Brett Rankin

Background

About Brett Rankin

Project Engineer: Capital project design, implementation, and management. Dredge relocation and upgrade, high-rate thickener, new office upgrade, double scalehouse, drainage and erosion control, site grading and paving. Short Range Planner: Understood quarterly targets and worked with all groups to schedule an optimized shovel sequence in Deswik. Provided daily guidance to operations to execute the plan. Guidance given included: daily pit maps in Vulcan/Deswik showing updated digfaces, drill priorities, blast priorities, projects, etc. Target setting in excel based on Deswik outputs, truck hours, cycle times, digface efficiency, as well as other factors. Daily tours and meetings with operations and support groups. Took initiative on a pit design/economic analysis to increase ounce production and minimize cost. Very quick yet precise decision making. Strong communication skills. Drill and Blast Engineer: Built drill patterns using Deswik. Determined loading based on material type, desired fragmentation, wall protection, etc. Key player in implementing Orica’s Blast IQ software at our site. Worked very closely with operations and shovel planners to increase drill utilization and prioritize drills to achieve tight production plans. Collected and compiled data for fragmentation and shovel digability analysis, discussed key findings. Greenfield program: Trained and performed in various operational roles on crew at Cortez Open Pit. Roles included shift work in: Dispatch, utilities, blasting, hydraulic/electric shovel, rubber tire dozer, and haul truck. This invaluable experience helped in understanding operational capabilities and limitations. Open Pit Engineer: Presented weekly variance in production targets and spatial compliance using Deswik to interrogate plan versus actuals. Designing road regrades and production/equipment reports were common projects in this role. Had three internship experiences during my time as a student. The first as a blasting intern, the next in coal mining, and last in phosphate mining. Projects I conducted include blast designing, trade-off studies, reliability and continuous improvement, and surveying.