WA School of Mines (WASM)’s Post

A prestigious international honour has been awarded to a WASM research team, recognising their significant contribution to the field of underground mining geomechanics. Dr Nadia Bustos, together with Professor Ernesto Villaescusa and Associate Professor Italo Onederra (The University of Queensland), have been honoured with the ‘Mann Redmayne Medal A’ as part of the 2025 Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (IOM3) Awards. The award acknowledges their paper titled 'Geotechnical Analysis of Blasting Sequence and Resulting Shapes of Drawbells in Block Cave Mines', which introduces two innovative methodologies for assessing the geotechnical performance of blasting sequences in drawbell construction—a critical aspect of ore extraction in block caving operations. The research presents a dynamic burden assessment along the length of blastholes, and a novel Radial Distance of Over/Underbreak method to evaluate deviations between actual and designed drawbell geometries in terms of height and orientation. These findings provide essential insights into mitigating blast-induced damage and improving the long-term structural integrity of production levels, addressing a key challenge in deep cave mining. The Mann Redmayne Medal A is jointly awarded by IOM3 and the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), of which Dr Bustos is a member. Established in 1869 and headquartered in London, IOM3 is a leading global institution in mining, minerals, metallurgy, and advanced materials, connecting over 18,000 professionals worldwide through technical leadership, international collaboration, and professional certification. Beyond celebrating research excellence, this honour marks a meaningful step forward in representation and recognition within the mining sector. Notably, Dr Bustos is the first woman to receive this prestigious distinction. Congratulations to Nadia, Ernesto and Italo on this outstanding achievement. Read the paper: https://ow.ly/mwVk50WnoIC Learn more about the award: https://ow.ly/h5JR50WnoIE #WASM #WASchoolofMines #CurtinUniversity #Curtin #UQ #UniversityofQueensland #research #mining #engineering #mineralsandresources #technology #academia #innovation