In addition to environmental excellence and social acceptance, successful mining projects rely on three interconnected pillars: maintaining a safe working environment, controlled and well-managed costs, and uninterrupted production at the required mining rate and ore grade. Rock engineering is a key contributor to these three aspects from the earliest stages of exploration into project construction and commercial production and eventually to mine closure. From geotechnical characterization to excavation design, mine sequencing, ground support and backfilling, rock engineering principles lay the foundation for successful mining and getting it wrong can have costly consequences. Two topics have a significant influence on the success or failure of mining operations as they have a direct impact on the three pillars mentioned above: rock mass characterization and strength for excavation design, and seismic risk management. This keynote discusses the current challenges with the development of fit for purpose geotechnical models and the potential benefits of emergent and proven technologies to reduce the uncertainty inherent in geotechnical models through the acquisition of a larger database of more consistent, spatially distributed geological and geotechnical data. Seismic activity has a direct impact on operation safety and viability. Managing seismic risk is a multi-layered process that starts with the best available lithological, structural, and geotechnical model. The understanding of the seismic response to mining and the implementation of control measures at deep mining operations are discussed with examples from current mining operations.