Biography
Energetic, innovative and astute PhD qualified Senior Executive with extensive experience in Global Mine Closure Planning and Implementation, Operations Management leading multidisciplinary teams, Integrated Mine Planning, Community Engagement and Relationship Management as well as Government Liaison. Recognised internationally as an expert in Mining Rehabilitation and Closure, with a history of coaching and mentoring future generations of mining professionals. Currently actively pursuing non-executive board positions to use more than two decades in the mining industry as well as almost ten years in research and academic positions, bringing a multidisciplinary skillset to governance with sustainability in mind.
Research
Dr Grant completed his Honours thesis on seed ecology and his Doctorate on fire ecology both in Alcoa’s rehabilitated bauxite mines in Western Australia, both at The University of Western Australia. Dr Grant was a Senior Lecturer at the University of New England for five years (1997-2001). During this time, he developed one of the first focused units on ecosystem rehabilitation, supervised more than 50 students, published more than 60 refereed papers and secured over $1 M in competitive. Dr Grant has continued to publish articles following his transition to industry roles in 2001.
Industry
- Strong stakeholder engagement, facilitation and management skills at all levels of seniority, with a large network of senior and influential professionals in government, regulatory authorities and multiple industries worldwide.
- Project management of large site closures ($100 million to $1 billion), managing multidisciplinary teams.
- Capacity, knowledge and experience to engage and contribute meaningfully across technical, commercial, financial, marketing and compliance dimensions.
- Excellent practical appreciation of legal and regulatory compliance requirements, supplemented by experience in indigenous affairs, environmental impact and heritage management.
- Strong analytical skills drawn from experiences in investigating and managing financial, marketing, technical, environmental, political and socio-economic exposure and risk.
- Well-developed leadership skills with broad experience in mentoring and coaching colleagues, engineers and senior management, building motivated and high-performance professional teams.
- Extensive operational management, business strategy development, planning and implementation skills.
- Astute financial management and problem-solving skills, with a history of successful business re-engineering and continuous improvement.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills as well as many public speaking roles at conferences and addressing senior management on a diverse range of issues.
Publications
Select publications below. Full list available on request.
Grant, C. D. (2009). State-and-Transition Models for Mining Restoration in Australia. In: Hobbs, R. J and K. N. Suding (eds) ‘New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration’. Pages 280-294. Island Press, Washington, USA.
Grant, C. and J. Koch (2007). Decommissioning Western Australia’s first bauxite mine: Co-evolving vegetation restoration techniques and targets. Ecological Management and Restoration 8: 92-105.
Grant, C. D. and W. A. Loneragan (2001). The effect of burning on the understorey composition and vegetation succession of 11-13 year-old rehabilitated bauxite mines in Western Australia: Community changes and vegetation succession. Forest Ecology and Management 145: 255-279.
Grant, C. D. (2018). Integrated Life of Mine Planning: Making Closure Redundant (KEYNOTE). 2nd International Congress of Planning for Closure of Mining Operations. Santiago, Chile.
Grant, C. D. and H. W. B. Lacy (2016). Developing Anglo American’s integrated closure planning system requires people, process and technology working together. In: Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Mine Closure (eds. A. Fourie and M. Tibbett). Pp581-594.
Grant, C. D., H. Lacy, K. Ferguson and J. Heyes (2018). Words, words, words: But what is the matter, my closure lords. Proceedings of the 12th International Mine Closure Conference. Leipzig, Germany.
Grant, C. D., H. W. B. Lacy and J. Lambrechts (2016). Generating value through integrated closure planning at Kolomela iron ore mine in South Africa. First International Congress of Planning for Closure of Mining Operations. Santiago, Chile.
Grant, C. D., M. Slight and H. W. B. Lacy (2018). Integrated Closure Planning Systems: A Structured Approach to Opportunities Analysis Creates Significant Value. 2nd International Congress of Planning for Closure of Mining Operations. Santiago, Chile.