Mining Engineering
Exploration and Geology
Soil Behaviour and Classification
Soil as an engineering material: how it is classified, how it behaves under load and water, and what that means on a mine site.
- Duration
- 5 days
- Contact hours
- 30
- Level
- Intermediate
- Fee from
- On enquiry
Overview
Mines build on, in and out of soil, and most of the failures that follow trace to a property nobody measured. This week covers classification systems and the index tests behind them, then the behaviour that matters in practice: compaction, permeability, consolidation and shear strength. Mining applications run throughout, from tailings foundations and haul road subgrades to soil stripping for rehabilitation, which is a different problem again.
Who should attend
Geotechnical and civil engineers, mine planners and environmental staff, laboratory technicians, and construction supervisors on mine sites.
What you will be able to do
- Classify a soil using standard systems and index tests.
- Relate particle size, plasticity and structure to behaviour.
- Interpret compaction, permeability and consolidation results.
- Apply shear strength parameters to a stability problem.
- Judge soil suitability for a mining application.
How it is taught
Short input, then work, across 5 days of roughly 6 teaching hours each. Exercises run on situations delegates bring rather than on a case study written for a different organisation. Cohorts are capped so that everybody is asked something.
Available as classroom, live online, in house.
Programme outline
Day 1
Composition and classification
- Particle size, shape and mineralogy
- Atterberg limits and plasticity
- Unified and AASHTO classification
Day 2
Water in soil
- Permeability and seepage
- Effective stress and pore pressure
- Capillarity and suction
Day 3
Compaction and consolidation
- Proctor testing and field control
- Consolidation and settlement prediction
- Collapse, swelling and dispersive soils
Day 4
Strength
- Shear strength parameters, and how they are measured
- Drained and undrained conditions
- Residual strength and progressive failure
Day 5
Mining applications
- Foundations for plant and storage facilities
- Haul road subgrade and pavement
- Soil stripping, stockpiling and rehabilitation use
What you leave with
- Classification of a set of real samples.
- A laboratory data interpretation sheet.
- A suitability assessment for one site application.
Dates and fees
| Dates | Location | Format | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 to 27 November 2026 | Nairobi, Kenya | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 30 November 2026 to 4 December 2026 | Lagos, Nigeria | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 7 to 11 December 2026 | Cairo, Egypt | Classroom | US$1,500 |
| 14 to 18 December 2026 | Windhoek, Namibia | Classroom | R15,000 |
Fees are per delegate and cover tuition, all programme materials and the certificate. Travel, accommodation and visas are arranged by the delegate. Registration closes two weeks before a programme starts.
Certificate
A GATI certificate recording what was attended, issued after the programme has run and attendance has been taken. Attending at least 80 per cent of the days earns a certificate of completion; attending less earns a certificate of attendance stating exactly what was attended. Every certificate carries a code that anybody can check against GATI's own record.
It records participation. and GATI does not claim one it does not hold.