Event type:
Lecture, Hybrid
Organised by:
Geological Society Events
Venue:
Hybrid In person at Burlington House and Virtual via Zoom
Event status:
EVENT CLOSED
This event will now take place both online via zoom and in-person at Burlington House, London.
Joining the dots …… Climate Change, Mineral Extraction and the Engineering Geologist
The connection is increasingly being made between the energy transition and the need for raw materials to support new technologies (e.g. battery and other critical minerals). There is also a realisation that, however successfully we move to a low carbon future, there will be a need for significant adaptation and mitigation projects, for which the responsible supply of construction materials will be key.
At the same time there is, rightly, a growing emphasis on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) aspects throughout raw materials value chains (responsible mining), and insistence by investors on improved performance in these areas.
Engineering geologists have important roles to play throughout the mining cycle and in climate change adaptation/mitigation civil works, alongside many other disciplines. This lecture seeks to highlight the ways in which engineering geology and an engineering geologist’s outlook are important success factors in the responsible extraction and delivery of raw materials.
Some examples of engineering geology, geotechnical engineering and other ‘geo’ professions in the design and operation of quarries will be presented, drawing attention to the importance of these professions in the management and mitigation of risk. But most of all the presentation will put these scientific and technical discipline areas into the wider context of the part they play – alongside many other technical, scientific and commercial disciplines – in designing, operating, and closing quarry operations that comply with regulations, conform to the principals of sustainable development and achieve a ‘social licence to operate’.
The talk will develop two core themes:
1. Promoting an understanding of the upstream activities which give rise to the supply of geomaterials used in construction projects and the ways in which these are relevant to the identification, assessment and mitigation of risks associated with their availability, cost, quantity and increasingly importantly, environmental and social footprint.
2. The value of acquiring, developing and applying problem definition, communication, dispute resolution, management and other professional skills and perspectives alongside technical and scientific expertise.
Speaker
Ruth Allington is President of the Geological Society and she holds 39 years’ experience a consulting engineering geologist in the minerals industry, as a professional mediator and expert witness, and many years of active contribution to the Society and the wider geoscience community. Ruth is passionate about promoting effective inter-disciplinary collaboration and high professional practice standards within and beyond geoscience; these underpin sustainable solutions and public confidence.
Registration
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Past Meeting Resources
Videos of past lectures can be viewed online in our Past Meeting Resources
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This event will now take place both online via zoom and in person at Burlington House, London.
This event will now take place both online via zoom and in person at Burlington House, London.