Publication: Innovation
Sea to Sky Gondola Down
The failure of the Sea To Sky Gondola haul rope in August 2019 was stunning news—but it also gave engineers a rare opportunity to thoroughly examine how the wire haul rope behaved while being cut under tension. By Kylie Williams In the early morning hours of August 10, 2019, the haul rope of a gondola... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
Meet the EGBC President, Dr. Katherina Tarnai-Lokhorst
Engineering Positive Relationships Through Collaboration After declaring to her father at a young age that she wanted to be a singer, Dr. Katharina Tarnai-Lokhorst, P.Eng., FEC, the new president for Engineers and Geoscientists BC, followed his advice and identified a profession to support her singing hobby: engineering. And, her connection with a fellow engineer who... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
Modular Housing
Engineering solutions for British Columbians experiencing homelessness Community leaders across British Columbia are calling for solutions to the growing homelessness issue in which more people each year find themselves without stable housing. In early 2017, 3,605 people were found to be experiencing homelessness in Metro Vancouver, and 1,387 homeless people were counted in Great Victoria... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
Improving Flood Preparedness for British Columbians
APEGBC engineers and geoscientists are helping communities in British Columbia prepare for hazardous flood events. Armed with new guidelines, professionals are optimizing the most current information and technologies available – including climate change projections – to map flood hazards, assess risks, and communicate them to communities. In May 2017 APEGBC released the professional practice guidelines,... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
A Long Road to Gender Equity in Mining
Initiatives Promote Industry-Wide Culture Changes, But Barriers Remain When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded “Because it’s 2015” to a journalist who asked why it was important that half of his newly appointed cabinet was female, the comment made international headlines. Canada had joined the handful of countries whose leadership was representative of the population itself,... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
Questions From the Grenfell Tower Fire: Could it Happen in BC?
The world looked on in horror as the Grenfell Tower fire in West London, England, claimed 71 lives and injured many more in June 2017. Several hundred occupants lived in the 129 social housing flats in the recently refurbished 24-storey building. Similar cladding materials to the newly-installed aluminum composite panels on the outside of the... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
Mercury Rising: Artisanal Mining in Developing Countries … a Global Pollution Problem
Many Canadian engineers and geoscientists who visit projects in developing countries see evidence of artisanal mining—people panning barefoot in a muddy stream, a hillside pockmarked with holes and tunnels, or rudimentary processing plants belching toxic fumes into the air. These isolated sightings under-represent the global scale of the problem. More than 30 million people worldwide are artisanal miners. Half are artisanal gold miners,... Read more »
Publication: Innovation
High-grade Gold Mine on Target for 2017 Production
By Kylie Williams Just a decade ago, the Brucejack Gold Project in northern British Columbia was bare rock and a sealed underground portal. The site had been reclaimed by the previous owners who had discovered the smaller West Zone deposit but were unable to develop it due to low metal prices. Silver Standard Resources took over... Read more »