Richard Bishop
Professor of practice
- Advisory board member
Current and past research
- Autonomous drones in GPS-denied underground mine environments
- Drone-based emissions surveys
- Rare earth elements and critical minerals
- Mine digitization using photogrammetry & lidar
- Mining finance
- Econometrics and big data analytics
- Mineral processing
- Slurry transport systems
- Development of virtual mine environments for VR and AR
Active research projects
- Design Guidelines for Assessment of Pillar Stability in Underground Room & Pillar Mines from Autonomous Robotic Inspections, sponsored by the Alpha Foundation, 2022 – 2024
- Evolve Central Appalachia (Evolve CAPP), sponsored by DOE-NETL, 2021 – 2024
Research group | Google Scholar
Courses
- MINE 1034 Mine Automation and Data Analytics
- MINE 2534 Mine Surveying and Mapping
- MINE 4664 Resource Engineering Leadership Seminar
- MINE 5984 Mineral Project Finance and Corporate Evaluation
Awards and recognitions
- 2021: Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME), doctoral fellowship
- 2013: Virginia Tech College of Engineering, Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
- 2006: SME Mining & Exploration Division, Outstanding Young Professional Award
Professional affiliations and service
- Chair, SME Coal & Energy REE & Critical Minerals Technical Sessions (2022-2024) (SME)
- Mining History Association (MHA)
- American Rock Mechanics Association (ARMA)
- International Society of Explosives Engineers (ISEE)
- National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA)
- West Virginia Coal Mining Institute (WVCMI)
- Society of Economic Geologists (SEG)
- Society of Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME)
- Canadian Institute of Mining (CIM)
- Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC)
- Society of Mining Professors (SOMP)
- Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
- Past chairman, SME Young Leaders Committee
- Past chairman, Florida Section, SME
- Conference Chair, SME Annual Phosphate Conference, Florida
- Advisory board member, Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering, Virginia Tech
Past industry positions
- Project manager, Harrison Western
- Mining/process engineer and operations supervisor, The Mosaic Company
- Vice President of Investments, Aberdeen International
- Precious metals equity research analyst, RBC Capital Markets
- Corporate board member, Portex Minerals
- President and chief executive officer, Legacy Platinum, South Africa
- Founding president and chief executive officer, Ferro Iron Ore, Mongolia
Education
- 2022: Ph.D., mining engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2020: M.S., mining engineering, Virginia Tech
- 2002: Graduate certification, European Mining Course in Finland, England, Germany, and the Netherlands
- 2002: B.S., mining and minerals engineering, Virginia Tech