the earth, but tuning into this hum of manmade and natural noises can build a powerful picture of what’s going on below the surface. 

Friction caught up with Olaf Goldbach to explore how geotechnical professionals can use passive seismic monitoring to collect valuable data. 

Attracting new geotechnical professionals to the mining industry continues to be a challenge in 2023. In this edition of Friction, we look at the role we can all play in promoting our industry and attracting new talent to the profession.

The mining industry is used to digging deep for the right minerals and metals, but there’s another precious resource in high demand – geotechnical professionals.

Dan Payne shares with Friction his thoughts on the challenge of recruiting more young people into the industry and what can be done to resolve the skills shortage.

For rock engineers in South Africa SANIRE, the South African National Institute of Rock Engineering, is not only the professional association promoting professional development, it is also a highly engaged networking, collaboration and information exchange point.

In the third edition of Friction, we dive into why failure is not an option for tailings dams, rockfall trajectory reconstruction, and the latest podcast on Geomechanics and Geotechnical Engineering for Nuclear Waste Disposal.

Tailings dams were once almost an afterthought in the design and management of mines. But a series of high-profile tailings dam failures and the resultant scrutiny from media, investors and insurers has led to significant changes in how the dams are designed, operated, monitored and managed over their entire lifecycle.

Friction sat down with world-leading tailings dam expert, Professor David Williams from The University of Queensland to find out how things are changing for the better.

While drones are already readily in use on mine sites for surveying, inspecting inaccessible areas of a mine and photogrammetry, the use of automated and piloted technology will only continue to expand in the future. Friction sat down with Mat Allan to hear his predictions for the immediate future for the geotechnical industry and how technology is changing the face of mining.

For geotechnical professionals who have recently entered the industry, it could be hard to imagine a time when the only option for slope monitoring was point measurement-based systems, which only provided spot data for a specific moment in time. Friction hears from GroundProbe CEO and founder, David Noon, how a PhD project revolutionised slope monitoring.

Senior Lecturer Jannie Maritz from the University of Pretoria, South Africa shares the technological advances that are exciting him the most and his career advice for people looking to work as a geotechnical professional in mining.

In the second edition of Friction, we dive into droids and robots on mine sites, legality around engineering contracts, and a Q&A with an industry professional.

It might be easier to just skim through a contract before signing it, but you’re potentially putting your business and long-term future at risk. In this article Craig Hong looks at some common legal considerations for writing and signing contracts.

In the launch edition of Friction, we dive into the challenges geotechnical and rock engineers face as underground cave mines get bigger and deeper.

With renewable energy and technology driving increased demand for ore and minerals at a time when extensive orebodies have become harder to access – block caving is more frequently hyped as the future of mining. But is this technique as efficient, safe, or as well understood as it should be?

Every month Friction puts 10 questions to a member of the industry to learn more about their career path and views. This month we put Canadian independent rock engineering consultant Gregory More O’Ferrall in the spotlight.

Cave mining techniques, including block caving and sublevel caving, are being employed in various mines around the world. Below is a summary of projects and the status the mine was at when the list was first compiled.