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Geotechnical News • December 2019
WASTE GEOTECHNICS
design for sustainable mining. The
Institute will provide principles, tools
and practices, a library of references,
and workshops and other opportuni-
ties to share experiences and lessons
learned. There is already much good
work going on in every country – the
Institute will allow designers to share
their knowledge and experience and
work together to create new tools
and processes. It will also provide
information and training that supports
local communities and regulators and
allows them to work truly collab-
oratively with and within the design
teams.
Short-term projects for the Institute
include a graduate-level landform
design university course at the
University of Alberta in late 2019, a
supporting textbook in 2021, and a
series of workshops and case-history
symposia devoted to sharing the latest
knowledge and experience. Specific
training courses will allow profession-
als to add to their skills in support of
design teams. One of the Institute’s
long-term goals is establishment of
graduate courses at universities around
the world, some of which will offer
degrees in landform design.
A role for geotechnical
engineers
Geotechnical engineers, who often
have lead roles in mining, will inevita-
bly and necessarily play critical roles
in the landform design process. Build-
ing landforms that evolve over time,
Landform design has several critical steps, all equally important.
Landform design teams, once assembled, are charged with ensuring that reclaimed landscapes contribute to
sustainability and biodiversity at multiple scales.
