Ben is a mining engineer and people leader with more than 30 years’ experience delivering complex engineering solutions in many of the world’s largest mines. He has provided consulting services globally in sectors such as gold, platinum, base metals, coal, oil shale, oil sands, copper, bauxite, iron ore, phosphate, nickel laterites, mineral sands, rare earths and explosives.
His specialist expertise lies in geological modelling, pit optimisation, mine planning, and scheduling. A proven problem solver, Ben has been regularly called on during his career to lead the design and implementation of mine planning systems and customised software solutions to some of the world’s largest and most complex mining “operations.
Ben manages a team of engineers and geologists out of Xenith’s Sydney office. He also devotes considerable time to upskilling the industry’s next generation as the leader of training and development for the engineering team. Ben initiated toolbox sessions for information sharing at Xenith and presents internal sessions on the JORC Code for the reporting of Mineral Resources and Reserves.
He is passionate about adding value to projects, identifying the key drivers in a deposit and unlocking the best path to realise the project’s potential. He also gets great satisfaction out of business development, bringing in new clients and mentoring junior staff.
Ben is a skilled educator who has delivered training all over the world in various leading mine planning systems. He has undertaken Pit Optimisation studies for many of the largest coal mines in Indonesia, and in South America at El Cerrejon mine. He has experience in conceptual, prefeasibility and feasibility level studies and has worked with mining companies to develop study standards appropriate for each level of study.
He has been the JORC signatory on a large number of Reserve statements in both NSW and Queensland and has also been involved in several crucial prefeasibility and due diligence studies reporting to the financial sector.
Ben has a professional and mature approach to engaging with different cultures, skill levels and diverse planning teams.
Ben has three children and lives on acreage in the Southern Highlands of NSW. His greatest passion is cooking, especially outdoors. He has a custom built 1.2m brick wood oven, a commercial wok burner and an Argentinian asado grill.
“I enjoy working abroad and the value we can bring as consultants to developing countries and their mining projects. Nothing like waking up in a foreign country when you know you will encounter something completely out of the ordinary every day.”