Ian Gray
Managing Director and Principal Engineer
Sigra
Ian founded Sigra as a one-man business in 1994 - since then the company has grown under his guidance. Ian is a multidisciplinary engineer and inventor with a vast, 42-year professional career spanning the civil, mining and petroleum industries across multiple continents, both in government research roles and industry roles. He has published over 70 papers and regularly shares findings distilled from Sigra’s research at professional institutions and industry conferences. Ian holds some 20 patents on such diverse topics as mining systems and gas-liquid separators.
09.10.2019 14:30 - Technical Session 2 | Tolstoy Hall
Geotechnical Aspects of Exploration
This presentation will cover the multiple processes that should be followed to obtain geotechnical information during an exploration programme. Determination of rock properties by core logging, geophysics and material testing are considered. This work includes the selection of methods of testing that should be used to suit the rock type and the likely mine development. The process of determining rock stress from paleo indicators, regional features, borehole breakout, overcoring and hydrofracture are considered as is the variability of rock stress. The measurement and analysis of ground fluids for the determination of their effect on effective stress, outbursting and fluid inflow are presented. The presentation will pay particular attention to the use of petroleum industry derived test techniques adapted to the mine exploration environment. Finally we discuss how this geotechnical information should be used in underground design.