Synopsis Resumes of Technical Staff

Leo J. Gilbride, P.E.
Sr. Consultant, Grand Junction, Colorado
(Mackay School of Mines, University of Reno, Nevada)

Mr. Gilbride adds over 13 years experience in mining and civil engineering projects, with emphasis on underground geomechanical design and resource evaluation. Engineering experience includes geotechnical characterization, laboratory testing, numerical modeling, geotechnical instrumentation, ventilation surveying and design, mine economic evaluation, conventional and geostatistical ore reserve estimation, mine planning and feasibility evaluation, and certified resource reporting.  Clientele include mine operators in hard-rock, soft-rock, coal, industrial minerals, and stone, and the nuclear waste industry.  Geomechanical engineering experience includes ground support design, barrier and yield pillar design, stability evaluation, ground subsidence analysis, mine sequencing, shaft and decline design, entry orientation, multi-seam design, longwall shield capacity selection, underground storage bin design, ground failure investigation, in-situ stress determination, geological hazards identification, and slope stability analysis.  Extensive geomechanical modeling experience using two- and three-dimensional linear and non-linear computer codes, including EXPAREA, FLAC, FLAC3D, UDEC, and PFC3D.  He has conducted resource and reserve evaluations in zinc, molybdenum, uranium, vanadium, coal, trona, and potash, under the recognized international reporting standards including 43-101, JORC, SME, and the SEC.  Mr. Gilbride is a registered professional engineer in Colorado and an active member of SME and ASCE.

Francis S. Kendorski, P.E.
Sr. Consultant, Chicago, Illinois
(University of Arizona, Tucson)

Mr. Kendorski has over 35 years experience in consulting in rock mechanics, mine engineering, blasting, tunneling, litigation assistance, and geology. Provides consulting engineering services to the mining and civil engineering industries in ground control, subsidence, water problems, underground and surface rock mass stability; rock slope design, room-and-pillar design, caving methods, mine and quarry planning, mine and tunnel failures, and vibrations from blasting. Extensive experience in forensic engineering for attorneys and insurers in mine and tunnel failures, underground construction claims, equipment use, business interruption; property and casualty cases, blasting, subsidence, and floods. Responsible for projects in stone, industrial minerals, copper, gold, molybdenum, coal, salt, and sand and gravel. Experience in financial valuations, due diligence, feasibility studies, and preparation of bankable documents. Registered professional engineer in Alabama, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.  Presented with the 2006 Rock Mechanics Award.

Tom L. Vandergrift, P.E.
Principal, Golden, Colorado
(Colorado School of Mines)

Mr. Vandergrift adds over 20 years experience in mining and geotechnical engineering related to ground control, with emphasis on underground mine design and highwall mine design. Tom provides practical ground control solutions for highwall and longwall mining, and mobile roof support retreat operations. His experience includes design of longwall gateroad pillars, pillar retreat cut plans for both partial and full extraction, stress analysis and mine design in multiple-seam environments, subsidence prediction, design of roof support systems, rock and soil mass characterization, in situ stress measurement, instrumentation, and application of seismic imaging techniques to characterize slopes and foundations. Tom routinely uses numerical modeling techniques to aid in developing geotechnical solutions. He developed a suite of design approaches for highwall mine ground control plans that are currently applied throughout the western United States. Tom is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.

Susan B. Patton, PhD, P.E.
Senior Associate, Grand Junction, Colorado
(University of Alabama)

Dr. Patton has over 20 years experience in the field of mining engineering.  Her areas of expertise include ventilation, property evaluation, and mine environmental.  Susan has a broad experience background ranging from mine site engineering to research.  Mine site experience includes surface coal mine engineering and permit compliance.  Susan held a faculty position at Montana Tech where she was responsible for teaching core coursework in the mining engineering curriculum, conducting research and developing coursework to enhance the environmental engineering and aggregate mining offerings.  Research projects focused on the mine closure, coalbed methane/longwall mine interaction, and safety.  Susan previously served in the management position of Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research at Montana Tech.  Susan is a registered professional engineer in Colorado and Alabama.

Douglas F. Hambley, PhD, P.E., P.G.
Sr. Associate, Golden, Colorado
(University of Waterloo)

Dr. Hambley has over 34 years of experience in mining engineering and geology throughout North America and overseas. Doug’s expertise includes resource and reserve estimation for evaporites, uranium, base metals and aggregates; hard rock underground mine, shaft and tunnel design; ground control in underground facilities in limestone and dolomite; blasting and blast vibration control; ventilation design for underground stone and uranium mines; design of underground facilities for nuclear waste; hydrogeology in glacial materials and sedimentary rock; and site remediation. Doug holds a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Waterloo, Canada, an MBA from Lewis University, Illinois, and a B.Sc. (Honours) in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University in Canada. He is a Professional Engineer in Colorado, Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ontario, and Saskatchewan and a Professional Geologist in Illinois and Indiana.  He is an active member of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration of AIME; the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum; and the Association of Engineering and Environmental Geologists. (Fluent in French and working knowledge of Spanish and German. Reading knowledge of Portuguese.)

David P. Conover
Associate, Golden, Colorado
(Colorado School of Mines)

Mr. Conover has over 28 years experience as a mining engineer in the mining and civil industries. He developed and expanded the GeoGuardTM shield monitoring system for longwall face management and geotechnical analysis. Dave also developed software programs to aid the mining and civil industries, and techniques to estimate excavation equipment production rates and vibration characteristics for equipment manufacturers.

Bo Yu, PhD, P.E.
Associate, Grand Junction, Colorado
(West Virginia University)

Dr. Yu has over 20 years experience in mining engineering.  Provides consulting engineering services to the mining and civil engineering industries in numerical modeling, in situ stress measurements, ground support design for underground mines, slope stability analysis, and geological modeling in dam design.  Bo is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.

Jonathon P. Friedman, P.E., P.G.
Associate, Golden, Colorado
(Colorado School of Mines)

Jon has over 25 years’ experience providing geotechnical engineering and geological consulting services in support of the mining and civil industries. Experience includes development, expansion and closure of both surface and underground operations in copper, gold, lead, phosphate, zinc and coal deposits located in the United States, Mexico, Mongolia, Peru, Slovakia and Tajikistan. He performs and manages geotechnical investigations and designs for mine layout, infrastructure, open pits, tailing storage facilities, heap leach pads and waste rock stockpiles. Typical duties include embankment design, process pond sizing, slope stability and seepage analyses, composite liner systems, tunnel/adit plugging, loading plans, access road and facility layouts. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the states of New Jersey, Utah, and Wyoming and a registered Professional Geologist in the state of Idaho.

Phil Patton
Associate, Grand Junction, Colorado
(University of Kentucky)

Phil has over 35 years experience in all aspects of underground mining engineering including ventilation engineering, emergency response planning, underground surveying, mine management, reserve evaluations, feasibility studies, permitting, and economic evaluations. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado and Utah; a registered Professional Land Surveyor in Alabama and Kentucky; a Licensed Mine Foreman in Alabama and Utah for both surface and underground mines; and a Certified MSHA Trainer for dust and gas sampling.

L. Kirt Jewkes
Associate, Grand Junction, Colorado
(Colorado School of Mines)

Kirt has over 20 years experience in engineering with responsiblilities for the design of various active surface and underground mine development projects including permit preparation, geologic interpretation, hydrogeologic projections, design of the surface facilities and construction management for underground mines in Colorado.  He has prepared all drawings and specifications necessary for the submittal of permit applications for open pit  and underground mines in Colorado.  He has also designed for the construction of a rail spur and surface facilities for an underground mine in Colorado.

Vanessa Santos, P.G.
Chief Geologist, Grand Junction, Colorado
(University of Kentucky)

Ms. Santos has over 25 years mining and exploration experience as a senior and technical Industrial Minerals Mining and Exploration professional. She has held the role of Chief Geologist with several major mining, industrial minerals and aggregate companies  and is expert in evaluation and assessment of projects, change management, problem-solving and a systematic approach to resource and reserves definition. Her expertise in exploration and mining include domestic and international work, greenfield and active mines on a wide variety of industrial minerals and coal including potash, phosphate, lithium, trona, feldspar, high purity quartz and silica, mica, specialty clays kaolin, industrial sand and aggregates, talc, carbonates and diamonds. Capabilities include resource evaluation, due diligence, mine planning, design and management of drilling and QA/QC/testing programs, product evaluation and markets. She holds a BSc. and MSc. in Geology from University of Kentucky, is a Registered Member of Society of Mining, Exploration and Metallurgy, Inc. (SME) and registered Professional Geologist in Georgia and South Carolina.  She holds board positions on The Forum of Geology of Industrial Minerals and the Robert L. Bates Memorial Scholarship Fund. She is past Vice-Chair to SME on the Annual Industrial Minerals Review for Mining Engineering Magazine.

Hua Zhao, PhD, P.E.
Sr. Engineer, Grand Junction, Colorado
(West Virginia University)

Dr. Zhao provides consulting engineering services to the mining and civil engineering industries in numerical modeling using three- and two-dimensional continuum and discontinuum computer codes, including FLAC, FLAC3D and UDEC.  Modeling experience includes slope stability, underground mine stability, ground subsidence, rockfall assessment, hydraulic- and thermal-mechanical analysis, parallel communications between small and large models, and user-defined constitutive models. Typical projects include slope stability, cavern stability and subsidence analyses, an underground coal gasification cavern subsidence assessment, a longwall undercut evaluation, tectonic stress estimation, mine room-and-pillar stability analyses and borehole stability modeling, and sludge disposal evaluation in an abandoned underground mine.  She is a graduate of West Virginia University with an M.S. degree in mining engineering and a Ph.D. in applied mechanics.  Dr. Zhao is a registered professional engineer in Colorado.

Richard M. Baars
Sr. Engineer, Grand Jucntion, Colorado
(New Mexico Tech)

Mr. Baars is a recent graduate with a growing array of mining and geologic background with the ability to integrate the geophysical method for application to geology.  Projects include geologic and geophysical integration and interpretation, block modeling and reserve development/analysis, general field geology and geological engineering applications.  Experience includes but is not limited to open pit and underground coal geology/mining, open pit and underground hard rock geology/mining for metals, commodities, and aggregates.  Experience also includes multiple geophysical exploration techniques as well as geologic exploration with multiple applications ranging from shallow subsurface remediation, water table identification, geothermal resource exploration, surface mapping, and exploration.

Samrat Mohanty, PhD
Sr. Engineer, Golden, Colorado
(Southern Illinois University)

Dr. Mohanty has a diverse background in mining rock mechanics and civil geotechnical engineering. Projects include rock slope stability analysis, numerical modeling, and underground pillar design. Experience includes coal mine ground control, slope stability, acid mine drainage, pavement/haul road design, directional drilling, and dam/levee seepage and stability analysis. He also has experience in geologic mapping, multiple geomaterial testing and monitoring procedures, and coal combustion byproducts utilization.

Christopher M. Ross, P.E.
Sr. Engineer, Golden, Colorado
(Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University)

Mr. Ross has over 10 years of experience in domestic and international mining.  Projects include the development and audit of reserve, production, and cost models; due diligence reviews and valuations; and development of strategic life-of-mine plans for surface and underground coal and aggregate operations.  Experience includes surface and underground mine design, truck & shovel fleet optimization, dragline spoil balance calculations through detailed range diagrams, and the development of detailed geologic models using Carlson Software. Experience also includes the supervision of a dragline limestone operation which involved day-to-day production operations, maintenance activities, and personnel management.  Registered professional engineer in Colorado.

Andy Shaffer
Engineer, Grand Junction, Colorado
(Colorado School of Mines)

Andy is a recent graduate whose current projects encompass a wide spectrum in mining engineering.  Experience includes engineering field support for installation of geotechnical monitoring instruments including, but not limited, to borehole pressure cells (BPCs) and multiple-point borehole extensometers (MPBXs) as well as in-situ stress measurements using both the USBM and CSIRO Hollow Inclusion Cell Method.  Additional projects include environmental compliance issues, laboratory properties testing, and general mining engineering tasks.

Erik Hemstad
Engineer, Grand Junction, Colorado
(Michigan Technological University)

Erik is a recent graduate with a focus on geotechnical and geologic engineering with an emphasis on soil and rock mechanics strength analysis pertaining to slope stability applications for surface and underground developments.  Experience includes field geology and mapping techniques, sample collection and laboratory testing methods for soil and rock, field characterization and site development for rock and landslides, along with numerous field geophysical testing procedures.  Experience also includes utilizing two- and three-dimensional numerical and finite-element modeling for slope stability and excavation analysis, foundation design, and bearing capacity.  Erik is also versed in conducting mining reserve estimations for surface and underground applications, geostatistical applications, and economic valuations. 

Brian F. McGunegle, P.E.
Consultant Emeritus
(Michigan Technological University)

Mr. McGunegle has over 35 years experience in mining operations. Provides consulting engineering services to the mining industry in the areas of mine engineering, mine planning, rock mechanics, material handling, mine ground control, and general mine operations. Projects include ground control problem resolution, study and review of mine design, long- and short-range mine planning, mine evaluations, operating and capital cost estimates, equipment selection recommendations, expert testimony related to ground control and mine design issues, and management of drilling operations. A highly experienced mining engineer with a strong record of success in mine management, engineering, and mine planning. Registered professional engineer in Colorado. (Working knowledge of Spanish)

Katoka Case
Senior Rock Mechanics Technician

Mr. Case has over 5 years experience with in-situ rock Instrumentation and stress determination as well as laboratory compressive strength and mechanical properties testing.  He is ETA certified in fiber optic installation and has 8 years surface, underground, and special application drilling experience.  Katoka offers our clients a wide variety of services, including in-situ stress measurement using CSIRO hollow inclusion and USBM overcoring techniques; design and installation of underground and surface geotechnical monitoring and data acquisition systems; fiber optic troubleshooting, terminating, and splicing; and also  provides core drilling options for difficult, remote, and underground needs.