EXPERTISE

ROCK MECHANICS

EXPERTISE

COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS FOR ROCK MECHANICS CHALLENGES

BGC has an enthusiastic team of rock mechanics practitioners who support a wide range of services on challenging projects in Canada and throughout the world.

BGC’s Rock Mechanics team begins every project by getting the geology right and benefits from access to BGC’s range of expertise and tools. This includes in-house geophysics tools such as televiewers, remote sensing tools like lidar, instrumentation support, and rock mechanics laboratory testing capabilities.

Examples of recent projects include rockfall and rock avalanche assessments in the Peruvian Andes, open pit and underground mines in Canada, USA, and Mongolia, grouting projects in the Arctic and Dominican Republic, risk management for railways in the Canadian Rockies and design support for the foundations of a suspension bridge in Bolivia. We leverage our expertise, in combination with our cutting-edge tools, software, and laboratory testing capabilities to develop solutions for rock mechanics challenges on any project, anywhere in the world.

Our Rock Mechanics team members have strong ties with academia and actively participate in advancing the industries we work in. We regularly share our experiences and research through the Canadian Geotechnical Journal, American Rock Mechanics Association, Slope Stability Symposia, and other organizations. Our team participates in internal Research and Development projects and built our own custom rock direct shear testing apparatus for the Laboratory. The Rock Mechanics team is participating in external research through the Large Open Pit III Project and is a member of the Lowell Institute of Mining’s Geotechnical Center of Excellence at the University of Arizona. We also give back to the community through BGC Squared initiatives, which also includes involvement in University Capstone projects.

Mined Slopes

The Rock Mechanics team is involved in numerous open pit mining projects representing a diverse range of rock and deposit types in North America, South America, Africa, and Asia. Open pit slope designs typically involve site investigation programs, rock testing and characterization, dewatering and depressurization studies, structural geology assessments, and stability analyses. Support for operating mines includes pushback and optimization studies, the design of monitoring systems and ground control management plans, risk assessments, regular inspections and reviews, and management and mitigation of instabilities and rockfalls. Our team members also design and provide operational support for rock storage facilities and perform subsidence monitoring and assessments where infrastructure interacts with underground openings or naturally-occurring voids.

Linear Infrastructure & Communities

BGC carries out a wide range of projects that manage the risk of natural and excavated rock slopes in the mining, pipelines, and communities sectors. Typical activities include rockfall and rock avalanche investigations and assessments, remote sensing and change detection studies and developing and maintaining risk management systems for linear infrastructure such as highways, transmission lines, railways and pipelines. Our team is also involved with the design of mitigation systems to protect infrastructure from rock hazards. Our projects are located in diverse and challenging environments anywhere infrastructure and/or people encounter steep and hazardous terrain.

Underground Openings

Our rock mechanics experts are involved with the design of a variety of underground openings including tunnels, portals, stopes, drifts and underground infrastructure. This work includes the design of ground support such as rock bolts and anchors, shotcrete, mesh, cribbing, and backfill. We also design bulkheads to close off underground openings and manage seepage. Our team members provide operational support as needed, including development and review of ground control management plans, annual geotechnical reviews, and emergency response for ground falls.

Civil Infrastructure

BGC’s rock mechanics experts provide support for numerous civil and infrastructure projects. Many of these projects involve the design of foundations for a range of applications including buildings, towers, and wind turbines. We also design rock anchors and artificial support for retaining walls in soil, weak rock, and strong rock. Our team provides support with stability and seepage assessments for dam abutments and foundations, scour assessments for spillways, and the design of specialized grouting programs to mitigate seepage.