GROUNDWORK - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Managing Director, Groundwork Consulting

Phil graduated with a degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Wales in 1980, followed by a Masters in Engineering from University of the Witwatersrand. His formulative years were spent in mining technology and rock mechanics at the Chamber of Mines Research Organisation under the guidance of Professors Miklos Salamon, Horst Wagner and Jim Galvin. Phil then spent 3 years with HL&H Mining Timber as business development manager before starting his own consulting business, Groundwork Consulting, which now employs 20 people and specialises in monitoring the stability of mining and civil engineering structures. His particular areas of technical interest are the design and development of instrumentation for monitoring the health and performance of mining and civil structures and the application of geotechnical information for design optimisation. He is a fellow of both SANIRE and the SAIMM. He has served on SAIMM Council, chaired their Technical Programme Committee for a number of years, been a Council member of SANIRE as well as a past editor of both the International Rock Mechanics News Journal and SANIRE News. In August 2023, Phil's contribution to the mining industry was acknowledged when The South African National Institute of Rock Engineering bestowed upon him one of their prestigious honorary lifetime achievement fellowship awards. The award is presented annually to an individual who has made a lasting technical contribution and who has been instrumental in the implementation of new rock engineering knowledge and techniques.