Mining and Geoengineering
Our Mining and Geoengineering researchers bring together advanced capabilities in numerous areas of fundamental and applied research.
These include:
- rock and soil mechanics
- geostatistics
- mining operations
- soil structures
- minerals and resource evaluation
- mine automation and robotics
- digital mining
- transport infrastructure.
Our Mining and Geoengineering research is of direct relevance to companies and organisations involved in civil geotechnical engineering, mining engineering, energy resources, and environmental modelling and prediction.
Particular areas of focus are:
- cemented backfill design
- composite geomaterials
- computation/experimental geomechanics
- expansive and unsaturated soils
- geostatistics
- geothermal energy
- granular material numerical modelling
- probabilistic geotechnical engineering
- residential footing design
- rock/coal burst
- rock-mass flow modelling
- rolling dynamic compaction
- soil stabilisation using solid waste
- ‘smart’ geotechnical structures.
Research impact
We seek to enable raw materials to be exploited more efficiently, cost-effectively, safely and sustainably. Our mathematical modelling, for example, is used throughout the mining industry to predict the likely impact of geological uncertainties on geotechnical and mining engineering structures, ensuring they are appropriately designed.
Consulting services
We are regularly engaged by industry and government to consult on significant commercial and public projects. This includes providing such services as:
- lab- and field-based rock and soil mechanics testing
- geostatistical resource modelling
- value-chain optimisation.
Our researchers
We have expertise across a wide range of areas. Many of our researchers are available to assist with research project supervision for Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy students.
| Research team | Expertise |
|---|---|
| Dr Abbas Taheri | Rock testing and modelling; Design of mining with backfill; Soil improvement methods |
| Dr An Deng | Testing and modelling of soils and composite geomaterials; Beneficial reuse of solid waste materials; Soil consolidation, and electrokinetic remediation and modelling |
| Brendan Scott | Rolling dynamic compaction; Expansive and unsaturated soils; Site investigations |
| Associate Professor Chaoshui Xu | Rock fracture modelling, rock mass characterisations; Modelling of flow in fractured porous rocks under coupled hydro-thermo-mechanical-chemical conditions; Geostatistics, operations research and mine optimisation |
| Dr Exequiel Manuel Sepulveda Escobedo | Geometallurgy; Optimisation; Machine learning |
| Associate Professor Emmanuel Chanda | Operations research modelling and optimisation in mining; Development of new generation mine haulage systems; Novel mining techniques for complex ore bodies |
| Associate Professor Giang Nguyen | Damage and fracture of materials (metals, concrete, composites, soils, rocks); Constitutive modelling; Computational mechanics |
| Professor Mark Jaksa | Risk and reliability; Unsaturated and expansive soils; Machine learning |
| Associate Professor Murat Karakus | Computational geomechanics; High stress mining - rock burst and coal burst analysis; Experimental rock mechanics: Damage modelling of rocks and rock masses |
| Dr Noune Melkoumian | Geomechanics; Geotechnical engineering and active structural health monitoring; Applied mathematics and fracture mechanics |
| Professor Peter Dowd | Geostatistics and spatial modelling; Mine optimisation; Rock fracture characterisation |
| Thomas Bruning | Experimental rock mechanics; Rock burst; Constitutive modelling |
| Dr Yien Lik Kuo | Shallow footing; Numerical modelling, artificial intelligence; Geographic information systems (GIS), physical modelling, dynamic compaction |
Collaborations
We collaborate with various industry and government organisations, including:
Contact us
To enquire about consulting or working with us on a research project, please contact:
Higher degrees by research
Whether you intend to work in research or industry, a higher degree by research can give you a competitive edge throughout your career. Find out more about studying a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy.
