City of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
🔰 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗹 I help mining and mineral processing businesses turn operational data into measurable value. Over the past eight years I have led the technology, OT, and data functions that move traditional operations onto a data-driven footing — across six countries, eight commodities, and multiple greenfield and brownfield environments. Currently Senior Manager: Operational Technology (Group) at Gold Fields, where I set OT strategy, standards, and architecture across operations in South Africa, Ghana, Australia, Chile, Peru, and Canada. Previously Head of Technology, Innovation & Systems at Minopex, where I built the NeuroMine Mining Insights Center — Africa's largest remote analytics hub for mineral processing, now serving 12+ sites across 8 commodities, with USD 3.5M in audited value delivered in 18 months. Before that, as Head of Technology & Innovation (Director) at Trevali, I led an integrated function spanning IT, OT, Reliability, Data & Analytics, Business Improvement, and PMO across operations in Canada, Peru, Burkina Faso, and Namibia — delivering USD 30M/year in CAPEX optimisation, USD 10M/year in operational savings, and an 11x ROI on the transformation budget. At Vedanta Zinc International I delivered USD 15M/year in audited revenue benefits and ran the technology execution for a USD 400M greenfield zinc mine. My work has been recognised by Exito's DT50 (South Africa's Top 50 digital transformation leaders, 2023) and published in the proceedings of the 12th International Copper Conference (Springer, 2025) — "A Data-Driven Approach to Improving and Optimising Process Plant Operations". What I'm known for: turning traditional mining operations into data-driven ones, bridging IT and OT at group scale, and — most importantly — getting real, audited value out of technology and data investments rather than dashboards that look impressive but don't move the operating numbers. Looking ahead, I'm building toward a Group VP / CTO / Chief Digital Officer role at a major mining house. MBA (Stellenbosch Business School, cum laude), Member of the Institute of Directors (M.Inst.D), and permanent resident of Australia. "𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙩." This belief motivates my ongoing commitment to spearheading initiatives that redefine industry standards and enhance global mining operations.
🔰 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐝𝐬: Group OT lead for one of the world's largest gold producers, accountable for OT strategy, standards, architecture, cybersecurity, and assurance across nine operating mines in South Africa, Ghana, Australia, Chile, Peru, and Canada. ◼️ Setting and rolling out the group OT operating model: standards, reference architecture, and governance that the operations build to, rather than each site reinventing. ◼️ Driving the IT/OT convergence agenda — closing the historical gap between corporate IT systems and plant-floor control, automation, and sensor environments. ◼️ Owning OT cybersecurity at group level: framework, controls, and assurance against rising threat exposure in mining ICS environments. ◼️ Partnering with site OT teams across six countries to support safe, secure integration of new automation, analytics, and remote-operations capabilities.
🔰 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘅: Global head of Technology, Data Science, Innovation, and ICT/OT Systems for Minopex, the mineral processing operations and maintenance specialist within the DRA Global group. Accountable for strategy, delivery, and value tracking across 12+ operations covering Zinc, Phosphate, PGMs, Diamonds, Coal, Iron, Magnetite, Lithium, and Gold in Southern Africa, Lesotho, and Australia. 🔰 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: ◼️ Built NeuroMine, Africa's largest remote analytics hub for mineral processing. Conceived, scoped, and stood up a centralised data science centre serving 12+ operations across 8 commodities. Delivered USD 3.5M in audited value over 18 months through stability monitoring, short-interval control, and anomaly detection (published in the proceedings of the 12th International Copper Conference, Springer 2025). Representative site outcomes included ~13% recovery uplift and ~15% throughput uplift on individual interventions. ◼️ Created and published proprietary, patentable data products — ProLET (Process Loops Efficiency Tracker), MinePulse (operational chatbot), and DTect (anomaly-detection ML model) — designed to be cost-effective, scalable, and embedded in real plant workflows rather than parked in pilots. ◼️ Designed and deployed a group-wide OT MES across 12+ operations, giving Minopex a single, standardised production-data backbone. ◼️ Established the Minopex Innovation Hub and Innovation Management System — a structured pipeline for screening, scoping, business-casing, and tracking technology bets, plus the partnership strategy with technology and sensor vendors that feeds it. ◼️ Hardened OT cybersecurity and IT/OT integration to bring the estate to a defensible, audit-ready posture. ◼️ Recognised in the Exito DT50, South Africa's Top 50 Digital Transformation Leaders (2023).
🔰 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶: As the Global Technology, Data, and Business Improvement Executive, I led the infusion of data-driven innovation across Trevali's operations, combining expertise and ingenuity to transform traditional mining practices. My leadership across continents helped pioneer new technological capabilities and foster a culture shift towards analytics in a traditionally data-averse industry. 🔰 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: ◼️ Technology ◼️ Data Engineering & Analytics ◼️ IT & Business Systems ◼️ Business Improvement ◼️ PMO ◼️ Maintenance & Reliability 🔰 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 & 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀: ◼️ Robotics: Introduced Boston Dynamics Spot, enhancing safety and operational intelligence. ◼️ Connectivity: Implemented comprehensive Wi-Fi networks for real-time data transfer. ◼️ Telemetry and Drones: Advanced underground drilling telemetry and deployed AI-driven drones for digital twins. ◼️ System Upgrades and ERP: Upgraded process controls and successfully implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365. ◼️ Analytics and Visualization: Utilized Power BI, Python, and R for enhanced data visualization across the value chain. ◼️ Proprietary Software: Developed Trevali Insights, Capture, and Chatbot to boost operational efficiency. ◼️ Machine Learning and AI: Implemented solutions for optimization and process control, including froth sensors and APC systems. ◼️ Digital Twins and IoT: Developed digital twins and deployed IoT devices for comprehensive monitoring and management. ◼️ Cloud Integration: Integrated Azure Data Lake with edge-to-cloud pipelines, enhancing data accessibility and analytics. Through these initiatives, I significantly enhanced technological integration and operational efficiency, positioning Trevali as a leader in innovative mining practices.
🔰 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲: As a leader of a team of consultants, I orchestrated digital transformation and business improvement initiatives across multiple mining operations in South Africa, focusing on coal and platinum processing sectors. My role was pivotal in steering comprehensive digital strategies to elevate operational efficiencies and optimize data utilization. 🔰 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: ◼️ Workshop Facilitation: Led workshops to define and design future state technology and data strategies, aligning with client objectives. ◼️ Project Management: Scoped, planned, and managed critical digital transformation projects, ensuring strategic goals were met through meticulous coordination, commercial adjudication, and contract finalization. ◼️ Change Management: Implemented change management strategies to foster adoption and maximize the value of new technologies, particularly in data and visualization platforms. ◼️ Stakeholder Engagement: Coordinated with multiple stakeholders including EXCO, ensuring alignment and integration of digital strategies across functional management and business partners. ◼️ Technical Advisory: Provided expert advice on industry best practices for mining technology selection and implementation, enhancing client capabilities and operational efficiency. ◼️ Performance Metrics: Developed and maintained a centralized reporting system to ensure consistent performance tracking and comparison across all sites. ◼️ Business Case Development: Assisted in the formulation of business cases focused on enhancing throughput, utilization, availability, and quality KPIs, driving significant business improvements. Through my leadership at Astatine, I successfully advanced technological adoption and strategic business improvements, significantly impacting client operations and setting new benchmarks for performance and productivity in the mining sector.
🔰 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗭𝗶𝗻𝗰 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹: As the Technology, Data, and Business Improvement Executive, I spearheaded digital transformation across one of the world's most technologically advanced mining operations. My role encompassed strategy development, execution, and performance measurement, ensuring alignment with corporate goals across Technology, Data and Analytics, and Business Improvement functions. 🔰 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀: ◼️ Smart Ore Movement - Collaboration with General Electric/MineRP. ◼️ Operational Performance Management - Partnership with General Electric. ◼️ Fragmentation Monitoring - Implemented with Stone Three. ◼️ Process Simulation/Digital Twin - Developed with Lycopodium/Andritz. 🔰 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: ◼️ Leadership: Directed a team of business improvement specialists, data analysts, and domain-specific engineers to achieve strategic objectives. ◼️ Project Management: Coordinated and managed all strategic digitalization projects aimed at improving safety, reducing costs, and optimizing operations. ◼️ Strategy Development: Crafted a comprehensive digital technology roadmap, enhancing the value chain through strategic partnerships. ◼️ Vision and Change Management: Championed the business vision and facilitated stakeholder buy-in at all levels through robust change management practices. ◼️ Methodology Development: Developed internal project management capabilities, incorporating both Waterfall and Agile methodologies. ◼️ Critical Thinking: Employed problem-solving skills to guide teams and stakeholders towards achieving measurable, value-driven outcomes. Through these initiatives, I drove significant advancements in technology integration and operational efficiency, positioning Vedanta Zinc International as a leader in mining innovation.
🔰 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: Project head responsible for delivering multiple engineering packages on time and within budget. This Greenfields project entailed the complete feasibility, design, construction, and commissioning of a new 4MTPA Zinc Mine located near Aggeneys, South Africa. This was the largest single mining investment in South Africa at the time of construction at USD 0,4B. The project had a key focus on innovation, digitalisation, and effective execution. 🔰 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: ◼️ Led a diverse and highly competent group of multidisciplinary engineering professionals to achieve overall business and project objectives. The team’s responsibilities included design, construction, commercial and safety. ◼️ Complete ownership and execution of engineering packages such as the tailings storage facility, stormwater management, road, and plant infrastructure projects. The responsibilities for these packages entailed complete ownership from feasibility to commissioning. ◼️ Developing feasibility studies for the projects entailing cost, technical and environmental evaluation. ◼️ Responsible for project managing multiple design and construction business partners for project implementation. Responsibilities entailed all aspects such as quality, technical, environmental, progress tracking and safety reviews. Negotiating with consultants and business partners involved in the construction process to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget. ◼️ Implementing innovative digital solutions to assist with commissioning and operations. ◼️ Conducting regular benchmarking, feasibility studies and HAZOP workshops to ensure best practices and cutting-edge technical design is implemented to future-proof the operation. ◼️ Apply critical thinking and problem-solving abilities (from a customer-centric, fact-based perspective), to guide both multi-skilled delivery teams and client stakeholders, in achieving value-driven results and intended benefits.