Immediately after the establishment of the Mining Institute, the doyens in the field of geotechnics, Prof. Nikola Najdanović and Dr. Radmilo Obradović, formed the Geomechanics Laboratory. The laboratory equipment was purchased from Great Britain and laboratory tests on soil and rock samples began. The Geomechanical Laboratory, which was established in 1960, was among the first in the former Yugoslavia.

In the past decades, the laboratory followed the development of geomechanical equipment and participated in applied engineering geological researches for the purpose of preparing geological documentation for Design of surface and underground coal mines, as well as metal raw materials mines, both in the Balkans and around the world.

At the beginning of the laboratory work, tests were conducted for the purpose of defining the identification and classification properties of the work environment, and during the 1970s equipment for detailed research of rock and soil mechanical properties was purchased.

The Laboratory is at the forefront of introducing modern methods and procedures, and was among the first in the world that applied photoelastic modeling of stress-strain states in rock massifs. Today, the Laboratory follows modern geomechanical testing techniques. It is very well equipped, and could especially boast of having new equipment for triaxial testing in dynamic conditions, which makes it unique in this area and beyond.

Laboratory associates actively provide support in teaching and training of full-time students and faculty associates. There are many examples of assistance to candidates in the preparation of master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. The laboratory equipment on which tests are performed under current conditions is of the latest generation and is fully digitalized.

The main activity of the Geomechanical Laboratory is testing the physical and mechanical characteristics of soil and rocks according to SRPS EN (accreditation number 01-309) standards and all for the purpose of Design in: mining, Construction, in the physical and mechanical characterization of quarry stone, in the disposal of tailings and ash, recultivation and development of degraded areas, analysis and rehabilitation of terrain stability, and etc.

The laboratory performs:

• Identification and classification tests (determination of moisture content, pore volume, pore-free volume, granulometric composition, consistency);
• Resistance properties tests (direct shear test);
• Deformability properties tests (oedometer test);
• Compaction tests (Proctor test);
• Bearing capacity tests (CBR test, determination of uniaxial compressive strength);
• Water permeability tests (with constant and decreasing pressure);
• Strength tests,
• Elastic and deformable properties of rocks;
• Resistance to cutting during excavation tests;
• Coal and rock crushing tests.

The laboratory has so far performed approximately one million laboratory model tests, for all major mines in the territory of the former Yugoslavia, and recently the tests for construction of the Turkish Stream and the Belgrade Metro.

As part of the wider research, development, innovation and Design activities of the Mining Institute, the Geomechanical Laboratory participates in an integrated manner in the development and technical control of engineering and geological research projects, in exploratory drilling, in sampling and mapping of cores during exploratory drilling, in engineering and geological mapping of the terrain, in the development of maps and profiles for geostatic analysis and calculation of slopes and inclines, landslide rehabilitation, construction of dams and tailings and ash dumps, calculation of bearing capacity and soil settlement for construction facilities, geostatic calculations for the Design of surface mines, export and ventilation shafts, underground mining rooms and tunnels, preparation and technical control of geotechnical reports for the construction of facilities, geotechnical monitoring, etc.

Notable results were achieved in cooperation with the Joint Stock Company “Elektroprivreda Srbije”, Jaroslav Černi Water Institute in Belgrade, the Faculty of Mining and Geology in Belgrade, the Belgrade City Development Directorate, PUC “Belgrade Metro and Train” from Belgrade, etc.