Specialties & Experience
General Specialties:
Mining and Resources
Specialty Focus:
quantum and technical, Civil engineering, design
Education:
• Registered Professional Engineer Vicotria (RPEV) – PE 0015837 – September 2024 • Certificate in Governance and Risk Management GIACRM : 048001681 (November 2022) • Fellow of the Governance Institute of Australia (140101-2021) • Lean Six Sigma – Yellow Belt Certification (2019) • FAusIMM (CP) – 211477 (2019) • First Aid Certificate (2019) • Asbestos Awareness (Act- 2018) • Confined Space Entry and Risk Assessment – Certification (2017) • Advanced Tailings and Mine Waste Facility Design • Construction, Operation and Closure Training – Jack Caldwell (2016) • RPEQ (Registered Professional Engineer Queensland)– 15855 - (2015/2024) • MAusIMM (CP) – 211477 (2015) • PhD Candidate (Rock Reinforcement Subject to Shear Loading) Geomechanics • Advanced Geomechanics Risk Management Courses (UNSW) (2002-2005) • MSc (Rock Engineering), University of Pretoria (RSA) 2000 • Masters of Business Administration (MBA) – Strategic Management – University of Potchefstroom (RSA) – 2000 • BSc (Hons) Strata Control – University of Pretoria (RSA) 1998 • Advanced Rock Mechanics Certificate 1999 (Chamber of Mines RSA) • Certificate in Rock Mechanics 1997 (Chamber of Mines RSA) • BSc Geology – University of Pretoria (RSA) 1990 • Bowtie XPTraining Risk Assessment Software
Years in Practice:
36
Number of Times Deposed/Testified in Last 4 Yrs:
4
Additional Information
Wouter has broad exposure to a range of mining and civil-related projects and operations with experience in the following commodities: Gold, copper, nickel, tin, lead/zinc, platinum, brown and black coal, lime, etc. The mining and civil experience is coupled with managing teams and projects for many small to large mines and civil engineering projects. Wouter has been involved with Technical Corporate Governance and driving change to Critical Risk Standards & Risk Management Plans (TSFs, Water Dams, Heap Leach, Open Pit, Waste Dumps and Underground Ground Risk Management Plans) to be more Risk-Based with an emphasis on Critical Controls, Trigger Action Response Plans (TARP’s).
As a Senior Principal – Geotechnical Consultant and Business Manager, Wouter’s verbal and written communication skills have developed extensively by working with operations personnel, senior mine management, consultants and interpreters of international clients. These roles developed his communication skills to be clear, concise and effective in achieving outcomes.
Wouter has successfully integrated multidisciplinary operational and consulting teams by conforming to clients' requirements and leading teams to achieve agreed-upon goals. As a consultant, he has coached/trained several consultants to work and value their contribution to the team. As manager and leader, Wouter has been instrumental in guiding teams and young engineers in adopting sound engineering practices.
Wouter’s extensive experience in incident investigations, large—to small-scale slope failures, overall risk management, monitoring and failure/damage assessment, ground control design and stability assessments for various mining and civil projects, and as an expert witness has provided insight into various process and management system failures.
Project Management
Wouter has successfully managed teams for several mining and consulting projects locally and internationally. He has demonstrated ability in managing the technical, budget, and time aspects of projects, resulting in high-quality outcomes for key project stakeholders.
Team Development
Wouter has successfully integrated multidisciplinary operational and consulting teams by conforming to clients' requirements and leading teams to achieve agreed-upon goals. As a consultant, he has coached/trained several consultants to work and value their contribution to the team. As manager and leader, Wouter has been instrumental in guiding teams and young engineers in adopting sound engineering practices.
Communication
As a Group Manager, Group Head, Consultant, and Business manager, Wouter’s verbal and written communication skills have been developed extensively by working with operations personnel, senior mine management, consultants, and interpreters of international clients. These roles developed his communication skills to be clear, concise, and effective in achieving outcomes.
Change Management
He has implemented changes to operating practices to increase technical services quality, consultant productivity, and the transformation of small projects into substantially larger projects, particularly about Merdeka Copper Gold, Evolution Mining, and Geohart’s business practices. Key areas of change were implementing Geohart’s Quality Management Systems, OH&S Management Systems, and Environmental Management Systems. This enabled the provision of high-quality services to clients.