Events & Courses

Time and location

Time: Refreshments at 5.30pm for a 6pm start.

Location: Hybrid meeting; in-person at AtkinsRealis office, Nova North, London, SW1E 5BY, or online via MS Teams.

Event details

This is a joint talk organised by the Ground Engineering Subgroup (GES) of the Institute of Mining, Materials and Minerals (IOM3), and the Engineering Group of the Geological Society (EGGS).

The primary objectives of good open pit design are the safe, efficient and profitable extraction of the maximum usable material from the available land whilst causing the minimum environmental and social disturbance and resulting in beneficial final restoration and land-uses. These objectives are the same whether the open pit is very large (e.g. an open pit metal mine) or more modest (e.g. a local quarry for the recovery of aggregates or stone).

An incomplete or ill-considered open pit design may lead to public reporting that misleads investors about the level of financial risk associated with the project. Even if profitable, poor quarry design may lead to unacceptable environmental or social impacts, nuisance or danger to the public, danger to the workforce, or additional monitoring and enforcement costs for public authorities.

This talk will describe a holistic and iterative process for responsible open pit mining; i.e. mining that achieves the objectives and optimises the risks throughout the mining life-cycle - from the planning phase, through the operational phase, to restoration and after-use. It will focus particularly on geotechnical risks and their importance at each design stage and will touch on the importance of the CRIRSCO family of codes and standards in providing reliable information to investors and other stakeholders.

The GES IOM3 event page can be found here:

Speaker

Ruth Allington (Allington Collaborative Problem Solving Ltd, and former President of the Geological Society of London) is an engineering geologist by training.;

After 38 years at GWP Consultants LLP, the firm she joined in 1981 immediately after graduating (then the Geoffrey Walton Practice), she is now semi-retired and in independent practice. In addition to her BSc and MSc degrees, she also has an MBA, and she is a qualified commercial and community mediator and facilitator. Throughout her career, she has specialised in the design of open pit mineral operations in the UK and overseas, particularly quarries for construction materials and industrial minerals. She is an experienced expert witness.

She is the immediate President of the Geological Society, a past President of the European Federation of Geologists, and a member of the Pan European Reserves and Resources Reporting Committee (PERC). She is a Trustee of Ecton Mine Educational Trust. Ruth is committed to promoting the highest professional standards amongst geologists and others involved in the application of geoscience, particularly through the promotion of professional titles such as CGeol and EurGeol.

She is passionate about promoting 'joined up thinking' and encouraging collaborative approaches to problem definition, problem solving and dispute resolution based on effective communication and co-operation. This is especially important in coordinating the wide range of professional disciplines involved in open pit planning, design and management, and also in facilitating effective communication between the public and operators or developers (and their advisors).

In 2012, she delivered the 13th Glossop Lecture and was awarded the Glossop Medal by the Engineering Group of the Geological Society of London. She was featured as one of 100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining in a publication produced by Women in Mining in 2013.

Registration

Attendance is free. Advance registration will be required for those attending in person. Details will be released shortly.

A link to the MS Teams meeting will be available in due course.