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A current theme of research in the group is stress fields in complex rock masses. Stresses are a fundamental part of stability analysis in mine design, but little effort has been put into understanding stresses in mines compared to methods of estimating rock mass strength. Most mines are located in regions of geological complexity, which is why the deposits are there in the first place. There is much anecdotal and direct evidence, including seismicity, indicating that stress fields in such environments are far from simple, even before mining takes place. Our group is using and developing a variety of tools and techniques to learn about the characteristics of stress fields at a variety of scales (crustal to mine). The objective is to better understand rock mass behaviour, and to improve the geomechanical mine design process.