Ian Firth: Curriculum Vitae
Contact Details: Phone +1 775 784 4185
Fax +1 775 784 1833
e mail :ianfirth@powernet.net
Current:
Graduate Student, Mackay School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno. Working towards a Ph.D. degree in the field of Rock Mechanics/Blasting Technology. Specific areas of interest include the use of numerical methods to model blast movement and the measurement of blast movement and fragmentation in open pit mines.
Experience:
Regional Engineer/Area Manager-Botswana, ICI Mining Services. July 1996-September 1998. Responsible for health and safety, business planning, production management, budgetary control, raw material procurement and personnel issues relating to the business in Botswana. The company employed 15 people and manufactured approximately 15 000 tonnes per annum of bulk explosive supplied to diamond mines owned by De Beers and to other small open pit mines in the country. In addition, responsible for the management of mining engineers and technical staff involved in blast design and product trials on customer sites.
Mining Engineer-Planning. Palabora Mining Company, South Africa. . September 1995 - July 1996. Responsible for short term production scheduling from the copper open pit. Scheduling for 5 P&H electric shovels and a fleet of 22 Euclid R220 wheel motor haul trucks moving approximately 35 million tonnes per annum ore and waste. Drill scheduling for 5 GD 120 rotary drill rigs drilling 311mm and 165mm blast holes. In addition blast scheduling, in pit reticulation, scheduled maintenance of loading and drilling fleet and shift by shift loading line up was coordinated by the planning engineer.
RTZ Technical Services Ltd. Bristol, England. June 1995-September 1995. Graduate Mining Engineer working predominantly on a mine information database with some input to other projects ongoing at the time.
Tarmac Roadstone (Northwest) Ltd. Manchester, England. July 1993-June 1995. Graduate Engineer, Assistant Works Manager and Works Manager at a busy roadstone quarry serving the Greater Manchester business area. Held direct responsibility for all operational and financial aspects of the quarry as a stand alone business unit, including budget projections and monthly budget control. Responsible for the introduction of non-electric blast initiation systems and the use of pumped emulsion blend explosives, resulting in a 50% reduction in primary breakage costs.
Tara Mines, Ireland. September 1992-December 1992. Conducted a study of underground production blasting systems in use at the mine as part of a European Community sponsored research project. Investigated the accuracy of blast timing using non-electric initiation systems and its effect on blast induced surface vibration.
Gold Fields Cementation Pty., Johannesburg, South Africa. June 1992-September 1992. Vacation work employed as a miner and sinker on development, stoping, shaft sinking and diamond drilling contracts on the West Rand gold mines and Rustenburg platinum mines. Trackless development experience at H J Joel mine in the Orange Free State.
British Steel Plc. England. June 1991- September 1991. Vacation work employed as project engineer investigating the use of geophysical monitoring to improve blast fragmentation and timing.
Education:
Royal School of Mines, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London. M.Eng (Hons) Mining Engineering, First Class, June 1993, including rock mechanics, survey and mineral economics masters electives. Winner of the British Society of Mining Students Prize for Principles of Mining and Mineral Economics 1993.
Other Information:
Languages include French, African and Spanish.
Surface Shotfiring and Blast design license, United Kingdom, May 1994.
Institute of Quarrying (UK), Quarry Managers Exams, May 1994.