Webinar: Young professionals - Emerging Perspectives in Geomechanics

Join the Geomechanics Society for their Webinar: Young professionals - Emerging Perspectives in Geomechanics.

About this event

The AusIMM Geomechanics Society invites you to a one-hour webinar showcasing three emerging professionals presenting practical case studies and operational insights from across the mining industry.

This webinar's three speakers presentations will span rainfall hazard management, mine design decision-making and large-scale dump instability, offering attendees exposure to contemporary challenges faced by geotechnical practitioners in mining operations.

Caroline Ochocinski - Two Sides of the Same Coin: How Geotechnical Considerations Differ Depending on Design Drivers

This presentation explores how geotechnical design outcomes can vary depending on the primary project drivers applied. While operational decisions are often economically focused, broader considerations such as closure planning, rehabilitation liabilities and future land use opportunities can significantly influence optimal design approaches. Through practical examples, the webinar will demonstrate how integrating longer-term considerations into geotechnical decision-making can reduce future risk and cost.

Jack Stipcevich - Development of a Rainfall TARP Using Automatic Rainfall Gauges

McArthur River Mine (MRM), an open cut operation in the Northern Territory, experiences intense wet season rainfall events, with rainfall intensities commonly reaching 50–100 mm/hr. This presentation discusses the implementation of automatic rainfall gauges integrated into the site rainfall Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) to manage operational hazards associated with extreme rainfall events and support real-time operational decision-making.

Luke Tatnell - Past Performance Is No Guarantee of Future Stability: An Overburden Dump Collapse Case Study

This case study examines the sudden collapse of a travelling stacker overburden dump following decades of operation under consistent design assumptions and historically well understood deformation behaviour. While localised batter edge failures had long been considered routine, this event involved a deep-seated failure extending approximately 70 metres into the dump and running out over 200 metres. The presentation highlights the risks of relying solely on historical performance in long-lived mine infrastructure and discusses the importance of recognising departures from expected behaviour and validating material and foundation conditions throughout the operational life of a structure.

Speaker/s

Caroline Ochocinski

Senior Geotechnical Engineer

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Caroline Ochocinski is a geotechnical engineer for the Regulatory Operations division of Resources Victoria at the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). After beginning her career in the fast-paced world of international consulting for mining companies, she moved to the public sector to focus on policy and regulation around mine rehabilitation. Her focus is illustrating how economic productivity can be reconciled with and even optimised by long-term planning goals and post-mining land use outcomes.

Jack Stipcevich

Senior Geotechnical Engineer

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Jack is the current Senior Mining Geotechnical Engineer at MRM working on site since August 2022. Jack provides oversight and management of all geotechnical related activities for the open cut operation to support the safe and economic extraction of lead zinc resource. Prior to working with MRM, Jack was employed as Mining Geotechnical Engineer at GHD, leading geotechnical stability assessments and feasibility studies across several commodities. Jack holds a Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering from Monash University, and a Master of Civil Engineering from Federation University.

Luke Tatnell

Geotechnical Engineer

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Luke Tatnell is a geotechnical engineer based at the Yallourn open pit brown coal mine in Victoria, Australia. He holds a Bachelor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Research Masters in Geomechanics and Geohydrology from Monash University. Since graduating 12 years ago, Luke has worked in geotechnical consultancy roles across the United Kingdom and Australia, and has been part of the Yallourn site geotechnical team for the past four years.