Another BOHOGian year down! Thanks to all who participated by attending, presenting and being an active member of the committee, as well as our BBUGGian colleagues for their efforts to put on our joint events. We held two events in the Bowen Basin, two events in the Hunter Valley and two events in Brisbane.

The BOHOGS Year consisted of:

  • • March – University of Queensland meeting where members and students were treated to a tour of the UQ Advanced Engineering Building and a thorough tour of the geotechnical engineering labs.
  • April – Glendell Coal Mine and Technical Meeting where the NSW Department of Industry representative Jeff Hanlon gave an Inspectorates View on Open Cut Strata Management, and John Simmons of SGRS presented on Slope Hazard Management at Moolarben
  • May – Lake Vermont Coal Mine and Technical Meeting where the QLD Department of Natural Resources and Mines representative Neil Reynoldson gave an Inspectorates View on Open Cut Strata Management or Geotechnical “Snakes”, and John Simmons of SGRS again presented his valuable take on Slope Hazard Management at Moolarben
  • July – University of Newcastle meeting where attendees were treated to presentations and laboratory tours with the overriding theme of shear strengths of mine spoils.
  • November – 2016 BOHOGS/BBUGS Supplier’s Day at the Capella Cultural Centre, with special BOHOGS guest Martyn Robotham presenting on the April 2013 Bingham Canyon Mine Failure in Utah.

The LSRT Laboratory Strength Reduction Taskforce ACARP project is well underway with four PhD students currently working on the project (including our own Alison McQuillan). Other 2016 ACARP developments include the acceptance of a proposal from UNSW/UQ to update our widely-used training video “Unearthing Black Gold” with new ideas, new graphics, and new geotechnical tools for monitoring and mapping. 2016 also saw highwall mapping with multirotor UAVs become “the norm” for some companies, and we expect more will jump on board in 2017.

A BOHOGS/BBUGS joint BBQ with the UQ MAMA students was a great opportunity to mingle with the much-decreased number of Mining/Geotechnical Engineering students and provide them with a few reasons to consider using their Geotechnical major when they complete their degree.

Thank you again to our 2016 Sponsors, BOHOGS and BBUGS committee members, mine sites that volunteer their resources and the presenters brave enough to share learnings with the geotechnical fraternity. Congratulations to the elected 2017 committee, and we look forward to what we can achieve as a society of 187 members!