Securing seismic safety

“Mining is considered a noble profession in my home country of Ghana in West Africa. Our chiefs and traditional rulers wear gold chains and rings during our festivals, and mining is a solid industry with good salaries. So I knew I wanted to become an engineer from a young age. 

I studied for my first degree in mining engineering in Ghana and then came to the US in 2001 on a scholarship to study geotechnical engineering, intrigued by emerging interest in high wall failures. I completed a master’s degree and then my PhD in geotechnical engineering.  

I’m currently the Principal Geotechnical Adviser at Boron Operations in California in the US and have been a representative on the Surface Mining Geotechnical Working Group for Rio Tinto since its inception in early 2017. We're a very small geotechnical and hydrogeological engineering team, but I spend most of my time with consultants and regulators. I also work closely with other professionals like geologists, mining engineers and environmental engineers, and professors in academia, including the academic staff at the University of Arizona’s Geotechnical Center of Excellence. 

We all have one goal – to keep the workforce safe. I don't want any injuries on my watch. Mining is a big hole in the ground, with high walls that we must keep stable. We monitor the high walls using instrumentation 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so we can let the workforce know if anything is moving to avoid equipment damage, injuries, or worst of all, fatalities. Our approach has been successful and we haven’t had an incident in more than 11 years.  

One of my ideas that’s been well received is an earthquake early-warning system. Here in California, we’re not too far from the San Andreas fault, so earthquakes are a big deal. I came up with the idea based on the speed of sound and light – so for example, during thunderstorms, we see lightning before we hear the sound. I wanted a similar system that would warn us faster than the speed of the seismic wave, so I worked with a seismic consulting firm here in California to develop an alarm that warns people that a big earthquake is coming, giving them time to take cover or evacuate buildings before it happens. Fortunately, we haven’t had to test it yet, but I hope this system works.  

My entire life, I've wanted to research, collect data, and publish papers, to share my experience with the world. Without the RioExpert status, I was not challenged enough to go out and look for new ideas. Plus, the traditional progression path in industry is managerial, with very limited opportunities. But the RioExcel program offers that chance for career progression here in the mining industry, while I continue to research, present my findings, and apply that knowledge in the ‘real world’ of the mining industry for continuous improvement.  

A lot of doors have opened for me because of this program. I’ve investigated geotechnical incidents at the Diavik diamond mine in Canada and Kennecott copper mine in Utah, US, and I have published some technical papers in the last few years because of these opportunities. I was recently selected for the Who’s Who in America Award for my contributions to the mine geotechnical industry. Additionally, l was recognised and celebrated as a role model by the Rio Tinto Chicago office during the 2024 Black History Month. And since l’m the only geotechnical engineer with a mining background on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Geotechnical Group of ASCE – it’s great to share mining knowledge with the other board members who are all civil geotechnical engineers.  

I would love to see more people join the RioExcel program and become RioExperts. There are a lot of smart people working here at Boron in California, and Rio Tinto has a lot of big challenges to solve, like how to adapt to climate change and decarbonisation.