Phil has more than 46 years of experience in open pit mining, including: 25 years of large open pit precious and base metals operations with Rio, BHP Billiton and Placer Dome in a range of technical and managerial roles in Australia, Papua New Guinea, South America and Africa; four years as General Manager then CEO of an International Mining Contractor operating in Ghana and Tanzania in Africa; and 17 years as an international mining and geotechnical consultant, and a specialist in-pit crushing expert. Phil has a strong technical background which has included the publication of many papers on probabilistic rock slope stability, final pit wall blasting, trolley assisted truck haulage, contractor vs owner mining, and in-pit crushing and conveying (IPCC). He has also run workshops on pit slope stability (with Evert Hoek), managing mining contracts, understanding risk in mining, and IPCC. As a consultant, Phil managed the global mining division activities for the Snowden Group and expanded its international operations.