“In my new role, I will continue to focus on assisting our mining clients through these tough times,” said Esteban. “We at SRK Chile recognise the importance of providing innovative ways of increasing efficiencies and decreasing
costs by solving technical challenges and optimizing mine designs.”
As SRK’s oldest consulting practice in South America, SRK Chile has served as the lead coordinator for mining projects across the continent. Since the establishment of SRK offices in Peru, Argentina, and Brazil, collaboration between
the different countries’ teams has added significant value to clients’ projects and resulted in mutually-beneficial knowledge sharing.
A mining engineer with a master’s degree, Esteban has 22 years of experience in rock
mechanics and in geotechnical engineering and instrumentation. He is an expert in analysing and producing geomechanics designs for underground and surface excavations—including using 2D and 3D numerical modelling—and in
conducting stability analyses of open pit slopes, waste dumps, heap leach pads, and landfills.
Esteban has authored numerous publications and spoken at several national and international conferences. He is an assistant
professor at the Universidad Católica de Chile and for the last three years has taught rock mechanics to final-year civil engineering students.
“Having received exceptional mentorship early in my career from world-renowned rock mechanics expert Dr. Antonio Karzulovic and again later from Dr. Alfredo Urzua, while working towards my master’s degree at Boston College in Massachusetts,
I too now endeavour to provide young engineers with a solid rock mechanics base from which to serve the mining industry” said Esteban. “I’m delighted to take my turn in giving back to my profession.”
In managing the SRK Chile practice and providing specialized services to the region’s mining industry, Esteban is backed by an experienced team of practice leaders, including Beatriz Labarca (hydrogeology), Maria Inés Vidal (environment),
Juan Pablo González (mining, resources and reserves), Marcela Curotto (geochemistry and mine closure), and Sergio Orellana (administration and finance).
