Panellist

Prof. Andy Fourie

Professor, University of Western Australia

Andy's research focuses on improving practices related to the management of mining residue materials, particularly mine tailings. Ensuring there are no further catastrophic failures of tailings storage facilities, such as have occurred over recent years, is the primary theme of his research. The problems he work on relate to characterisation of tailings strength under static and dynamic loading and associated methods of analysis of stability. Andy's work utilises a range of both laboratory and field testing techniques, as well as numerical modeling.

Recent work includes evaluating how to avoid generation of tailings completely by developing novel in situ extraction techniques for hard-rock ore bodies. Andy joined UWA in 2005, moving from the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was the Associate Dean for Research, and leader of the Waste Impact Minimisation Programme.

He holds a Bachelors degree in Civil Engineering (cum laude) and a Masters degree in Engineering, both from Wits, and a PhD in Engineering from Imperial College, London.