Career Overview
John’s career in mine engineering has spanned 3 decades, 6 continents and virtually all mining commodities. Most recently, John worked for international mining consultancy, Mining Plus, in both the UK and Australia. In this role and during a previous role with Golder Associates, John provided principal-level mining engineering consulting services to local and international clients and senior-level technical guidance to mining teams globally.
Whilst at Mining Plus, Minemax and BHP Billiton, John conducted a range of strategic mining optimisations and studies using various mining software tools. This experience provided him with a deep understanding of the available range and application of mine planning software. As a GEOVIA Whittle software user since the mid 1990’s, (and initially trained by Norm Hanson from Whittle Consulting), John is highly qualified in his knowledge of the use and application of Whittle pit optimisation software.
Now working with the Whittle Consulting Technical Team, John brings his considerable experience to deliver the components of the Whittle Consulting Integrated Strategic Planning approach to our client base. John supports, participates in and will lead Strategic Assessments, Enterprise Optimisation Studies and Tactical Theory of Constraints analysis and implementations for Whittle Consulting clients worldwide.
Career Highlights
In the late 1990’s, John worked for Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM) in Western Australia. He ran pit optimisations and conducted life-of-mine strategic planning studies in the famous Golden Mile. In a Senior Strategic Mine Planning role, John extensively used Whittle Four-X and Opti-Cut software for pit optimisation. He also employed Vulcan, Microlynx and Datamine software for pit design, in addition to a range of inhouse software, databases and spreadsheets for mine scheduling and Ore Reserves reporting.
During his time at Golder Associates, John worked on numerous mining optimisation projects from the Artic Circle to the deserts of Mauritania. John regularly undertook mine planning, design, scheduling, optimisation, project management, feasibility studies and Due Diligence assignments for a broad range of mining clients.
Whilst working at BHP Billiton, John gained high-level corporate experience. In this role, John was the key liaison between software developers and users of BHP Billiton’s internal strategic mine planning and optimisation software, Blasor. He conducted research into alternatives to conventional truck-shovel open pit mining and assisted with the development of a range of tools for high-level business case assessments.
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Engineering (Mining Engineering), Curtin University: Western Australian School of Mines.
- Diploma of Leadership and Management, Leadership and Management Australia
- Chartered Professional (Mining), AusIMM
- First Class Mine Manager’s Certificate of Competency – Department of Mines and Energy, Western Australia
Memberships
- Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM)
- Associate of the Western Australian School of Mines (AWASM)
- Member of WASM (Western Australian School of Mines) Alumni