Mining Industry Professional Perspectives

The global mining industry is going through transformational changes with shifting priorities, technological advancements, and a stronger focus on sustainable and responsible mining. The perspectives of industry professionals, from their career trajectories to their views on leadership, work-life balance, and diversity, can offer an intriguing insight into the industry's future. We have interviewed five seasoned professionals from the mining sector, each with a unique journey, challenges, and insights.

Peter Crane

The Advocate for Diverse Thinking

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Senior business leader and project management specialist with deep experience leading small to large BUs & project teams in Owner & EPC/M companies, encompassing all stages of greenfield & brownfield CAPEX projects for the mining, refining, up & downstream oil & gas, civil, & manufacturing sectors.

Peter Crane, from SERSolutions, sees his journey as one of perpetual learning. Crane emphasizes the role of vocational education in shaping his career, stressing that it instilled him with essential self-esteem and confidence. Crane notices substantial changes in the industry, not all necessarily positive, and cautions against taking career growth for granted, insisting that those desiring advancement must strive for better roles.

Crane asserts that technical skills, while vital, are irrelevant to leadership. He champions the importance of leadership, organizational, and motivational skills, suggesting that technical experts require their unique career path as subject matter experts rather than specific leaders. Crane encourages

An Insightful Dialogue with Peter Crane, Abi Iltireh, Charles Matthews, Angela Poston, and Keith Rowley

individuals to focus on how they can contribute and help others, rather than seeking personal gain. To improve the mining industry, he urges the sector to adopt diverse ways of thinking, break down silos, and recognize the value that different experiences bring.

A strategic manager with extensive experience in taking P&L accountability for multi-million dollar programs of work in Owner & EPC/M companies, including general management of start-up & in-place BU’s with approximately 250 multi-discipline staff. They specialize in full lifecycle project management and strategic leadership of client-side 'identify & assess' phases, including pre-feasibility, feasibility & planning. They lead multi-discipline technical teams to deliver high-value contracts safely, on-time & on-budget, whilst promoting positive cultural change & thought leadership, delivering enhanced profitability and performance for BUs with P&Ls of $95M/ annum. Their key areas of expertise include structuring, leading, aligning & developing high-performing project teams, market analysis, business planning & full P&L management, leading the strategic delivery of energy & resources infrastructure projects, leading the successful inception of major cultural change, and high-level commercial acumen.

Abi Iltireh

The Beacon of Patience and Honesty

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Abi Iltireh, an industry veteran, values patience, honesty, and a receptive attitude. Though his career's trajectory was largely self-determined, he believes in the significance of lessons learned from all situations, especially from one's own mistakes. Iltireh stresses the importance of both managerial and technical skills, and his advice to aspiring professionals centers on patience, openness, and integrity.

Charles Matthews

The Proponent of Self-awareness

South Africa

Charles Matthews advises young professionals to understand their passions before committing to a career. Though he identifies his career path as somewhat narrow, he recognizes the role of the mining industry in the present and future economies. Matthews emphasizes the importance of managerial skills and the need for better training and qualifications.

Angela Poston

The Champion of Empathy and Leadership

Spruce Pine, North Carolina, United States

Angela Poston, from Blue Ridge Premier Safety, underscores the importance of empathy and effective leadership. She highlights the value of an open mind and learning from mistakes, instead of indulging in selfblame. Poston believes that today's managers are excessively focused on self-advancement, neglecting to be true leaders. She champions caring for employees, listening to them, and prioritizing leadership over corporate ladder climbing.

Abi Iltireh RSP is a superintendent of health and safety in a mining company. He has a long track record of developing top-class safe work procedures, risk assessments, and safety cultural change impact. He has successfully improved safety performance, reduced work process risks, and raised safety awareness in a difficult poor safety culture environment. His biggest achievement was decreasing the number of accidents by 81% in one year. He is a collaborative, innovative, and driven professional who can effectively control risks and prevent harm to people and damage to company equipment. He also gathers, hires, trains, and builds a trusted and ready-to-take-over member of staff who are capable of providing specialist H&S advice.

The Green Recruitment Company is a leading specialist provider of global recruitment solutions to the Green Energy Sector. They provide talented individuals across the renewable energy sector in Europe and the United Kingdom in areas such as origination, operations, risk & trading, solar, and wind in South Africa and the UK. Their expertise spans across the green energy journey, specifically in Renewable Energy Generation, Energy Distribution, and Energy Management. They are headquartered in London with international offices located in Europe, Australia, USA, and China. They operate across the complete renewables lifecycle, in both upstream and downstream disciplines through to consultancies and finance houses. They offer services such as Executive Search and Contingent Recruitment to Global Contractor Mobilization and Managed Service Provision. They have a team of experts that allows them to provide their clients and candidates with expert support no matter the location or specialism.

She started her career as an operator in a plant, a challenging environment due to being the only woman. With the support of mentors and leaders, she transitioned into the field of safety and management. Angela gained a wealth of experience from observing incorrect practices and uses these examples in their current role as a trainer. They dislike conventional, monotonous training methods, and instead strive to keep participants engaged in conversation, believing this encourages thinking and learning. Her ultimate goal is to help companies train their employees in a way that generates enthusiasm about safety. They find deep satisfaction and love in what they do.

Keith Rowley

The Steward of Creativity and Negotiation

Brisbane, Thornton, New South Wales, Australia

Keith Rowley, from Sydney Business Web, holds a unique perspective on work-life balance, which he describes as a "myth propagated by those who resent having to work for a living."

Rowley, a technical expert who later pursued an MBA, encourages a mix of skills, arguing that a good leader needs more than just engineering skills. He advocates for negotiation skills and not taking passing fads as reality. Rowley points out that the industry has become overly defined, not allowing for enough creativity and gut instinct. His solution: focus on professionalism, not fleeting perks..

Keith Rowley is an engineering and management professional with experience in business management and technology roles in Australia and internationally. He integrates companies into cohesive, goal-oriented entities around strong culture and common values. He has a track record of success driving large multi-disciplinary R&D teams and profitable business units. He is also a joint owner of Sydney Business Web, which provides advanced business websites and eCommerce technology to businesses small and large. He finds the pain-points in companies' strategies for revenue generation and 'eases the pain' with solutions.

Each of these industry professionals' views is shaped by their unique experiences and career trajectories, shedding light on the opportunities and challenges within the mining industry. They highlight the importance of diverse thinking, patience, empathy, self-awareness, creativity, and negotiation. There's a collective call for more effective leadership, better training and qualifications, and an emphasis on continuous learning and growth. Their insights illuminate the path forward for the mining industry, echoing the need for transformation, professionalism, and holistic development.

As the mining industry progresses, the perspectives of these professionals provide a glimpse into the potential future of the sector. The collective wisdom culled from their experiences and insights paint a vibrant picture of an industry poised to tackle new challenges and opportunities.

A Cross-Section of Perspectives

Peter Crane underscores the necessity of broadening one's perspective and embracing diverse ways of thinking and problem-solving. His comments highlight the need for leadership skills beyond technical know-how, focusing on organization and motivation.

Abi Iltireh's advice centers around the virtues of patience, honesty, and acceptance. His career insights underscore the significance of every situation as a learning opportunity and the importance of humility in acknowledging one's mistakes.

Charles Matthews, with his emphasis on self-awareness, underscores the significance of aligning personal passions with career commitments. His views mirror the need for industry-specific qualifications and robust training programs to facilitate career growth.

Angela Poston emphasizes the value of empathy and effective leadership, reminding us that individuals, not just profit margins, form the backbone of the industry. She criticizes the overemphasis on self-promotion and calls for managers to be true leaders who genuinely care about their teams.

Keith Rowley's candid perspective on work-life balance provides a counterpoint to the ongoing discourse. His emphasis on creativity and negotiation skills, along with a mix of technical and managerial prowess, underscores the multifaceted nature of leadership.