(Re)Introducing: Michael Andrew, Snowden Advisory

This year we welcomed Michael Andrew back to the Snowden team, a previous employee based in Sydney, Australia and an exciting addition as we grow the Advisory team.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

After finishing uni, I kicked off my employment history starting with Coffey and Partners in 1983 as an engineering geologist. After four years I left to do some contract exploration work before joining BHP Steel in 1988 as a project geologist, based in Whyalla South Australia. I worked on the iron deposits of the Middleback Ranges and was introduced to Datamine. I joined Normandy in 1993 which soon was taken over by Newmont, moving between Adelaide and Perth providing technical support to the Australian operations and also some of the overseas Newmont assets. In 2003 I answered the call and joined Snowden, enjoying my eight years before leaving to work with the ex-Snowden crew at Optiro. In 2013 I joined Evolution Mining and have spent the past seven years working there looking after their resources and being involved with the  M&A activity that saw them grow from a junior to mid-tier Australian gold producer. I am looking forward to my second stint with Snowden and helping to develop the resource team.

Can you explain some of the challenges you consult to your clients on in a few sentences and how you help them improve?

It is important to ensure that the client is told what they need to hear , not what they want to hear. It is also important when assessing risk associated with projects to understand the opportunities as well as the threat and to be able convey the materiality of the risk.

What inspired your career in this industry?

Originally I was thinking of doing law, but did a geology unit as a fill in at high school and that changed my plans.

What is the most satisfying aspect of your role / the work you do?

I enjoy helping to develop the people I am working with to realise the potential of their projects and to also help them to develop technically. I enjoy the variety of projects that come across my desk and the different challenges they bring.

What are your best memories from your career?

I think the best memories have been the travel to projects within Australia and overseas and the people that I have met on the way.

What’s a fun fact about you?

For fitness I train in martial arts, hopefully at some stage the fitness and skills will come.

Connect with Michael on LinkedIn or enquire with us for your next project.