Kathleen has had an extensive career assisting mining companies in the fields of Mineral Resources, Grade control and Sampling, either as an employee or consultant.  She has substantial experience in mineral evaluation from early stage exploration, production and reprocessing of waste materials.  As would be expected, Kathleen continuously maintains her knowledge and has run numerous courses and seminars in sampling, quality control, resource estimation and geostatistics.  She also covers mineral/metal extraction, financial valuation and risk assessment.  In addition to gold, she has extensive experience in other commodities and is a Qualified/Competent person, Project Lead or Supervising Principal in many of them.  As a French speaker, she is able to teach in French.

With an education in the US and South Africa, Steven brings a tremendous level of mining experience to the DEKA Group.  Involved in mining since obtaining his BSc Mining Engineering in 1986, Steven has progressed through the mining ranks and commodities of gold and coal, achieving Technical Director level.  He obtained his PhD in 2003.

Steven has also gained experience as a mining consultant and spent four years with CSIR as a Research Area Manager.  Steven now devotes his time and knowledge teaching young mining engineers the intricacies of mining.  His experience in the application of mining engineering on feasibility/pre-feasibility studies in numerous commodities, along with Project Management appointments and appointments as CP for various mining companies, attests to his subject matter knowledge.  Steven is also a serving Council member on the SAIMM.

Dr Stephen Rayward has a diverse science, mathematics, engineering and software development background. Stephen has 40 years’ experience in Mathematical Modelling, Engineering, and development of both commercial and research software. He is the author of some 60 refereed papers, and some 20 LinkedIn articles; and he is well-known for his approachability, enthusiasm and considered views.  Prior to Stephen’s entry into mineral processing he worked in the fields of computer-based sail design (for racing yachts), numerical modelling of coastal currents, and remote sensing.

Stephen gained a PhD in Mineral Processing Engineering and was a Senior Research Fellow at JKMRC with fields of work including: mineralogical analysis, mass balancing, simulation and geometallurgy.  Stephen’s analysis software is still being applied successfully by Mining Companies in both Australia and overseas.

Stephen has provided numerous services to Mining Companies (and other diverse Companies) principally in algorithm development, education and specialised training.  Stephen simultaneously started developing his own Excel addins and commercial software for both mineral processing and more general applications. In addition to presenting courses in Australia and internationally (both in mineral processing and Excel), he is the author of a mineral processing analysis patent, which is fundamental to operational optimisation and simulation of mineral processing plants.

Samuel has a BSc in Geomatic Engineering and is currently busy completing his Masters.  He has been involved in manganese mining in Ghana and has taken up the challenge of self-development, with specific interest in the field of mining software. He is proficient in many aspects of Geovia Surpac, such as Geological Database Management, Resource Modelling and Estimation, Advanced Geostatistics, Advanced Solid Modelling, Open Pit Designs and Advanced Mine Surveying.

Samuel is also competent with ArcGIS, AutoCAD and other software products, which form the basis of his ability to teach these subjects.  His geomatics background enables him to also undertake survey work and training.  Samuel has been published as a co-author.

Marta brings a wealth of geological knowledge to our team as well as a strong background in multiple mining software platforms.  With experience in the fields of geological modelling and mineral resource estimation, gained from working with a number of companies, her role in our company focuses on consulting, personnel development and training, which she has been engaged in doing since 2009.Marta speaks English and Spanish and has assisted mining software companies with the translation of their excellent software solutions from English into Spanish.

Bob has 50 years of experience in the fields of mining and exploration geology and has operated as a consulting geologist working with multiple commodities. He now specialises in coal exploration and is conversant with SAMREC and JORC compliant reporting.

Bob has been involved in geological consulting, evaluation, exploration, project management and Competent Person reporting, conducted for various mining and exploration companies/clients. His work in exploration has involved projects throughout Africa, as well as Türkiye and Colombia and Bob also worked for a period as the resident geochemist at the Institute of Mining Research at the University of Zimbabwe.

Apart from additional experience in engineering geology and geohydrological, Bob created his software/audit system, “Sample Trail Audit (STA),” a compliance related service to the mining industry, in association with Venmyn.

With strengths in implementing and complete management of exploration projects, evaluating mineral resources and compliant reporting of these resources, coupled with on-site training of graduate exploration geologists, Bob provides a critical component of our ability to serve all commodities.

Orestes is a Geological Engineer with 40 years of experience in Geological Modeling, QAQC, Statistics, Geostatistics, Resource Estimation, Prospecting and Exploration Projects, Project Management, Economic Evaluation of Mining Projects, Planning and Development of Geologist-Mining Investments and Teaching and a registered Competent Person.

With extensive international experience in Chile, Peru, Nicaragua, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, Orestes has participated in over 100 mining projects and directed the geology work on many of them, from the drafting of prospecting and exploration projects, resource estimates, audits, technical reports and peer review of resources and reserves.

He has participated in technical/economic feasibility studies from conceptual studies (scoping studies) to executive projects of complete plants for metallic ores (Au, Ag, Cu, Cr, Fe, W, U, Al, Fe, Pb-Zn, Ni and Co) of various genetic types.  He has extensive experience in porphyry copper deposits, epithermal gold, skarn, SEDEX, laterites, placers, etc. and non-metallic (building materials, cement raw material, wollastonite, phosphorites, silica, ulexite (boron), lithium, rock salt, dolomites, volcanic glass, zeolites, mica, sands, barite, marbles, peat, kyanite, feldspars, clays, garnets, limestones, etc.

He is competent is the use of Studio RM, Studio RM Pro, Supervisor, Statistics, Studio EM, GSLIB, SGeMS, AutoCAD, Strat 3D, MS Project, and MS Office.

With over 10 years of experience in geomechanics applied to mining projects, Victor brings a strong professional and academic that includes research projects, mining exploration, and geotechnical projects in civil and mining construction. Victor has extensive experience in the design of underground excavations, mining systems, and reinforcement and support systems, essential elements to ensure stability and safety in mining projects.

 As a consultant, Victor has contributed towards critical projects aimed at improving safety and efficiency in underground environments for many Tier 1 mining companies. He is an expert in the use of empirical analysis tools, combined with proficiency in specialised rock mechanics software, to perform detailed analyses and design effective support strategies tailored to the specific conditions encountered.

 Victor has contributed to the professional development of geomechanics specialists over the years, sharing knowledge with a theoretical-practical approach that facilitates effective problem-solving and the implementation of appropriate solutions. Victor is committed to always being knowledgeable regarding the latest monitoring, design, and analysis techniques, all of which  allows him to provide practical, innovative, and accessible solutions for projects that present significant challenges in underground mining as well as transferring this knowledge to those attending his training courses.