Richard Bishop

About

Richard Bishop is a Professor of Practice in Mining and Minerals Engineering at Virginia Tech. His research areas include autonomous drones in GPS-denied underground mine environments, drone-based emissions surveys, rare earth elements and critical minerals, mine digitization using photogrammetry and lidar, mining finance, econometrics and big data analytics, mineral processing, slurry transport systems, and the development of virtual mine environments for VR and AR. He has been involved in various research projects, including expanding Appalachia CORE-CM with DOE-NETL and designing guidelines for assessing pillar stability in underground mines from autonomous robotic inspections. Bishop has a background in mining engineering, holding a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, along with a master's degree from the same institution, and a B.S. in mining and minerals engineering. His education also includes international coursework at TU Delft University, RWTH Aachen University, Imperial College London, and Helsinki University of Technology. He has held positions as a senior consultant, vice president of investments, and CEO in the mining industry, and has served on multiple industry advisory boards. His professional affiliations include the Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration, American Exploration & Mining Association, and the Canadian Institute of Mining, among others. Bishop has received awards such as the SME Mining & Exploration Division Outstanding Young Professional Award and…

Research topics

• Geology
• Geotechnical engineering
• Engineering
• Mining engineering
• Political Science
• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Machine Learning
• Mathematics
• Microeconomics

Selected publications

• Estimating Strength of Pillars with Karst Voids in a Room-and-Pillar Limestone Mine

  Mining Metallurgy & Exploration · 2022 · 8 citations

  PublisherDOI

• Modified Design of Pillar Based on Estimated Stresses and Strength of Pillar in an Underground Limestone Mine

  Mining Metallurgy & Exploration · 2023 · 7 citations

  PublisherDOI

• A Risk-Based Pillar Design Approach Combining Stochastic Continuous and Discontinuous Modeling in an Underground Stone Mine

  Mining Metallurgy & Exploration · 2025-02-18 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  The collapse of a mine pillar is a catastrophic event with great consequences for a mining operation. In spite of the low probability of occurrence for a pillar collapse in comparison to other ground control instability issues, these consequences make these events high risk. Therefore, the design of these structures should be considered from a risk perspective rather than from a factor-of-safety deterministic approach, as it has been traditionally done. This work presents a risk-based pillar des…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS (CRM) IN PENNSYLVANIAN-AGE COALS AND ASSOCIATED SEDIMENTS OF THE CENTRAL APPALACHIAN BASIN, EASTERN U.S.A.

  Abstracts with programs - Geological Society of America · 2025-01-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Evaluating Environmental Justice of CORE-CM Advancement in theCentral Appalachian Coal Basin using GIS

  2024-02-28

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  APPALACHIA is an area of great natural beauty.While some have viewed the area's natural assetsmountains and valleys, forests and streams, abundance of plant and animal life-as amenities worthy of protection and conservation, others have surveyed the area with an eye toward resource extraction and energy production.Historically, it is the latter perspective that has guided our approach to resource management in the region for more than 150 years.While the extraction of mineral resources, in parti…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Kevin Boyle

  Northwestern University

  31 shared

• Michael Welsh

  Longmont United Hospital

  27 shared

• Bill Provencher

  University of Wisconsin–Madison

  20 shared

• Patricia A. Champ

  19 shared

• Rebecca Moore

  University of Tennessee at Knoxville

  11 shared

• Gregory L. Poe

  9 shared

• Barry L. Johnson

  8 shared

• Richard T. Woodward

  7 shared

Education

• PhD, Mining Engineering

  Virginia Tech

  2022

• MSc, Mining Engineering

  Virginia Tech

  2020

• BSc, Mining Engineering

  Virginia Tech

  2002

• Graduate Certificate, Mining Engineering

  European Mining Course

  2002

Awards & honors

• Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), doctoral…
• Virginia Tech College of Engineering, Outstanding Young Alum…
• SME Mining & Exploration Division, Outstanding Young Profess…

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