CyGS Presentation (October 16, 2024): Sam Tims, P.Geo.

The Calgary Geotechnical Society is excited to have Sam Tims, P.Geo., Senior Consultant, at SRK Consulting.

This presentation will be hosted at the Wild Rose Brewery - Barracks Rooms. No virtual option is available for this presentation. Light refreshments and appetizers will be provided.

Please register by Friday, October 11.

**Please note that limited tickets will be available at the door on the day of the presentation, which can be purchased only with cash or cheque. We recommend registering for the event in advance to guarantee your spot.**

Topic:

Using Machine Learning for Rock Mass Classification

 Speaker:

Sam Tims, P.Geo.

 Date:

Wednesday, October 16, 2024

 Details:

5:30 pm to 6:00 pm – Doors open, networking & registration

6:00 pm to 6:45 pm – Technical Presentation                   

6:45 pm to 7:00 pm – Q&A

Cost:

$10 (Regular) / Free (Student)

Location:

Wild Rose Brewery - Barracks Room

4580 Quesnay Wood Dr SW, Calgary, AB T3E 7J3

Abstract:

This talk will provide an overview of the intentions behind rock mass classification, considerations for the design of open pit and underground mines, and the necessity of developing machine learning workflows to improve the density of geotechnical data. Rock is a fundamentally anisotropic material at all scales affected by geological controls including lithology, structures, alteration, and weathering. Predicting the performance of open pit and underground excavations relies on simplifying this complexity to domains of similar material properties, whereby empirical and numerical methods can be applied to establish a design. The controls on the stability of excavation are often dependent on the weakest element, whether these are faults or weakening alteration for example. Understanding the spatial distribution and inherent variability of the geological materials is critical to establishing safe and feasible designs.

Rock geotechnical data is often limited to a small number of dedicated drillholes, with supplementary information of variable quality logged during exploration programs. Supplementing this data with additional information is important to understanding the potential for weak areas in the rock mass. This improves the reliability and confidence of the geotechnical domain model and helps improve the quality of analysis by focusing on feasible failure modes.

Bio:

Sam Tims is a Senior Consultant with SRK Consulting with over 12 years of experience in the minerals industry in operations and consultancy. His specialty is field data collection, geotechnical characterization, open pit design, underground design, and operational assistance, with experience gained over five continents and spanning various metals, gemstones, and industrial minerals in open pit and underground mines. Sam uses Python for data processing and visualization to inform the geological and geotechnical domain models he creates in Leapfrog Geo.