Behind the Scenes with Bryan

Tracie is the Hydrology Manager at Barrick Gold Corporation. She has a unique professional track record and has recently helped spearhead the development of a new publicly available, Excel-based water balance tool for tailings facilities, known as TSFISM (Tailings-Storage Facility Iterative Simulation Model). You can find a paper on this and a link to the spreadsheet at https://halfordhydrology.com/tsfism/

Michel is a long-time friend and client and is the Vice President of Environment and Critical Infrastructure at Agnico Eagle. Michel and I discuss his amazing career. We didn't even talk about the amazing fact that in 2025, he was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) – one of the highest professional honours in the Canadian engineering community.

Henk is the CEO of Wealth Minerals Ltd. Wealth Minerals has structured its Kuska Lithium Project partnership with the Quechua Indigenous Community of Ollagüe to include a 5% free-carried interest and direct board participation for the community. The company has also emphasized Direct Lithium Extraction technologies and minimal environmental footprint as part of its development strategy.We discuss his perspective on how mining companies may need to rethink development models entirely if they want projects to move forward successfully in Chile and elsewhere.With more than three decades in mining and over $1 billion raised in mining finance transactions, Henk has been directly involved in the evolution of the critical minerals sector long before lithium became a mainstream geopolitical story.

Jean is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer with BGC Consulting in Golden, Colorado. She has consulting experience working on geotechnical, mining, civil, solid waste, and construction projects. Experience includes engineering analyses, design, and project management for multi-disciplinary tailings and mine waste management projects. Strengths in the areas of managing / developing teams. Licensed professional engineer in US (Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and South Dakota) and Canada (Alberta).

In this episode, I once again chat with Theo Gerritson from BGC in Brisbane. This time, we discuss The Global Management Institute (GTMI). As it says on their website, The Global Tailings Management Institute has been established to enhance the safety of mine tailings facilities, by promoting widespread adoption and implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).

Josh is a mining engineer-turned-RTFE with First Quantum Minerals in Zambia. Josh is a people-person, an avid reader and a life-long learner. Josh and I discuss his career in mining and the things that make him passionate.

Dr Pyke was born and raised in Australia and received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sydney. He then worked for the Commonwealth Department of Works in Canberra on various projects before attending graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley he conducted original research for his Ph.D. under the guidance of the late Professor Harry Seed and formed a close relationship with Professor Seed with whom he subsequently worked on a number of consulting assignments. Since 1977 Dr Pyke has worked principally as an individual consultant on special problems in geotechnical, earthquake and water resource engineering.

Dr Pyke was born and raised in Australia and received his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Sydney. He then worked for the Commonwealth Department of Works in Canberra on various projects before attending graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley he conducted original research for his Ph.D. under the guidance of the late Professor Harry Seed and formed a close relationship with Professor Seed with whom he subsequently worked on a number of consulting assignments. Since 1977 Dr Pyke has worked principally as an individual consultant on special problems in geotechnical, earthquake and water resource engineering.

Fergal is the founder of Ryerson Networks AG. Ryerson partners with mining and other companies, translating engineering realities into quantifiable models that capital providers and financial leaders can act on. By creating a single, defensible view of risk, they align operational exposure with capital strategy, insurance structures and funding decisions. Fergal and I discuss many topics related to mine closure planning.

Dr. Pyke was born and raised in Australia and received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Sydney. He then worked for the Commonwealth Department of Works in Canberra on various projects before attending graduate school at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley he conducted original research for his Ph.D. under the guidance of the late Professor Harry Seed and formed a close relationship with Professor Seed with whom he subsequently worked on a number of consulting assignments. Since 1977 Dr Pyke has worked principally as an individual consultant on special problems in geotechnical, earthquake and water resource engineering.