Dr. Suorineni is currently Professor of Mining Engineering in the School of Mining and Geosciences at the Nazarbayev University, Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan. He was Acting Dean and Dean of the School of Mining and Geosciences from September 2018 to January 2020. From June 2013 to June 2017, Dr. Suorineni was Professor and Inaugural Chair of Mine Geotechnical Engineering at the School of Mining Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia. He obtained his B.Sc. from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana; M.Sc. from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (now Newcastle University), Britain, and Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo, Canada. Dr. Suorineni is a globally recognized consultant and award-winning academic with over 30 years’ experience in teaching, research and consulting in Africa, North America, Australia, and Asia. Dr. Suorineni worked with Stantec on various projects (Vale Copper Cliff Mine and Quito in Ecuador) between 2011 and 2013, under his private consulting company, Thinkrox Inc. Dr. Suorineni was a regular member of expert panels that reviewed Vale’s mines rockburst events in the Sudbury Basin. Professor Suorineni has enviable knowledge in the broad spectrum of geosciences and engineering and has played leadership roles within this spectrum. In January 2016, Dr. Suorineni was appointed International Member of the Technical Committee on Mining Engineering of China ENFI Engineering Co Ltd. in Beijing and was reappointed in October 2019 as an International Expert of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of China Mining Innovation Beijing Engineering Research Centre. Dr. Suorineni is also a visiting Professor to the Northeastern University, Shenyang, China, since 2016. Professor Suorineni has the rare distinction of winning the Douglas Hay Medal twice for best papers published in the Transactions of the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section A): Mining Technology in 2012 and 2015 respectively. He was also co-Author of a best paper published at the 13th Congress of the International Society for Rock Mechanics (ISRM) in Montreal in 2015. Dr. Suorineni is a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM), London. In 2016, Dr. Suorineni was admitted as permanent member of the International Organizing Committee (IOC) of the World Mining Congress. Professor Suorineni has given many invited lectures around the world including in Australia, Poland, Turkey, Chile, South Korea, Ghana, China, Brazil, Japan, and Kazakhstan. Dr. Suorineni has published over 200 technical papers and holds two IPs (https://unsw.technologypublisher.com/tech/Combined_compression_and_shear_testing_system_(C-CASTS)_for_determination_of_intact_rock_properties_for_design_of_inclined_pillars_in_underground_mines).

• 2018 to date: Professor of Mining Engineering, School of Mining and Geosciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
• 2013 - 2017: Inaugural Chair of Mine Geotechnical Engineering, School of Mining Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
• 2001 - 2013: Senior Research Engineer, Geomechanics Research Centre, Laurentian University, Sudbury Canada
• 2001 - 2015: Adjunct Professor (Term appointments), School of Engineering, Laurentian University, Sudbury Canada
• 1998 - 2001: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Geomechanics Research Centre, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Canada
• 1994 - 1998: Research Assistant, Geomechanics Research Centre, Laurentian University, Sudbury Canada
• 1989 - 1994: Senior Lecturer, School of Mines, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
• 1983 - 1989: Lecturer, School of Mines, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
• 1980 - 1982: Teaching Assistant, School of Mines, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
• 1976 - 1977: Intern, Prestea State Goldfelds, Prestea, Ghana

1. Application of existing and emerging technologies to mining (Big Data and Virtual Reality Technology, Space Technology)
2. Innovative mining systems (open stoping, block caving, pillar design among others)
3. Rockbursts and seismicity
4. Ground support (including Thin Spray-on Liners (TSL))
5. Rockmass classifications
6. Material testing (Rock, Soil, Ground support including Thin Spray-on liners (TSL))
7. Mine Auditing
8. Hydraulic fracturing

Current Research

1. Real-time seismic wave velocity determination for accurate event source locations in underground mines (Funded by Nazarbayev University Collaborative Research Program) Principal Investigator (PI): US$ 435,00
2. Design of unconventional underground mine pillars (Funded by Nazarbayev University Faculty Development Competitive Grants), Principal Investigator (PI): US$150,000
3. Establishment of Research and Education Hub to Develop Young Researchers on Mining Informatics for Sustainable Resource Development in Middle Asian Countries: Kazakhstan (Nazarbayev University), Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Japan (Akita University, Tsukuba, Kyushu & Hokkaido. (Funded by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). US$540,000

Selected Journal Publications

1. Suorineni, F.T. 2022. Challenges and Implications for the Mining Industry for Future Resources　 International Journal of the Society of Materials Engineering for Resources Vol.25, No.1 (In Press).　
2. Shuai Xu, Pengyuan Hou, Li Runran, Fidelis T Suorineni An Improved Outer Pipe Method for Expansive Pressure Measurement of Static Cracking Agents. Submitted to International Journal of Mining Science and Technology. Volume 32, Issue 1, January 2022, Pages 27-39.
3. Shuai Xu, Ruiyu Liang, Fidelis T Suorineni, Yuan Hui Li 2021. Evaluation of the use of sublevel open stoping in the mining of moderately dipping medium-thick orebodies. International Journal of Mining Science and Technology, Volume 31, Issue 2, Pages 333-346.
4. Madenova, Yerkezhan and Suorineni Fidelis Tawiah On the question of original versus modified stability graph factors – a critical evaluation. Mining Technology: Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section A). doi.org/10.1080/25726668.2020.1721996
5. Suorineni, F.T. 2020. The Sudbury Basin stress tensor – a critical review. CIM Journal, https://doi.org/10.1080/19236026.2020.1757986.
6. Suorineni, F.T. 2019. The future mining engineer – what will be the educational needs for the mine 4.0 industry? Mining Journal of Kazakhstan, Vol. 9, pp. 44-56.
7. Shuai Xu, Fidelis T. Suorineni, Long An, Yuan Hui Li, Chang Yu Jin, 2019. Use of an artificial crown pillar in transition from open pit to underground Mining. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, Vol. 117:118-13.
8. Long An, Fidelis Tawiah Suorineni, Xu Shuai, Yuanhui Li, and Zhechao Wang 2018. A feasibility study on confinement effect on blasting performance in narrow vein mining through numerical modelling. International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences 112:84-94, DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmms.2018.10.010
9. Qingyuan He, Fidelis Suorineni*, Tianhui Ma, Joung Oh 2018. Parametric Study on Creating Prescribed Hydraulic Fractures in Cave Mining. Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology 78: 47–63.
10. Shuai Xu, Suorineni, F.T.*, Long An and Yuan Hui Li. 2017. A Study of gravity flow principles of sublevel caving method in dipping narrow veins. Granular Matter (GRMA): DOI10.1007/s10035-017-0748-z.
11. Shuai Xu, Suorineni, F.T.*, Kunmeng Li and Yuanhui Li. 2016. Use of Physical Simulation for application of Long-Hole Stoping in the Recovery of Inclined Medium-Thick Orebodies. Submitted to International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences.
12. Qingyuan He, Suorineni, F.T.* and Joung Oh, 2017. Effect of discontinuity stress shadows on hydraulic fracture orientation. International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences 91:179–194
13. Shuai Xu, Fidelis T. Suorineni*, Kunmeng Li, Yuanhui Li, 2016. Evaluation of the Strength and Ultrasonic Properties of Foam Cemented Paste Backfill for reduced Dynamic Loading Effects. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17480930.2016.1215782.
14. He, Q., Suorineni, F.T.* and Oh, J. 2016. Review of Hydraulic Fracturing for Pre-conditioning in Cave Mining. Journal of Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering, doi:10.1007/s00603-016-1075-0.
15. He, Q., Suorineni, F.T.* and Oh, J. 2016. Strategies for creating prescribed hydraulic fractures for pre-conditioning in cave mining. Rock Mech Rock Eng. DOI 10.1007/s00603-016-1141-7.
16. Tian-Hui Ma, Long Wang, Fidelis Suorineni and Chunan Tang 2016. Study on failure mechanism of mine pillars under shear loading. Shock and Vibration, http://www.hindawi.com/journals/sv/aip/6195482/
17. Tibbett, J.D., Suorineni, F.T. and Hebblewhite, B.K. 2016. Preliminary results for investigating rockmass response to undercut blasting within a block cave mining system using VRSV. CIM Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 121 - 131. (Best Paper: 13^th ISRM Congress, Montreal)
18. Papaioanou, A. and Suorineni, F.T. Development of a generalised dilution-based stability graph for open stope design. Transactions Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section A): Mining Technology, pp. 121-128.
19. Suorineni, F.T., Mgumbwa, J.J., Kaiser, P.K. and Thibodeau, D. 2014. Mining of orebodies under shear loading Part 2 - Failure modes and mechanisms. Transactions Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section A): Mining Technology, Vol. 123(4), pp. 240 - 249. (IOM3 2015 Douglas Hay Medal winning paper).
20. Suorineni, F.T. 2011. Factors influencing overbreak in the Barkers orebody, Kundana Gold mine: narrow vein case study. Paper by: P.C. Stewart, R. Trueman, and I. Brunton, 2011: Mining Technology, vol. 120(2), pp. 80-89. Letter to the Editor, Transactions, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section A): Mining Technology.
21. Suorineni, F.T., Kaiser, P.K., Mgumbwa, J.J. and Thibodeau, D. 2011. Mining of orebodies under shear loading - Part 1: Case histories. Transactions Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Section A): Mining Technology, vol. 120(3), pp. 137-147. (IOM3 2012 Douglas Hay Medal winning paper).
22. Vasak, P. and Suorineni, F.T. Research to Reality: Extracting more value from mine data using virtual reality and scientific visualization techniques. PositionIT, The Geoinformatics, Surveying, GIS, GPS and Location-based Services Journal for Southern Africa, pp. 62 - 67.
23. Suorineni, F.T. 2010. The stability graph after three decades in use - Experiences and the way forward. International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment, Vol. 24 (4), pp. 307-3392. (Among Top 10 Most downloaded and read paper in International Journal of Mining, Reclamation and Environment in 2011).
24. Suorineni, F.T., Chinassane D.R. and Kaiser P.K. 2009. A procedure for determining rock-type specific brittle Hoek-Brown parameter "s". Rock Mech. Rock Eng.: 42:849-881.
25. Suorineni, F.T., Kaiser P.K., Henning, J.H.   Safe rapid drifting - Support selection.  Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology: 23, pp. 682-699. (Top Hottest 25 articles in Tunnelling and Underground Space Technology in 2008).
26. Cai, M., Kaiser P.K., Suorineni, F. and Su, K. 2007. A study on the dynamic behaviour of the Meuse/Haute-Marne argillite. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C, Volume 32, Issues 8-14, 2007, Pages 907-916.