Skip to content
AfriScience GroupAfriScienceGroup
Mining and Minerals

Rock Mechanics and Ground Control

Ground failure is the hazard that kills most often in mining, and the engineering that prevents it is done long before anybody is underground or on a bench. This course covers that engineering. Delegates work through rock mass characterisation and the classification systems used, in situ and induced stress, and the failure mechanisms that govern open pit slopes and underground excavations. Slope stability analysis and support design are worked through on real geometry, alongside the monitoring that gives warning of movement. The course closes on the ground control management plan, the trigger action response process, and the judgement of when to stop work, which is the decision the whole discipline exists to inform.

5 day courseRegister NowRequest Proposal

Course objectives

  • Characterise a rock mass and apply the common classification systems
  • Assess in situ and induced stress around an excavation
  • Identify the failure mechanisms governing slopes and underground openings
  • Carry out slope stability analysis and interpret the result
  • Design ground support appropriate to the conditions
  • Specify monitoring that gives usable warning of movement
  • Build a ground control management plan with trigger action responses

Who should attend

  • Geotechnical and mining engineers
  • Underground and open pit production engineers
  • Mine surveyors and geologists
  • Health and safety professionals in mining
  • Supervisors responsible for ground conditions

Course outline

  1. 01Rock mass characterisation and classification
  2. 02In situ and induced stress
  3. 03Failure mechanisms in slopes
  4. 04Failure mechanisms underground
  5. 05Slope stability analysis
  6. 06Ground support design
  7. 07Monitoring and interpreting movement
  8. 08Ground control management plans and trigger action responses

Scheduled sessions

Scheduled sessions for Rock Mechanics and Ground Control
DatesVenueFormatPriceRegister
3 to 7 October 2026Online, OnlineOnlineR7,500 per delegateRegister Now
8 to 12 October 2026Lagos, NigeriaClassroomR11,995 per delegateRegister Now
18 to 22 November 2026Dubai, UAEClassroomR11,995 per delegateRegister Now
21 to 25 November 2026Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaClassroomR11,995 per delegateRegister Now

Rock Mechanics and Ground Control

From R7,500

AskRegister