Organising Committee
16th International Conference on Mine Closure
2-5 October 2023 | Nugget Casino Resort, Reno, Nevada, USA
Conference Chair
Jeff Parshley
Corporate Consultant (Mine Closure), SRK Consulting, USA
Jeff is a corporate consultant at SRK Consulting, with more than 40 years of North American and international mining industry experience. For over 30 years, he has worked on international closure studies that have included planning and design, cost estimating, liability audits, reclamation, and post-closure management. Jeff has overseen abandoned mine closures in the United States and has consulted on feasibility studies, mine permits, detailed mine designs, and corporate financial reporting. Jeff was awarded the 2014 SME/AIME Environmental Conservation Distinguished Service Award for development of the Standard Reclamation Cost Estimator, which is used by numerous companies in North America and abroad.
Conference Co-Chair
Behrooz Abbasi
Associate Professor, University of Nevada, USA
Dr. Abbasi is an Associate Professor at Department of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) Since 2017. He earned his Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science from Southern Illinois University. He worked for more than six years as a mining engineer in open pit, underground mines, and quarries, and with CH2M HILL and Golder Associates, Inc. His related research focuses on water treatment, water quality and sustainable mining management.
Organizing Committee Members
Brian Ayres
Manager of Integrated Closure Planning for Legacy Assets, BHP, USA
Brian has an M.Sc. in Geoenvironmental Engineering and over 26 years of experience in the mining industry. He works with many stakeholders to achieve optimized closure outcomes at BHP’s 23 non-producing sites across North America. Brian is also a recognized specialist in mine waste storage facility final landforms and cover systems, having published over 15 papers in this field.
Jeremy Collyard
US Mining and Minerals Business Sector Lead, SLR Consulting, USA
Jeremy is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and a Mining and Metallurgical Society of America Qualified Person (QP) in the field of Environmental Permitting and Compliance. Jeremy’s background includes mine remedial investigations and feasibility studies (RI/FS), environmental permitting, monitoring, and compliance programs, Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), environmental baseline studies, and the evaluation and development of water management planning, and mine closure strategy, planning, and implementation. His background includes over 15 years of experience in mining, industrial, and multi‐disciplinary environmental projects
Rob Ghiglieri
Administrator, Nevada Division of Minerals, USA
Rob is the Deputy Administrator of the Nevada Division of Minerals or NDOM. NDOM oversees Nevada’s physical safety Abandoned Mine Lands (AML) program. NDOM is also the permitting agency of Fluid Minerals drilling activity in the state, the repository for Nevada mine production, minerals education of the public, and administers the Nevada Reclamation Performance Bond Pool. Rob received his Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from the University of Nevada, Reno and worked as a geologist in mineral exploration before transitioning to NDOM. During last 10 years at NDOM, Rob has focused and completed extensive securing, hard closure, remediation, and inventory work on AML sites throughout the state. Currently Rob is the chair of the Hardrock AML Committee for the National Association of Abandoned Mine Lands Program.
Andrew Harley
Mining Director, SWCA Environmental Consultants
Dr. Harley works in the intersection of geology, geochemistry and soil science, working to move from geochemical processes to soil forming processes in highly disturbed landscapes. His PhD research is in soil mineralogy, mineral weathering and plant nutrition, and the last 20 years of consulting to the mining industry is related to mine geochemistry characterization and reclamation throughout the US, Canada, Central and South America and Australia. Relevant mine reclamation experience includes designing and implementing multiple abandoned mine reclamation involving the increase in carbon activity to support plant growth and has included the ongoing monitoring of several in-situ phytostabilzation projects involving the understanding of carbon dynamics and microbial testing to evaluate mineral weathering roles on carbon dynamics.
Marie-Hélène Paré
Partner, Mining Geologist, NewFields Consulting, USA
Mrs. Paré is a Mining Geologist with nearly 20 years of experience in the mining industry as a consultant and in mining operations. In her operational and consulting roles, Mrs. Paré has managed many multidisciplinary teams for projects such as development of permitting strategies for large-scale mining projects, compilation of environmental permitting and compliance documents, preparation of environmental and social impact assessments, and mine closure and reclamation planning. Recently, Marie has been focusing on helping clients navigate the realm of today’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) frameworks and standards by asking the right questions and forming a customized strategic and proactive approach to meet each their unique goals and objectives.
Bill Upton
Senior Associate, Mining, Haley Aldrich, Inc., USA
Bill has 45 years of experience in all aspects of environmental management of mineral exploration, mining, and mineral processing operations including uranium, coal, mercury, gold, silver and copper mining. His career covered the management, direction and corporate oversight for major mine permitting; regulatory compliance; mine reclamation and closure; and ESG policy development and implementation for companies including Homestake Mining, Union Pacific Resources, Placer Dome and Barrick Gold. This experience covered mining projects and operations in the U.S. and several international jurisdictions. Bill has served on numerous industry committees including the International Cyanide Management Institute and International Network for Acid Prevention Operators Committees, the National Mining Association and several State and Regional Environmental Committees. In his private life Bill served several years on the Northeast Great Basin Advisory Council to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as well Local Land Planning Groups in Northeast Nevada and Southwest Idaho.
Björn Weeks
Senior Advisor for Mine Closure, Teck Resources Ltd, Canada
Dr. Björn Weeks, P.Eng is the Senior Advisor for Mine Closure at Teck Resources Ltd, where he provides strategic leadership and technical direction on all closure related matters. Prior to joining Teck in 2022, Björn was the global lead for mine closure services at WSP/Golder. With over 28 years of professional experience, he has dedicated his career to mine closure. He has worked on the development and execution of mine closure plans around the world, working with many of the world’s leading mining companies. He has also developed international mine closure guidance documents, including the ICMM’s 2019 Closure Good Practice Guide, and APEC’s 2018 Mine Closure Checklist for Governments. He is the current Co-Chair of ICMM’s Mine Closure Working Group.
Melvin H. Yazzie
Principal Mining Engineer, Navajo Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation Department, USA
ACG Representative
Josephine Ruddle
Sponsorship Manager, Australian Centre for Geomechanics
Email: josephine.ruddle@uwa.edu.au