Mining

Organizers for Geosynthetics Asia 2012 (GA2012) have shared a recap from December's event, which marked the 5th Asian Regional Conference on Geosynthetics (GA2012). The theme "Geosynthetics for Sustainable Adaptation to Climate Change" was well-supported by the technical sessions, sponsoring companies, and distinguished speakers. Learn more.

terrafix® is hosting a series of informational geosynthetic engineering sessions through Canada from January – March. Topics include subgrade Improvement, stormwater management, pavement solutions, and structural applications of geosynthetics. Time is reserved for Q&A and lunch at these half-day gatherings. Learn more about sessions and dates here.

Titan Environmental Containment, an IAGI-certified installer and supplier of geosynthetics, is sponsoring a series of educational seminars across Canada this January. Joined by GSE Environmental and Trisoplast, Titan is delivering day-long seminars on "Geo Solutions for the Mining and Heavy Construction Industries." Professional development hours (PDHs) are available to attendees. Learn more about sessions and speakers.

The Canadian Geotechnical Society (CGS) in collaboration with the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH/CNC) and the North American Geosynthetics Society (NAGS) will host GéoMontréal 2013, the 66th Canadian Geotechnical Conference and the 11th Joint CGS/IAH-CNC Groundwater Conference. The conference will be held at the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure Hotel, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 29 September – 3 October 2013. The theme for GéoMontréal 2013 is “Geoscience for Sustainability.” Abstracts are due: February 1

GSE Holding, Inc. (NYSE:GSE), a leading global provider of highly engineered geosynthetic containment solutions for environmental protection and confinement applications, today held a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of its new manufacturing facility located in the city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, in China. In addition to company officials, the ceremony was attended by representatives from the provincial and municipal governments and GSE's customers in the area.

RICHFIELD, Ohio - American Environmental Group Ltd (AEG) of Richfield, Ohio, announced yesterday that it has been acquired by Pasadena, California-based Tetra Tech. AEG, which in just 10 years has grown to become one of the largest specialty environmental design, construction, and maintenance companies in the United States, will join Tetra Tech's Remediation and Construction Management (RCM) segment. AEG retains its core leadership and experts, and it will continue to operate under its own name, in line with other construction and engineering-related Tetra Tech companies.

Geosynthetics veteran Ian Peggs was in Abu Dhabi, UAE in November for the annual Geosynthetics Middle East conference. He writes of the fifth installment of the conference, "One day was devoted to geotextiles, geogrids, and geocells, while another was devoted to geomembranes. Approximately 350 people registered and represented 30 countries including Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, UK, USA, Germany, Switzerland, India, Iran, China, Slovakia, and Poland. There were more than 30 exhibitors. The conference is organized by SKZ (Germany) with the assistance of BMC-Gulf." Read more.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Parkland Pipeline (Parkland), an Alberta-based company that serves the oil and gas industry in Western Canada. The company specializes in the technical support, engineering support, and construction of pipelines and oilfield facilities. Parkland has about 900 staff and approximately C$140 million in annual revenue. "Like other previous acquisitions, Parkland enables Tetra Tech to provide additional core water, environmental and engineering work to the pipeline industry while better serving these customers," said Tetra Tech's Chairman and CEO Dan Batrack.

Tetra Tech, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTEK) has announced that it has acquired solid waste management specialist American Environmental Group, Ltd. (AEG) of Richfield, Ohio. AEG provides environmental, design, construction, and maintenance services to solid and hazardous waste, environmental, energy, utility, and other industrial clients. The company has more than 500 employees and approximately $95 million in annual revenue.

Titan Environmental is sponsoring the 2013 "GeoSolutions for the Mining and Heavy Construction Industry" seminars throughout Canada. These gathering will address Roads, Embankments, Dams, Landfills, and Mining Caps. The specific agendas will also be shaped by the primary needs where the seminar sessions are taking place. The Western Canada sessions will take place January 21–25 with stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Winnipeg. The Eastern Canada sessions will take place January 28–February 1, with stops in Toronto, Greater Sudbury, Frederichton, Halifax, and St. John's. Stay current with seminar agendas and registration information via Titan's website. Learn more here.;

TRI Environmental, Inc. (TRI), a leading international geotechnical, geosynthetic and erosion control materials services company, has announced the hiring of Abigail Beck, a design and CQA engineer with considerable experience in geomembrane-lined containment facilities in waste management and mining. She also has extensive experience with liner integrity surveys (also known as leak location/detection), an increasingly important and required environmental protection service in containment facility construction. In her new position, Ms. Beck serves as a Senior Engineer and will introduce a new role to TRI as its Director of Liner Integrity Services. Learn more.

American Environmental Group Ltd. (AEG) has announced the promotion of John Beeman, a 25+ year veteran of the field, to Division Manager – Geosynthetics. Beeman's new responsibilities include estimating, project management, field operations, and business development. The Geosynthetic Division, staffed with over 300 experienced team members, is AEG's largest division and operates throughout the United States. John will continue to report to Carl Apicella, AEG's President, and will remain based in the Richfield, Ohio, corporate office.

The Ballina Bypass Alliance (BBA) received the award for the local community generating value for the New South Wales Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and community. The $640m project managed significant technical complexity and left a positive technical, safety, community and value for money legacy for future projects. Coffey Geotechnics played a key role in the work. Learn more about how the alliance of geotechnical experts involved in the project achieved such significant success on this project (which has previously been profiled on Geosynthetica).

Freecycling is the act of recycling what is destined for a landfill by giving it away to those who can still utilize the original materials. For the manufacture of geosynthetics, this may represent a huge opportunity to reduce the amount of material that is landfilled simply by default of being "waste" from the perspective of the conventional manufacturing, shipping, and storage side of the business. Geofabrics Australasia recently engaged in a highly successful freecycling trial in the Albury/Wodonga area of New South Wales, thanks to a strong freecycling organization and the dedicated efforts of a Geofabrics employee.

American Environmental Group Ltd has grown to become one of the largest suppliers and installers of geosynthetic materials in North America, with offices across the country and multiple divisions. The company currently has a Geosynthetics Technical Manager position open at its Richfield, Ohio headquarters. Learn more about the qualifications and expectations here. And please share this opportunity with the geosynthetics experts you know who may be right for the position.

On 1 November 2012, Dr.-Ing. F.- Hans Grandin took over as Managing Director of HUESKER Synthetic GmbH based in Gescher (Westphalia). Thus, after just ten months, Mr Grandin succeed Mr Wolfgang Huesker who, from now on, will return to devote his full attention to his tasks in the Advisory Board of the company. Established in 1861, HUESKER today is a company which pioneers the development and production of geosynthetics, agricultural and technical textiles for applications used throughout the world.

HUESKER has just published a video on dewatering with the company's SoilTain® tubes. Learn more here.;

The annual Waterproof Membranes conference from Applied Market Information (AMI) gathers 11-13 December 2012 in Dusseldorf, Germany. This year's program includes a strong mix of geotechnical and architectural influences, covering research and market updates, manufacturing advances, applications, new technologies, and more. The early registration bonus for the conference is significant. This year, attendees who register by November 9 can save €100 on registration. Learn more.

Maccaferri's professional development webinars have built a steady, strong following and addressed topics such as geotextiles and geogrids, MSE wall design and installation, gabions, rockfall protection, and embankment construction. These sessions run roughly 90 min, include expert presenters, provide a non-credit 0.15 CEU certificate, technical document downloads, and ample time for direct Q&A between the listening audience and the presenters. In November, the company is presenting two new sessions, both of which are free to participants. Learn more.

THRACE LINQ, a global supplier of woven and nonwoven performance fabrics for a wide variety of textile applications, announces a rebranding to streamline and create a unified look and feel and highlight its identity and cohesiveness across its family Thrace Group.

Tensar International has signed an agreement to build a manufacturing plant in Russia. Tensar is the majority shareholder in this joint venture (JV), with remaining investment coming from Russian partners. Don Meltzer, CEO of Alpharetta based parent company, Tensar Corporation, and Bob Vevoda, Chief Operating Officer and President of Tensar International, met with their Russian JV partners in London earlier this month to finalize the funding and construction schedule.

The Fifth Asian Regional Conference on Geosynthetics (Geosynthetics Asia 2012) will be held at Centara Grand Lardprao Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand from 13 to 15 December 2012. GA2012 will be hosted by the International Geosynthetics Society-Thailand (IGS-Thailand), Asian Center for Soil Improvement and Geosynthetics (ACSIG) and Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) under the auspices of the Internationla Geosynthetics Society (IGS). The theme of this Conference is "Geosynthetics for Sustainable Adaptation of Climate Change".

The September/October 2012 issue of Land and Water magazine is available. View the digital version online. This issue's stories include: Stormwater volume reduction retrofits; Improving vegetation establishment in surface mine reclamation; The Los Vaqueros Reservoir Expansion; Construction site BMPs; and more. Learn more here.;

In underground coal mines, the mines prefer to leave a base of coal to leave a firm subgrade for traffic. However, when coal seams are thin, in order to attain a minimum height to the roof miners have to dig into the base and expose soft lenses of clay which have low bearing capacities. Consequently, these frequently traversed pavements become impassable when mine vehicles, shuttle cars and mining machines create ruts which deepen over time and require maintenance to maintain access. Geofabrics Australasia writes on how they've worked with mining companies to create geosynthetic-supported roads that are more durable and economical than concrete or traditional aggregate roads in underground mines.

On 8 November 2012, geotechnical engieering expert Dr. Kerry Rowe, a Sir John Kennedy Medal recipient (which is the Engineering Institute of Canada's highest award), will speak at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The topic of his talk will be "The Use of Geosynthetics to Aid Construction over Soft Soils - Successes and Cautions." This presentation explores the reason for the success and the benefits that can be achieved using geosynthetics, as a basal reinforcement, and PVDs to increase short-term stability of embankments and to accelerate consolidation and long-term strength gain.