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Jade Singleton and Alex AtkinsConnecting, Coaching & Caring in a Diverse Mining World

Elan is the Director of Product at Airobotics. Elan comes from a diverse background of engineering, business strategy and product development. Elan has served various roles in Airobotics since its inception in 2014.Today, he works to discover how drones can best be applied to enhance processes for industrial enterprises. Elan is passionate about bringing inspired ideas to the market through a clear understanding of the industry and market in which it operates in. His role at Airobotics encompasses deep technology and market exploration to identify opportunities and develop the future of automated drones. Highlights of Elan’s career involve developing startup companies, self-started projects from MEMS devices to efficient vehicles, and being able to experience the staggering growth of Airobotics. Elan has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

Tamryn Barker is a co-founder and CEO of CORE Innovation Hub, Australia’s first co-working, collaboration and innovation hub focused on the resources sector. CORE provides a common point for operators, suppliers, researchers, entrepreneurs and startups to connect and collaborate on innovative challenges and opportunities across the oil, gas and mining and mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sectors. Leveraging Australia’s strengths in natural resources, CORE is a growing a network of hubs to support the resources innovation ecosystem, providing proximity to skills, solutions and opportunity along thesupply chain, and a culture of entrepreneurship, open innovation, collaboration and speed to market. CORE’s members and industrypartners are focused on leveraging the opportunities from digital technologies into the sector. Tamryn has worked for a number of international organisations including the European Commission in Brussels, Delegation of theEuropean Union in Beijing, the European Patent Office in diplomatic, trade and economic co-operation posts for over 10 years; and on a number of local collaborative initiatives including the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project and data science and innovation projects for the resources sector. Tamryn is committed to growing a community of innovators in WA to deliver the ideas, solutions and skills we need into the future.

Boom and bust are common words when people refer to mining or oil and gas. But there’s actually a fairly predictable mining cycle – starting with explorers finding new leads… green shoots as investors dip their toes back in… early success as projects are proven… and mine sites begin to be built. And then there’s the investment and mysterious merger and acquisition phase where secret deals are done, investors jostle to put money in, companies divest assets that are no longer part of their grand plan, and small mining companies are taken out by bigger ones. Joe McDiarmid, is an experienced mining engineer from WASMA with RPM Global and he understands the true value of a mining project is critical to both the parties trying to sell themselves and the astute buyer who wants value for money.

A mining company’s success is not just the ore in the ground but also its social licence to operate. Without this social licence, it is very difficult for a mine to get off the ground.That’s why every mining company needs a “why factor. Ken Brinsden is CEO and Managing Director of one of the most important lithium and tantalum projects, globally, Pilbara Minerals.His passion for mining is contagious, and he reckons we need to spread that passion to the general community.

Dr. Jay Spence holds a Master of Clinical Psychology and a doctorate in Psychology from Macquarie University. He was a joint recipient of the Gold Prize at the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Service Achievement Awards (2010) and of the St Vincent’s Health Australia National Invention and Innovation Award (2010). He was also the recipient of the 2011 New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry Fellowship and the Centre for Emotional Health Prize. A 2013 research paper on treating PTSD via the internet was awarded the ‘Research of Special Significance‘ designation. He has previously been a lecturer at the University of New South Wales and has 10 years experience treating patients in private practice. Dr. Spence is the CEO of Uprise, which is a Telstra-backed startup that provides innovative mental health programs for employers and insurance providers. About Uprise Uprise was founded by Dr. Jay Spence, a clinical psychologist, who treated patients with work-related stress or depression. It became apparent that by the time that many people came to see him it is was too late to treat them back to a full recovery. Many patients arrived in crisis with complex problems that made recovery time prolonged and emotionally difficult. He began to look at early intervention approaches and was fortunate to be part of one of the first online treatment clinics established in Australia. Dr. Spence completed his PhD thesis on adapting face-to-face therapies to be delivered online in the shortest amount of time possible. His PhD research became the basis for Uprise. Companies are in a unique position to be able to support their community of workers because taking care of them means better output from the community as a whole. Our aim is to facilitate that by bringing the best that psychology has to offer in the most accessible and engaging format possible.

Joe Dwyer graduated from UWA in 1991 with a bachelors in geotechnical engineering. In the first decade of his working life he worked for international geotechnical engineering consulting firms, his second decade was with WMC Resources before becoming Manager Engineering for BHP Billiton Nickel West following BHP’s purchase of WMC. Joe left BHP in 2010 to lead a reflection seismic acquisition company to the Oil & Gas exploration industry, becoming a contractor in his third decade in the resources industry. In 2015, Joe joined HiSeis … a technical spinoff from Curtin University in Western Australia specialising in the application of reflection seismic in the hard-rock minerals industry. He has an MBA and MSc in Mineral Economics from Curtin-WASM and as Managing Director and CEO of HiSeis, Joe is passionate about promoting the value proposition the reflection seismic method offers hard rock miners in their exploration, resource development and mine planning and design

Brendan Parker is a Principal Engineer and Mining Process, Production & Safety Expert with Advanced Mining Production Systems (AMPS). As a graduate from the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) with a Bachelor of Mining Engineering degree, Brendan has global experience within various mining operations in Australia, China & Canada giving him a diverse knowledge of different mining environments, process & system management methodologies, techniques, corporate cultures & management structures. Brendan is the Director/ Principal Mining Engineer at Advanced Mining Production Systems Pty Ltd (AMPS), which is a production engineering specialised consultancy company. Brendan Parker holds a Western Australian First Class Mine Managers Certificate and is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (MAusIMM). Mr Parker joined WASMA in 2014

Ben Auld graduated in Mining Engineering at the Western Australian School of Mines and commenced his highly successful career in the mining industry gaining experience in a broad range of commodities, disciplines and positions. He held technical positions in underground mines before forming a partnership in a consulting company (Mining Plus Pty Ltd) as the managing director. Ben is an entrepreneur, 

Scott Dutton, who is currently functioning as the director of mediation and conflict resolution agency “Fighting Fair”, is a well know name across all sectors of the industry in Australia for his trainings and workshops on conflict intelligence, mediation and emotional intelligence. After successfully driving the point home that conflict is an opportunity for transformation for companies in Part 1 of the 2 part series, Scott Dutton proceeds to give me some healthy advice for conflict situations. One such, could be a dispute between two employees which results in a toxic situation where work productivity and culture get affected. Scott gives us three tips to solving such disputes. Firstly, he emphasises on solving the conflict/dispute early. By letting it escalate only increases the fiction and Scott advises us to step into conflict situations early (as managers) and resolve the conflict as soon as possible. Secondly he suggests choosing the right method- investigation and mediation. In investigation generally an outsider comes and listens to both parties allegations; find the outcome and makes recommendation for the situation. However a mediator talks to the parties separately, on a another level, discussing the concerns and challenges faced by them, their allegations and determine whether negotiation is appropriate to the case or not and finally the mediator must find common ground for the parties to openly discuss their concerns. He explains how mediation can take a lot of time and skill to sort out and why it is crucial to make sure the right person is chosen to deal with the conflict in hand. At a lower level (site based for example) it could be taken care of by managers themselves if they were able to identify the issue/problem in its early stages. Scott also reiterates the importance of having clear cut processes for conflict resolution and grievance policy within the company framework to better handle the conflict situations between employees. With a robust framework to manage conflict, companies can delay engaging a third party mediator or mediation agency, however in the absence of such framework, its best to approach guidance before it’s too late. When asked for setting ground rules for negotiation, he states the best mind-set to have when we are about to negotiate is to think about the other party’s happiness as your priority also. Both the parties must openly discuss their needs and requirements and both the parties must be willing to listen and understand the other’s needs and requirements. This kind of mind-set will result in collaboration in the negotiation rather than conflict. With collaboration comes creativity in the way the process discussions which safeguard both the parties’ interests – and often both parties will walk away with results that were better than they were expecting. All in all, Scott Dutton makes us realise that winning might not always be the best option, in fact fighting fair and working together, is the outcome we are looking for to achieve the best results from a cultural and productivity perspective. It was an absolute pleasure talking with Scott – I didn’t have to look at my notes. It was that easy to talk to him and I’d say that is why he is so good at mediating! He can get parties in conflict to talk and collaborate. You can get in touch with Scott at www.fightingfair.com.au and www.scottdutton.com.au

Scott Dutton, who is currently functioning as the director of mediation and conflict resolution agency “Fighting Fair”, is a well know name across all sectors of the industry in Australia for his trainings and workshops on conflict intelligence, mediation and emotional intelligence. Innovative and insightful, could well be the middle names Scott, who has nearly 15 years of experience in mediation and conflict resolution. But what he brought into the discussion is possibly the most persisting challenges we face in the mining sphere- dealing with conflict. I say that this is the most persisting challenge because how we deal with conflict for the most part dictates the culture we have within our organisations. Scott says that confrontation is merely a style of dealing with a conflict situation. He also mentions how people tend to associate a negative connotation to the word “conflict”. He questions this quite universal notion to conflict saying that it really is an opportunity to forge better relations. Scott says that conflict is more like neutral ground and our reactions to it makes it constructive or destructive. He also introduces us to four characters he uses in conflict intelligence training sessions, namely, the Shark, the turtle, the teddy and the owl. The shark being the aggressive way of dealing with conflict and having a head to win rather than to solve anything, while turtle is simply hiding away from the issue. Teddy is, true to its name, trying to keep the others happy, which is quite self-destructive and finally the Owl, perhaps the most mature way to deal things in conflict, being thoughtful and mindful of the entire context to approach the conflict situation. When confronted with a difference between a contractor and client, a real time scenario in the mining industry, he warned against the stale mate situation that tends to manifest as both parties want to win the argument at hand. He suggests an easy method to approach such problems. One has to be open minded and try to not to think about everything as a know-it-all, which creates an opening to discussion which will accommodate other’s perception of the problem. Furthermore he says being a know-it-all creates many baseless assumptions – which further increases the rift between parties. Scott adds that this is especially helpful for people in managerial roles not jumping to conclusions, but rather, being approachable and understanding. Interestingly he mentions a famous “old lady and young lady optical illusion” (you can Google that) which reminds people that all this is just our perception. Beyond the old and young ladies, the picture may also reveal to you three different animals including an echidna. Take a look! This understanding of different perspectives itself will turn any conflict into a situation of opportunity for both parties. By taking in all the perspectives into account we get the whole context rather than just our own skewed opinion on the situation. On a lighter note, if we have got to discuss the need for a pay-rise with our boss, Scott has some tips for this extremely awkward discussion. He suggests that we focus on how we might deserve a pay-rise and also share an insight on what that adds on as value to the firm’s interest, in terms of loyalty, stress reduction, employee satisfaction and productivity. It was an absolute pleasure talking with Scott – I didn’t have to look at my notes. It was that easy to talk to him and I’d say that is why he is so good at mediating! He can get parties in conflict to talk and collaborate. You can get in touch with Scott at www.fightingfair.com.au and www.scottdutton.com.au  

Raleigh Finlayson, a COO at 31, a Managing Director at 33, at 38 he is the newly elected President of West Australian school of Mines Alumni, and Managing Director of Saracen Mineral Holdings. A mining boss born in boots on a station that his mine site is on now. Despite all the heights he had scaled, Raleigh has stayed true to humble beginnings and states that his most memorable moments were at the School of mines, where he formed great friendships and bonds that lasted forever. Interestingly the foundation of his great career also started out at the WASM when he started working right from the first year in the school from which he gained immense experience. He gives credit to his success to the right opportunities he took which came at the right place and right time. It is this winsome attitude that brought him more opportunities and inevitable got him to where he is today. Raleigh faced a lot of challenges in his career however he believes, it was all about making the right decisions, and proper planning. Advising young people stepping into corporate roles, he says the challenge is handling the expectations from people below and stakeholders above you, and perhaps even bigger challenge is to give oneself a break, focus on family too. He explains about those days when he comes home inexplicably frazzled and must figure out how to switch off from work and relax a bit. For the newly graduated engineers his advice was to learn things differently and to get financial perspective, perhaps even study a bit of finance to know and gain insight on how things work in the bigger picture. He never underestimated the importance of culture one brings into the teams. His prime focus for his teams had always been working hard, working together and learning much more with each passing day. He also invests a lot of time Mines Alumni as he feels that the school’s contribution to what he is today are immense. When asked about three major decisions in his career that defined it, he candidly replied that firstly courage and conviction about what you think, to stand up to your own beliefs will land you in situations that prove your mettle. Secondly he says, seeking advice and support will help young professionals, and finally he says young professionals must network and constantly try to up skill which will open new avenues for growth. Insightful as he is, with all his experience he said that as an industry, we might not be looking as great, with all the closing down of mines and loads of negative publicity. However he believed that the situation can and will turn for better. His thoughts on diversity were also very pragmatic. He said that the biggest mistake is that they are targeting diversity in the board room. Their focus should not be on prescribed numbers; instead it should be the quality and value of the person coming onto the board without any bias in terms of gender or ethnicity. However promoting quality in young professionals will help many females and individuals from diverse backgrounds an equal footing while getting into managerial and corporate levels. Raleigh Finlayson continues to bring immense value to this industry – and reflects the strong family values we have all come to know being WASM graduates.

WASMA Podcast Episode 10: Graham Crew’s tips on the future of mining and the skills professionals really need to excel in their careers  Graham Crew is a mining engineer who graduated from WASM in 1996. When we recorded Graham was General Manager at the iconic Bulyanhulu Gold Mine operated by Acacia Mining Plc and located 50km South of Lake Victoria in central Tanzania. Currently he is General Manager at Barminco. Prior to this he was Operations Manager with gold producer La Mancha Resources Australia during their expansion from 30,000 to 170,000 ounces per annum including construction of the 1.5Mtpa Mungari Processing Facility. Graham grew up in Kalgoorlie and worked in the mining industry as a draftsman and operator prior to enrolling at WASM as a mature age student in 1993. He has worked in extensively in mining operations and technical roles in Australia and overseas. In this podcast we discuss Graham’s climb to become one of the mining industries most respected professionals. We dive into the decisions, which he has made to get to where he is. Graham has no regrets and explains his optimistic view on everything happening for a reason. We get stuck into tips for mine managers and General managers and take a look at the future of mining and the skills professionals really need to excel in their careers. We finish with an intriguing discussion on diversity – and as you can tell – Graham is well versed in the benefits of diversity!.

EYE OPENING INSIGHT INTO BEHAVIORAL CUES 91% of people lie regularly, yet the majority of people are only 54% accurate in detecting a lie. While many lies are trivial, some are significant and potentially damaging to relationships, communities and organisations. Understanding nonverbal communication cues conveyed by others, and adapting your own behavioural expression is key to seeking truth and concord. In this recording Sophie Zadeh reveal’s the nonverbal communication cues that point towards deception, giving you the power to spot red flags and adapt your response to seek the truth. But it’s also a lot more than that. It will give you insight into behaviours that indicate dislike, discomfort and distress, and expressions that reveal true emotions. Ultimately developing your emotional intelligence

Imagine being able to control how people perceive you and to have the ability to read others- it’s like having a superpower! That’s the power of body language Driven by a passion to help people achieve their goals and with over twenty years of experience in training and presenting, Sophie Zadeh has worked with people of all ages and abilities, from all walks of life. Working one to one, in small groups or presenting to large audiences at conventions, her diverse experience, combined with an inherent creative flair, enables her to engage her audience and deliver effective, insightful training and presentations. Originally from the UK, Sophie lives and works predominantly in Australia, but is also able to take on work in the UK depending on timing and availability. Sophie’s company is called my alCOM

Andy is the Regional Manager for Priority Management WA and has been in this role since December 2002. During his time with Priority Management WA the company has experienced exceptional growth.With over 40 years’ experience in all areas of Sales and Customer Service, Andy has amassed a wealth of knowledge in developing long term relationships with people and organisations which has helped Priority Management to secure many long term training partnerships. Through a network of strategic alliance partners, friends and mentors Andy works with, Priority Management WA has the ability to offer their customers a complete training and implementation process solving many of the problems faced by businesses in today’s busy and demanding world.Andy’s belief around business growth lies heavily in providing excellent customer service plus just doing what you say you’re going to do. Have Fun, Think Big & Never Quit.

The TAG Financial Group are now proud partners with WASMA. This partnership is designed to provide all WASMA Members access to a partner that is able to educate you on all your personal and business financial needs. TAG Financials can help you look after your retirement Your dedicated support of this partnership will directly provide financial support back to WASMA.

Dr Spearing has a diverse background in academia and the mining industry. With an international career spanning 40 countries, Australia is the fourth continent he has lived in. Previously an Associate Professor in the Department of Mining and Mineral Resources Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA, Dr Spearing said he hoped his global experience will reinforce the global reputation of the School and strengthen the relationships between the WA School of Mines, Curtin, the mining industry, alumni and local community. “As Director, I would like to help grow research and international collaborations with the WA School of Mines Curtin whilst still maintaining the proud local history of the School,” Dr Spearing said. During his career, Dr Spearing has commercialised various patents and products, supported over $1.5 million dollars of funded research since joining academia in 2007 and has been published in a variety of technical books and related publications.

Jim has over 17 years of experience in the mining industry after graduating from the Camborne School of Mines in 1995. His mining career has been primarily in Western Australia, particularly with the Eastern Goldfields. He started his career in the field of Rock Mechanics involved in seismically active underground mines at the Gold Fields Kundana mine and the St Ives Junction Mine in the WA Eastern Goldfields. Following on from this he moved into senior technical services roll at LionOre’s Black Swan Mine, Barrick Kanowna Belle and Avoca Higginsville operations. He commenced at Higginsville in the earlier stages of development and took the mine plan from concept through to production of +1Mtpa. In 2011 Jim has been the project manager for the South Kalgoorlie Expansion Project (SKOEP) and has been in the General Manager at the South Kalgoorlie Operations and Higginsville Gold Operations and has recently taken up the position of General Manager for the Northern Star Resources Kalgoorlie Operations

Tom Paynter is a mining engineer, graduated from the University of Ballarat, with experience in most underground hard rock commodities. These include gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper using a wide variety of mining methods such as block caving, cut and fill stoping, room and pillar, and open stoping in both narrow and wide ore bodies.Tom currently works as  a Drill and Blast Engineer for Davey Bickford.