The Connected Rock Engineer: Integrated Rocscience Workflows for Surface and Underground Excavations

Prior to the West Africa User Group Meeting on January 29, 2027, Rocscience will offer a three-day technical workshop focused on integrated workflows for surface and underground excavations. Participants will follow open-pit and underground case studies through the Rocscience software ecosystem, learning how to transfer geological and structural data between programs, reduce manual data entry, and maintain consistency throughout the analysis process.

The workshop will cover 3D rock-face mapping, geological data management, rock mass strength characterization, slope and underground stability analysis, and advanced numerical modelling. Through hands-on exercises, participants will learn how to streamline data exchange, improve model traceability, and select appropriate analysis methods for more efficient and defensible engineering designs.

Event Details

• Dates: Tuesday, January 26th – Thursday, January  28th, 2027
• Location: La Palm Royal Beach Hotel (1 Labadi Road, Accra, Ghana)
• Software: RS3, RS2, Slide3, ShapeMetriX , RSLog, DIPS, UnWedge, RocTunnel3

Registration Fees

• Early Bird: USD $1,000 (until December 18,2026)
• Regular: USD $1,200

What’s included:

• Temporary software licenses for all registrants
• Morning Tea, Lunch and Afternoon Tea daily
• PDF of course materials
• Certificate

Please note:

• Registrants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodation.
• Registrants must bring their own laptops (and mouse).
• Recommended minimum specs:
  - 32 GB RAM is the recommended minimum
  - 64 GB RAM for 100,000+ triangles
  - 100 GB SSD is the recommended minimum
  - 500 GB SSD preferred
  - Discrete NVIDIA graphics cards preferred for optimal experience
  - Windows 10 64-bit recommended minimum
  - Windows 11 64-bit preferred
• Seats are limited

Course Outline
 

Day 1 — Capture, Organize, Interpret

• Build a 3D model of a pit wall from drone/handheld imagery; map joints, trace lengths, lithology partitions directly on the model.
• Import boreholes (gINT/AGS/DIGGS/Excel), log structure from core, capture lab test results; build a design cross-section 
• Build a 3D geological model from RSLog boreholes, ShapeMetriX surfaces and mine survey data: domain volumes bounded by major structures, ready for Slide3 and RS3.
• Merge ShapeMetriX and borehole structures; weight for orientation bias; define sets; kinematic analysis per design sector; kinematic sensitivity on friction angle and slope dip.

Day 2 — Strength Characterization and Stability Screening

• Fit Hoek-Brown to triaxial/UCS data; derive equivalent Mohr-Coulomb for the stress range; use RocProp for benchmarking.
• Import DIPS orientations; bench-scale planar, wedge and toppling analysis with probabilistic inputs.
• Import .3grs wall geometry and .3gdps measured joints (or DIPS sets as synthetic joints); identify removable blocks; stability and hazard assessment; sensitivity on persistence and water.
• Tunnel orientation kinematics; wedge analysis and support in Unwedge; 3D block stability along a drive in RocTunnel3 with ShapeMetriX face geometry. Exercise: course decline case.

Day 3 — Numerical Modelling and Finishing Steps

• Build inter-ramp/overall slope model from the same geometry; 3D limit equilibrium in Slide3, then one-click conversion to RS3 for SSR, staged excavation, groundwater and DFN-based joint networks.
• Use the RS2 Section Creator to export critical 2D sections (geometry, materials, support, water) for refined mesh studies, support design, and sensitivity runs.

Course Instructor
 

Contact

For questions or workshop registration please contact at ruth.obeng-king@rocscience.com