Ömer Aydan is a Professor at the University of Ryukyus. He holds a BS degree in Mining Engineering (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey) MS in Rock Mechanics and Excavation Engineering (Newcastle upon Tyne University, UK) and PhD in Geotechnical Engineering (Nagoya University, Japan). His research interests are in Geomechanics and Geoengineering. (Email: aydan@tec.u-ryukyu.ac.jp)

Abou Vakili – BE, MEngSc, PhD Abou is a Principal geotechnical engineer at Mining One consultants and an adjunct lecturer at Monash University. Abou has more than 12 years of experience as a geotechnical engineer in consulting, research and operations but is best known for his expertise in high-end numerical modelling. He has worked on studies involving large open pits and deep and high-stress underground mines and as a result, published several papers. Abou is an AusIMM’s chartered professional engineer and registered professional engineer of Queensland.

Sungsoon Mo is a Ph.D. student at the School of Minerals and Energy Resources Engineering at UNSW Sydney, working on floor heave. He received his BS in Energy Resources Engineering from Seoul National University in South Korea. He worked for Daewoo International Corporation, an investment company in South Korea, and was responsible for investment in Australian and Indonesian coal mines. His areas of interest include coal mine design and rock mechanics.

Adam currently works as a Geotechnical Engineer at Grosvenor Mine for Anglo American. Having studied for degree in Civil Engineering at UniSA and obtained a Graduate Diploma from UNSW, he previously worked at a multi-seam longwall operation in Central Queensland. This paper presents a case study of that experience.