Dicken Patterson Email & Phone Number

South Australia, Australia

Whyalla, South Australia, Australia

 I lead and mentor a multicultural mine planning department ensuring the provision of practical and achievable mine plans across the monthly to LOM time profile. The mine plans include detailed rehabilitation and closure planning and design, mining and haulage cost estimation, and annually a full physical and financial budget development. I have been the Readiness to Operate Manager for several new operational areas, Bark Hills – nine new pits, Cavalier B&C two pits split into two phases, Empress and Baroness – scree iron ore deposits, strip mining, and conventional open-pit methodologies. My team and I undertake pit optimisation and design, including supporting infrastructure and detailed rehabilitation and closure designs and planning. My team and I have significant regulatory involvement, hydrology, native vegetation, PAF management, aboriginal heritage, and surface water management. Over the last five years, I have built the mine planning department from two people to five. In doing so I have trained an exploration geologist to be a LOM planner. I have also employed two graduates who now are responsible for planning and design at separate sites and I have trained a Mining Engineer who was predominantly experienced in mineral sands to work in hard-rock mine planning. I have taken the department from a position of no communication with operations, other than spreadsheet plans, to full weekly, monthly, and quarterly positive and collaborative communication and integration. This includes providing documentation for each mine-plan and providing operations, as our customers, exactly the information that they require to fulfill the plans to their best abilities. I am extremely proud of my rehabilitation and closure planning work, including documented design, planning, and reconciliation procedures.

Iron Knob, South Australia, Australia

BGC Contracting (Now Golding) was a major privately-owned Mining and Civil Contractor based in WA. I reported to the Project Manager. Appointed Alternate Quarry Manager. Leading a successful team of multicultural Engineers, focusing on drill and blast operations and optimization, short-term planning, and upskilling of engineers. FY19 BGC internal budget completion, assisting the client with their FY19 budget. Calculation of monthly Total Cost Estimate using Expert Estimation software. Development and implementation of a suite of engineering systems for a new mining contract including management of Wenco APS system installation. Advanced conceptual thinking leading to low-grade ore blending optimization (within physical site limits) and ROM design optimization for DSO stockpiling and re-handle. Assisting client engineers with medium-term scheduling to ensure that it can be practically implemented.This role was my reintroduction to the mining industry after my hiatus to follow another passion. The mine I was working at was undertaking a significant “goodbye” cut below the water table with no in-pit or external bores. Significant time and effort was spent on water management including the building of an in-pit turkeys’ nest and associated water management system.

Adelaide, Australia

Responsibilities during tenure: Appointed Quarry Manager Responsible for quarry financial performance Team safety and production leadership Lean manufacturing continuation and expansion Driving continuous improvement in the operations and operational teamAchievements during tenure: A successful transition from a resistive safety culture to one of cooperation. Restructuring of the quarry team to provide a modern structure, this included the promotion and ongoing support of two young Leading Hands and increased workplace flexibility of the Quarry Supervisor. Working with the National Resource Group, identification of a future lack of optimum haulage routes and undertaking of a redesign of a southern wall cut-back to instate flexibility in future operations. The development of a positive working relationship between the site and BORAL Central workshop. The installation of an on-site defibrillator, this involved extensive consultation with the regulators and a comprehensive risk assessment. Later defibrillators were rolled out across all BORAL SA quarries. Identification of inadequate guarding on Conveyor 1 and 1a, gaining project capital and project management of the fabrication and installation of guarding to Australian Standards. Redesigning of the Heavy Vehicle (HV) parking area to significantly reduce HV / Pedestrian interaction. Implementation of a floor level control process, leading to greater accuracy in blast mass calculation and a decrease in tyre damage and injury risk.

Adelaide

Responsibilities during tenure: Project management of improvements in ANDRA’s rules to produce a safer and more competitive series Provide technical support to competitors, vehicle manufacturers and team owners Provide technical analysis and reports to the ANDRA Board Provide technical and scrutineering expertise at National EventsAchievements during tenure: Scope development and commissioning of an engineering study into the mechanical performance of roll cage joint components. The results of this study led to the ANDRA roll cage registration process and the homologation of roll cage joints to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) standards – the first outside of Europe. Extensive consultation on and research into, roll cage material specifications, head restraint systems, helmet standards, protective clothing standards and fire suppression systems, updating the regulations to be aligned with current safety technology. Development and implementation of the ANDRA Industry Partnership programme. This programme linked recognised leaders in the motorsport industry to ANDRA. The partnership is two-way; ANDRA now levers off the association with these leading companies and also provide these companies with prospective customers through membership recommendations. Implementation of a modern and comprehensive incident investigation process.

Responsibilities during tenure: Senior most Mining Engineer at Iron Duke (Five pit Hematite and Magnetite operation) Medium, Long-term and Life of Mine Planning Engineer, Mines Resource Optimisation and Development department Project Leader, Iron Knob Brownfield development Project Project Leader, mine operation cost analysis tool development Mentoring of Junior Engineers Resource reportingAchievements during tenure: Development of a strip mining methodology for the recovery of detrital Iron Ore deposits. This methodology led to a significant decrease in mining costs and a decrease in the time lag between mining and rehabilitation. I led this project as the deposit was being further defined. Working in an iterative process with the exploration department, I provided guidance on the design of exploration programs. The design of an auger drilling exploration programme which gave information on detrital deposit properties whilst allowing preliminary process design work to be undertaken. Analysis on and development of an alternate mining plan for a high-grade Hematite deposit, Iron Baron site. Reducing strip ratio from 11:1 to 3:1 with only a moderate loss in ore mass and grade recovery. This was done by the removal of the permanent pit ramp and the use of a series of temporary ramps. This work was runner-up in an internal Business Improvement award. The undertaking of extensive, high quality, mine design work including pit, ramp, run of mine, dump, drainage, train-loading and additional infrastructure layout using SURPAC. Senior Mining Engineer for a five pit Magnetite & Hematite operation with multiple loading units and multiple cutbacks. Development of an effective on-site engineering team which worked closely with geology and operations to continuously improve and implement mine plans.

Responsibilities during tenure: Development of waste blast designs to ensure the ability to build a stable waste dump. Previously all waste dumps eroded into the Fly River Design and implementation of pre-splitting in the heavily jointed rock mass Support and training of the PNG national engineers Drill and blast planning aligning with the various time scale mine plans Drill and Blast department budget developmentAchievements during tenure: Successful mentoring, leadership and support of Papua New Guinean Engineers. Development of an advanced but intuitive blast design, planning and reconciliation system to support a complex mining operation. Development of blast design parameters to meet ore feed, waste and wall stability requirements Implementation of a successful pre-splitting regime. Completion of successful high potential risk blasting, including blast vibration prediction and fly-rock risk analysis and reduction. Completion of a detailed financial estimate of the cost of replacing the ageing explosive manufacturing plant and subsequentBoard approval for the USD $4.2m project.

As above.

Responsibilities during tenure: Graduate Engineer Program completion Blast crew Shotfirer Fixed and mobile plant operator Drill and Blast Supervisor Mining Supervisor Mining Engineer, Short-Term Planning Drill and Blast Engineer Senior Mining Engineer Contract negotiation and claims Mining EstimatorAchievements during tenure: Extensive and successful mining estimation. Successful probe drilling, blast design and implementation, Open Pit mining through Underground workings. Accurate contract claim administration with two major clients; BHP Billiton and Atlas Iron. Development of safe and efficient contour drilling designs and work procedures. Development of blast parameter matrices for efficient and effective blasting. Efficient operational mining supervision. Supervision and safety leadership of Drillers and Shot Crew leading to a zero medically treated incident (MTI) or lost time incident (LTI) department.

Master Of Engineering - Meng, Minin, Currently Studying

I am currently studying a Masters in Mining Engineering with the University of Adelaide. Current grade - Distinction.

Bsc Hons, Quarry Management, 1St