Andy Fourie

Andy Fourie is a Professor of Civil and Mining Engineering at the University of Western Australia (UWA), leading the Future Tails research initiative. He specializes in geotechnical engineering of mine tailings, electrokinetic dewatering, and in-situ mineral extraction. His work addresses catastrophic tailings dam failures through advanced testing, numerical modeling, and real-time monitoring.

Education: BSc(Eng) and MSc(Eng) from University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa), PhD from Imperial College London. Previously served as Associate Dean for Research at Wits and led the Waste Impact Minimisation Programme.

Research focuses on tailings stability, paste backfill technology, and sustainable mining practices aligned with UN SDGs. Recent work explores eliminating tailings via electrokinetic in-situ extraction and stabilizing underground mining voids.

Key projects include tailings dam monitoring technologies, enzyme-based capping stabilization, and accelerated tailings consolidation methods. Active in industry collaborations through grants from AMIRA International, ARC, and Minerals Research Institute of WA.