mine manager (QM)

+250 direct/indirect reports including technical services, mining crews, Drill & Blast, Training and Fleet maintenance.

 technical services manager 

Managed survey, drill & blast, geology, engineering, planning & projects

geology superintendent 

Managed underground resource definition and open pit mine geology.

senior geologist

Managed geology functions including "Pit to Port" G/T, Resource Definition, Grade Control and Production Geology

exploration manager

Managed two exploration portfolios in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

mining fleets & maintenance

Luke has managed contractor fleets and maintenance departments with a strong focus on safety, staffing, planned/unplanned maintenance, costs and adherence to budgets. 

mining crews

Luke has managed +250 direct/indirect reports including Mining Crews, Training Departments and Mine Supervisors/Superintendents.

technical services

Luke has managed Survey, Drill & Blast, Planning, Geology, Engineering and Projects with a hands on approach having worked up the ranks.

Apart from daily production duties Luke has also been involved in construction of tailings storage facilities, bore fields, staged dewatering, land purchase for expansion, environmental approvals, Legal disputes, Contract negotiation & Competent person.

Drill, blast & bulk EXPLOSIVES

Over the years Luke has worked with numerous D&B suppliers in various commodities and operations. 

As part of a risk mitigation strategy Luke switched from a bulk product supplied offsite to building a Batch plant onsite. This reduced costs, enabled blended products for different rock types and guaranteed supply 24/7. 

mine planning & COMMERCIAL

Having performed the duties of Mine Planner, Luke has an in depth knowledge of the processes and outcomes required for a profitable mine. This is also backed up with a Masters in Mineral Project Appraisal (Mining MBA equivalent).

Luke has built Physical & Cost models from the ground up and managed the build of numerous budgets, forecasts and LOMP cashflows with NPV and IRR optimisation.

All weather haul roads

In both surface and underground mining, poorly designed and maintained haul roads can lead to dramatically increased costs and raise significant hazards.

By introducing training and correct materials to create good haul roads production increased significantly especially during/after rain events.

Through a systematic upgrade of the haul roads Luke was able to reduce downtime by over 50%.

blast fragmentation

The fragmentation of rock through blasting is fundamental to efficient mining. By optimising rock fragmentation you can achieve significant improvements in mine productivity and mill throughput. 

Luke combined the use of drones and Split Engineerings rock fragmentation software to determine fragmentation across the muck pile.

drill pattern - optimisation 

After due diligence on drill bit size it was determined that larger drill bits could be used to obtain the same fragmentation when blasting.

Luke managed the change from 127mm to 140mm drill bits which lowered costs, increased burden/spacing and increased bench turn over which ultimately increased production.

LIGHTer TRAYS - extra tonnes

When carting high SG material you need to look at lowering the actual weight of the tray. Luke sourced the solution of converting to rubber trays lowering the try weight by circa 20 tonnes, thus able to carry additional 20 tonnes.

Rough maths: 10 trucks carrying additional 20t per truck on 24/7 operation = 3,000,000t

magazine and batch plant

Luke went through the process of upgrading the magazine compound by increasing the foot print and subsequent explosives capacity. This also reduced explosives deliveries, stabilised supply and increased flexibility when loading the shot.

Solar powered lighting & cameras were introduced to enable safe access during the winter months and increased security. 

Luke introduced a bulk explosives batch plant to the precint to secure bulk explosives supply.

Training 

Mining operations are required to have Appointed Trainer Assessors to make sure the "workers" are competent to perform the tasks they are assigned. 

However training and assessment for supervisors and above relies on the employees putting time aside to perform these duties, which invariable doesn't happen due to time constraints.

Luke has trained and mentored technical, production and support staff in safety, production and technical proficiency.

safety

Mining operations are required to have safe systems of work so that workers can carry out their work safely. The provision of information, instruction, training and supervision is an essential component of any risk management strategy.

Luke has assessed numerous safety systems to check compliance with the Reg's/Act including:

• Traffic Management Plan
• Explosives Mangement Plan
• Void Management Plan
• Ground Control Management Plan

safety innovation

Luke has always taken the lead on innovation and technology working closely with companies to create the cutting edge.

Safescape Edge Protector - Luke supplied the mine test site

Magcam - Developed solar powered wifi cameras for security around magazines.

Safetycam - Introduced inpit cameras which captured incidents, rockfall, rifling, berm failure and more.

Drones - to measure catch capacity, geotech inspections, TSF movement, slope movement and more.

CONTRACTOR REVIEWS

You would like to think your business is making a better margin than the contractors working for your business. If this is not the case you may need to review your contracts and contractors.

Contractor reviews and market comparisons maybe all it takes for your current contractor to review its cost structure and pass on some savings.

Luke has been involved in numerous reviews working closely with the contractors to get a better deal on explosives, drilling, fleets, staffing and fuel. 

PROJECT management

When contractors arrive onsite to start a new project, the admin and safety departments go into overdrive; booking them into camp, checking ID's/credentials, inductions, LV inspections, drug tests, classified plant and finally project site inspection.

Having a (client side) project manager onsite to guide and direct a project may seem like overkill but when projects get delayed they pay for themselves many times over.

Luke has worked on TSF lifts, cut backs, haul road construction, mine start ups, mine infrastructure and rail/port facilities.

Tender process

Luke has an in depth knowledge of the tender process having worked on the following projects:

• Exploration drilling
• Deep diamond drilling
• Grade Control drilling
• Sampling Lab
• D&B services
• Bulk Explosives supply
• Onsite batch plant
• TSF Build and Lifts
• HV Fleet
• LV Fleet
• Staffing

VOID MANAGEMENT

Old and current underground mine workings beneath open pit mining operations may include large stope voids and an extensive network of tunnels that pose a ground collapse potential. 

If the voids are not managed correctly, safety and production will be affected instantaneously which can put immense strain on the viability of the mine.

Luke has extensive hands on experience of mining through underground workings. 

rock fall analysis

Rock fall is a real and potentially disastrous hazard in all mines. When a hazard exists it needs to be quantified and managed appropriately. 

Luke combined mine surveys with 3D drone surveys to gain the most accurate pit surface. Tragic rockfall software was then utilised to simulate the size of the hazard so it could be engineered out.

Ground control MP

Luke has extensive experience in the development of Ground Control Management Plans.

Through hands on experience Luke has managed:

• Liaising with the DMP
• Ramp failure
• Rock fall
• Fall of ground 
• Flooding
• Wall failure 

Drones

The introduction of drone surveys for mine sites has taken giant leaps in the last 12 months with the advent of high precision drones and back end software to create the required surveys with ground control points (GCP). 

Luke has successfully integrated drone surveys into mines to capture End of Month volumes, berm catch capacities, rock fall monitoring, TSF capacity, plant health, fauna/flora studies and even security on a fuel farm.

production management system (pMS)

FMS are designed to improve fleet productivity, decrease operational costs, and reduce administration time for data capturing and management. There is a variety of options on the market but they are capital intensive which doesn't fly with most small to midcap mines.

Luke designed and implemented a low capital, easy install, SaaS cloud based production management system which captured all the required metrics the mine required.

enterprise mobility

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) is the processes and technology focused on managing mobile devices, wireless networks, and other mobile computing services in a business (mining) context.

Luke has embraced EMM at all levels by driving new innovation and technology in mines. Luke recently rolled out a suite of applications to remove paper based data collection which feeds to Qlikview for reporting.

Resource definition

Luke has completed over 20 resource definition projects in a variety of commodities. 

Geotechnical 

Luke has been involved in collecting and analysing geotechnical data whilst been supervised by the chief geotechnical consultant.

resource modelling 

Luke has a good understanding of the resource modelling process, giving him the ability to interrogate and validate models.

He has also attended numerous courses with Surpac, Minesight, Micromine and the AusIMM developing his expertise in Resource Modelling.

grade control

GC is the last chance to de-risk the project before mining commences, thus its critical to have the GC process locked down. 

Luke has managed the GC process from a mining environment, however also managed the grade from Pit to Port.

mining

Luke has extensive experience in production geology and the selective extraction of numerous commodities reducing dilution and increasing productivity.

davyhurst mine startup - open pit & under ground

Luke was involved in the resource definition extensions to Lights of Israel, Golden Eagle and Giles. He also supplied technical support to the mining, processing and infrastructure teams prior to commissioning.

francis creek mine startup - open pit

Luke was one of the first in the operations team to reach Francis Creek. He was involved in clearing old infrastructure, regaining access to old pits and opening up the new resources. He then played a vital roll in managing the Pit to Port supply chain of DSO Iron Ore.

MURRIN MURRIN mine startup - 4 OPEN PITS.

During Luke's tenure at Murrin Murrin he drilled, geologically defined, modelled and mined 4 open pits to completion. 

His experience at Murrin Murrin gave him in-depth knowledge of the Ni/Co Laterite mineralisation and High Pressure Acid Leach (HPAL) processing. 

edna may mine startup - OPEN PIT & UNDERGROUND

Luke played a key role in proving up the cut backs, satellite pits, environmental approvals, land purchase and expansion. 

Luke also managed the resource definition drilling of the underground project and original feasibility study. As the Mine manager he supported the surface infrastructure so underground operations could commence.

GREENFINCH mine startup - open pit & UG POTENTIAL

During a 3 year window Luke managed a diamond deep drilling programme to target UG potential, resource definition to prove up the open pit and then geotechnical drilling studies. This was followed up with the full approvals process for mining including moving a public road, infrastructure, rare flora/fauna and offset studies.

mining finance - risk / corporate / debt

Luke has gained extensive experience in the key mining and finance-related disciplines having worked for NM Rothschild and ING Barings:

• Project development, including construction and start-up
• Project finance for resource projects
• Investment banking for mineral-related companies
• Legal matters, including permitting and title issues
• Financial and valuation analysis of mineral-related companies
• Public equity markets
• Public company board of director issues

commodity trading

After Graduation at the Royal School of Mines, Luke worked in the commodities market with exposure to base metals, precious metals and oil/gas. During this period Luke was exposed to;

• Trader support, middle office and treasury
• Cash & physical settlement
• Gold vaults
• Physicals, Futures and Derivatives
• AM/PM Gold fix
• Broker and settlement houses
• Metal Exchanges (LME, LPPM, LBMA)

technical due diligence

Whilst working for the investment banks, Luke was heavily involved in the technical due diligence of resource projects in the SE Asia region. 

masters in mining finance 

The course covered mineral deposit studies, resource evaluation, mining engineering and applied geology, minerals engineering and extractive metallurgy, accounting, mathematical techniques in finance, project appraisal and finance, project management, markets and supplies.

Metals and mining analyst 

Commodity and resource equity research for trading desk, corporate finance and compliance departments.

diamond exploration 

Luke was involved in exploring for diamondiferous Kimberlites near Mlibizi, situated in Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe.

The most important technique in the discovery of diamondiferous kimberlites was the geochemistry of the indicator minerals.

Barrage samples were taken from key tributaries entering Lake Kariba. The bulk samples we concentrated using a rotating jigger and the samples sent to Harare for analysis. Several high value targets were located.

geophysical gold exploration

Luke managed a regional IP geophysical survey near a known goldmine. The survey was designed to locate similar signatures to those on the mine.

The gold bearing host was a Chloritic Shear striking NNE with a near vertical dip.

The surveys located several shears which were successfully drilled and sampled.

Rab Drilling

Luke managed a regional RAB drilling campaign near Menzies on the project tenement Giles, WA.

The campaign was designed to pickup gold anomalies in the Greenstone belt known for historical artesian gold mining. 

RC drilling

Luke managed a regional drilling campaign in the Midlands of Zimbabwe.

The campaign was to determine if geophysical targets hosted gold. 

6 out of 10 holes hosted gold with 1 hole hosting 8m @ 5 g/t.

EXPLORATION MANAGER

Over three years Luke managed a large exploration portfolio in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Duties included tenement management with the DMP, healthy exploration budget, geophysics, drilling and resource management.

Ausimm Bulletin 

The mobile devices technology revolution is having a significant impact in the minerals sector, and its only just begun.

australian mining monthly

Evolution Mining has created a step-change smartphone application to improve efficiencies at one of its sites.

In progress

The next article will be published soon "The good fight - championing mining innovation".