Marnie Pascoe

General Manager - Major Hazards & Environment, Rio Tinto

Marnie Pascoe is the General Manager for Major Hazards and Environment at Rio Tinto and a highly experienced geotechnical leader with more than 25 years in the mining industry. Her career spans major organizations including WMC, BHP, and AMC Consultants, where she has held a diverse mix of operational, corporate, and consulting roles.

Marnie has worked across the full project lifecycle, from studies and new developments to mature operations, bringing a practical, end‑to‑end understanding of mining environments. She has extensive international experience, having worked for over a decade across Central Asia, West and East Africa, and Europe. Her technical expertise covers both underground and surface geotechnical engineering, supported by experience ranging from small-scale projects through to large, multinational operations. Marnie is recognised for leading high-performing geotechnical and multidisciplinary teams, particularly in technical studies (PFS/FS), audits, and due diligence.

Prior to her current role, she served as Chief Advisor for Geotechnical Engineering and held director positions with AMC Consultants in the UK, contributing to global technical leadership and capability development.

Presentation Title

The future of artificial intelligence in geotechnical engineering

Synopsis

As the scale, complexity, and consequences of open pit mining continue to grow, so too does the need for more adaptive and predictive approaches to geotechnical engineering. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a transformative capability, enabling the integration of vast, multi-source datasets, from slope stability radar and prisms to geotechnical logging and operational parameters, into real-time, decision-ready insights.

In the context of slope stability, AI is shifting the paradigm from reactive monitoring to proactive risk management. Advanced analytics and machine learning models enhance our ability to detect subtle precursors to failure, forecast instability, and optimize slope design with greater confidence. However, the application of AI in high-consequence environments demands rigorous validation, transparent governance, and alignment with established assurance frameworks.

Critically, the future of AI in geotechnical engineering is about augmenting engineering judgement, supporting practitioners to make faster, better-informed decisions while maintaining accountability for risk. This address will explore these evolving capabilities, challenges, and opportunities, setting the stage for how our discipline can responsibly harness AI to improve safety, performance, and value across open pit operations.