Kelowna, British Columbia
Surface mining geomechanics, pit slope design, and geotechnical risk management — 20+ years of global operational and consulting experience.
I am a principal consultant in engineering geology, specialising in surface mining geomechanics and wall control blasting. I work with mine operators and project teams on pit slope and waste dump design, slope instability management, and geotechnical risk across challenging ground conditions.
Before joining BGC Engineering, I led the Geotechnical and Hydrogeology teams at Rio Tinto's Bingham Canyon mine — managing complex slope instabilities, optimising designs, and developing procedures for mining above and below large moving pit walls. My earlier career includes roles at SRK Consulting and Rio Tinto operations in Canada.
I also contribute to the wider industry through technical papers, expert panels, teaching courses, and conference presentations — including a keynote at the 2023 Slope Stability in Mining Conference.
Led geotechnical and hydrogeology teams through numerous slope instabilities at one of the world's deepest open-pit mines, developing controls and procedures for safe mining above and below large moving pit walls.
Authored a Large Open Pit (LOP) guidance note on observational mining and managing moving pit walls, covering early detection, risk assessment, monitoring, TARPs, and governance processes.
Consulting support for open-pit operations on slope design, implementation, monitoring programmes, wall control blast review, and third-party technical review.