The WAIMM groups provide the relevant platform for skill enhancement and knowledge sharing where specific professionals in the core sectors of the mining and petroleum industry meet, network and discuss pertinent and pressing specific issues in their field of practice.
The WAIMM is governed by a Council of 29 members, including the President and three Vice Presidents with fair representation for industry, academia and research. The Council meets at least 3 – 5 times each year and is chaired by the President.
Most of the Council activities are conducted by the Council committees which are chaired by members of the governing council.
Our focus is to provide career and professional development to advance the knowledge and skillset of students, academia , industry professionals, and companies in the resources sector by creating the platform where they can access new and emerging advancement in industry practices.
Dan Bansah is the Chairman and Managing Director of Minecon Resources and Services Limited. Prior to joining MINECON in July 2018, Dan was Banro Corporation’s Head of Projects and Operations. Dan was Banro’s Vice President of Exploration from 2007 to 2013 and led a team of geologists in the discovery of over 17 million ounces of gold after exploring less than 16% of Banro’s prospective Twangiza – Namoya Gold Belt.
Before joining Banro in 2004, Dan was the Group Mineral Resource Manager with Ashanti Goldfields, with responsibilities for the coordination, auditing and compilation of Ashanti’s Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves in Africa. Whiles in Ashanti, Dan headed the modelling and evaluation team to appraise a number projects and operations in Africa, leading to their acquisition by the erstwhile Ashanti Goldfields.
Dan has over 30 years-experience in the gold mining industry in Africa. He has a MSc in Mineral Exploration with Distinction from Leicester University, UK. Dan is a Member and a Chartered Professional of AusIMM, a Fellow of the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (WAIMM) and a Member of the Ghana Institute of Geoscientists. Dan is credited with numerous technical papers; both published and unpublished.
Dr. Amponsah-Mensah, has over 30 years’ experience in the Ghanaian Mining Industry mainly at Anglogold Ashanti Limited (formerly Ashanti Goldfields Limited), underground and surface operations, and has been involved in Organizational management, Strategic planning, Budgetary planning and controlling, technical and project management. Dr. Amponsah – Mensah, holds a Doctor in Business Administration, DBA (Honoris Causa) from the Commonwealth University & London Graduate School, an MBA from the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Diplomas in mining engineering from University of Lulea and UST-SM now University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa.
Dr Peter Amponsah-Mensah is currently the Executive Director and Co-founder of Pamicor Limited, a wholly owned Ghanaian company that provides mining and drilling services internationally. Prior to that he was the Mining Manager (February 2008 – October 2009) for Chirano Gold Mines, a subsidiary of Kinross Gold. He spent 22years (from 1984 – 2006) at the Anglogold Ashanti Ltd, Obuasi mine where he became the General Manager from 2004 – 2006.
He was responsible for the management of all operations and support service at the ISO 14001 compliant and NOSA 5-star rated Bibiani mine in the Western region of Ghana.
He has been instrumental in the mentorship initiative at the UMAT since 1998 and has encouraged and facilitated by technical presentations the discourse between academia and industry. He continually avails himself to share his rich experience with students and organizations as his social contribution to the development of future leaders/drivers of our industry and economy.
Dr Peter Amponsah – Mensah recently became a member of the governing council of WAIMM. He believes WAIMM should be put in a position to provide alternative policies through research so we can provide a platform for industry professionals to influence industry policy directions by various governments across the West African sub region.
He currently serves as Chairman of the Management Board of CSIR-Water Research Institute, Non- Executive Director – Asanko Gold Limited, member of the Accra Mining Network AMN. He is also a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM).
Professor Jerry S.Y. Kuma is a Professor of Environmental Hydrogeology and Geophysics at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa.
He was until recently the Vice Chancellor of the UMaT having served his tenure as VC for 8 academic years.
He holds a BSc (Hons) in Geology and Physics from the University of Ghana, Legon in 1985. He also holds a PG Dip and Msc (with distinction) degrees in Geophysics from Delft, The Netherlands in 1990 and 1991 respectively.
In 2002, Professor Kuma was awarded the PhD in Water Resources Engineering from the Civil Engineering Department at the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, England.
Prof Kuma has conducted several researches and authored several journal publications and conference presentations. During this time in his professional career, Prof Kuma has received several awards on most of the projects he has researched on. He is a co-author of the book titled “Hydrogeological Framework for Assessing the Possible Environmental Impacts of Large-Scale Gold Mines”.
He received the Nobles International Award for being an eminent West African who upholds the virtues of honesty, integrity and accountability in November 2013.
In June 2014, the World Congress of Chancellors and Vice Chancellors meeting in Mumbai, India, gave Prof Kuma an award for his “outstanding contribution to education”.
Prof J S Y Kuma has been on the Governing Council since 2015 in the capacity as the Vice President representing the educational sector. He is currently the Chair of the Ethics and Professional Committee for WAIMM.
Prof Kuma believes in the commitment and professional development of individuals and organizations towards enhancing professionalism in the industry and aims to play an active role in the formulation of standard codes and operational procedures.
He holds membership in several organizations including the African Scientific Institute, Ghana Institution of Engineers, International Association of Hydro-geologists and the Ghana Institution of Geoscientists.
Aïstan Konate-Siewe is the Head of the Environmental Audits Department at the National Environment Agency, Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast). Prior to her current position, she was sworn in as the Environmental Auditor of the same institution and has over 15years experience in her field of work.
Aïstan holds a PhD and MSc (2004) in Human Capital Development and Geography (Environment options) respectively from the UNIVERSITE DE COCODY/INSTITUT DE GEOGRAPHIE TROPICALE.
Aïstan chairs the Commission of Environmental Audit and Environmental Management Plan Reports Validation, with the responsibility of implementing the Environmental Audit procedure in mining and oil companies throughout the national territory and ensuring the environmental compliance of these companies.
She adds to her credentials certificates of capacity building in Occupational Health and Safety, rehabilitation of mining sites, solid waste and wastewater management and environmental management of mines; from Perth-University of Western Australia (2013), Murdoch University-Australia (2016), University of Mahidol, Thailand (2017) and European Union and the Swedish Geological Service (2018) respectively.
Kwame Awuah-Offei is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mining & Nuclear Engineering at Missouri University of Science & Technology and Principal Consultant at Sphinx Mining Systems LLC and holds a PhD from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T). He has over 12 years of research and industry experience in various capacities. He has extensive experience in modelling and simulation of discrete and dynamic systems in mining. He has worked in surface gold mining and aggregate operations and has authored several publications, technical presentations, webinars and research findings to his credit.
His current research interests include simulation of mining (including aggregate) systems, mining equipment performance evaluation, earthmoving equipment-formation interactions, and sustainable mining systems. He has had diverse teaching assistantship appointments in three universities in three countries.
He has also worked as a Mine Planning Engineer and Plant Engineer at Granite Construction from January 2006 – September 2007.
Prof. Kwame Awuah-Offei recently completed a position of Mining Engineering Academic Fellow to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from February 2015 – Present, Washington D.C. Metro Area.
He has been involved with WAIMM since 2013 and has been on the governing council since 2015; serves as the Vice Chair of the Ethics and Professional Committee.
Prof Awuah – Offei believes that to enhance professionalism in the West African subregion, industry professionals will need a platform that will provide professional development and networking opportunities that are easily accessible and also in sync with international standards. He is a very active member of SME in the USA and has served on various committees within the SME. He is also registered professional engineer.
Engr. Billy B. Archer is a Certified Consulting Engineer and Construction /Project Management Professional with experience in both surface and underground mining environment. He has over 20 years’ experience in Construction and Capital project development/ delivery involving Tailings Storage Facilities (TSF) Construction, Building, Civil, Electrical, Metallurgical and Mechanical Engineering projects. He is currently the Head of the Projects and Construction Services Department of Golden Star Wassa Limited and the appointed Project Manager on the implementation of the Wassa Underground Paste Backfill Project.
He has HND in Building Technology from Kumasi Polytechnic, now Kumasi Technical University (KTU), a Bachelor’s Degree in Quantity Surveying and Construction Economics from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi and pursuing a Master’s Degree in Engineering Management at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, expected to graduate in 2020.
He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Ghana (IET-GH) as well as the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (WAIMM). He also has affiliations with the Ghana Institution of Surveyors and the Chartered Institute of Building-UK.
Catherine Kuupol Kuutor is Gold Field West Africa’s first female Metallurgical Manager. With almost two decades of experience in mineral processing, Catherine competently worked her way up to become the head of the Metallurgy Department at the Abosso Goldfields limited -Damang Gold Mine in 2017. Catherine joined Damang Gold Mine in 2013 as a Metallurgical Superintendent and was promoted to Unit Manager in 2015 and subsequently becoming the metallurgical manager. She has led several business improvement processes and projects that have resulted in increased gold recovery at the Damang mine.
Catherine, who is a wife and a mother of three, previously worked at Golden Star Wassa Mine as a Senior Plant Shift Supervisor, International Cyanide Management Code coordinator as well as Operations and Technical Superintendent Reliever.
She is a PhD student at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa.
She holds a MSc. in Minerals Engineering from UMaT and a Diploma in Minerals Engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) School of Mines. Catherine has also been awarded Certificate of Competency in processing and metallurgy.
As one of the leading women in the mining industry in Ghana, Catherine believes the future looks bright. “I see women actively and progressively taking up challenging operational mining positions.” Catherine is committed to business goals and above all, the safety and wellbeing of her team.
Her hard work and perseverance over the years towards her dreams particularly achievements in Ghana’s mining sector have not gone unnoticed. Being a proud daughter of northern Ghana, she was nominated and voted by public to be part of the 2019 list of ‘‘The 100 Most Influential Personalities from Northern Ghana’’ project.
Catherine’s achievements over the course of time has demonstrated to all up-and coming young engineers and metallurgist especially females that one can still rise to their chosen career despite their busy schedules as a manager, head of department, scholar, mother and wife.
She is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, West Africa Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (WAIMM), Women in Mining Ghana and Ladies in Mining and Allied Professions.
FOTIE LELE Rodrigue Heads the Division of Continuing and Distance Training of the School of Geology and Mining Engineering at the University of Ngaoundéré – Cameroon and has over 17 years working experience in the education and mining sectors of Cameroon. Fotie holds a PhD from the University of Ngaoundéré-Cameroon, an MSc (2007) and BSc (2004) in Hydrogeology from the University of Dschang-Cameroon.
Mr. Fotei Lele in 2008 won a contract as a Hydrogeologist in a project to rehabilitate the Mbakaou, Mapé and Bamedjing dams in Cameroon after he thought for while at Coplar High School (2004 – 2007). His contributions and experience towards the successful rehabilitation of the three dams earned him the position and role as Field Supervisor for civil engineering and hydraulics with Cameroonian and Chinese co-contractors for another project.
Based on his competence and experiences, Mr. Lele in 2009 was recruited as a hydrogeology engineer by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Technological Development to a Small Scale and Artisanal Mining Support Program (CAPAM) where he participated in the exploration of ores for the establishment of new mining sites, including sites for the exploitation of gold, sapphire, rutile, kyanite, and quartzite. Mr. Fotei Lele was then appointed to serve at the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources of Cameroon (March 2010 – May 2014) as a geologist.
Mr. Fotei Lele adds to his credit, certificates in Mining Regulation and Management from the University of Witswaterand, South Africa and the School of Mines of Curtin University (Kalgoorlie – Australia). He has toured many mine sites and participated in several mining projects and conferences in Africa and Australia.
Mr. Fotie Lele Rodrigue is the founder of the Green Heart International, an organisation dedicated to corporate social responsibility, safety in the workplace and environmental issues and has since then executed a number of life changing projects and partnerships for the people of Cameroon.
Koduah Dapaah is a Certified Engineer with M.Eng. (Mining, Waste Disposal Tech & Geotechnics) with more than 20 years of both local and international professional experience in mining, petroleum and manufacturing industries as well as industrial minerals and Health, Safety & Environment and Sustainable Development.: a PhD in Environment & Sustainable Development: He is atop HSE Professional with extensive leadership experience in major capital projects, health, safety and environment, risk management and key strategic. A strategic, integrative thinker and driver of results that has balanced corporate financial performance with operational, health, safety, sustainability and environmental integrity.
A professional with exceptional leadership experience in unique complexity of both Underground and Open Pit operations for both Contract & Self-perform mining in one exemplary setting. He is Ghana’s most celebrated HSE Professional – Five time consecutive EPA, Mine Inspectors’ and two time-time consecutive-run Chamber of Mines’ awards winner. Also, a certified Manager (for Independent Work, HSE & Mines Management).
He is a member of SME; Fellow of WAIMM and Institute of Risk Management. Chair of Ghana Chamber of Mines’ ENSOC; and Senior Member of Technical Committee. Serves as External Examiner for Universities of Higher Learning and Collaborator with Research Institutes including Helmo University College, Belgium.
Jennifer Boateng(Mrs.) is an International Human Resource Professional with over 18 years’ experience both within and outside Ghana. Currently, HR Manager for Learning and Competency Development at the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), her working experience in the Petroleum and Telecommunication industries cuts across the West Africa Sub Region and the Middle East.
Over the last 12 years, Jennifer has held several senior management roles. Prior to her current position, her roles in Vodafone which span both Ghana and Qatar included Head of Internal Communications & Employee Engagement/HR Business Partner for Corporate, Head of HR Business Partnering & OD, Head of HR Centres of Expertise and HR Business Partner, Commercial Fixed. During her stay with the Sahara Group Ltd she was the Human Resource Manager responsible for Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. She also worked briefly at the Sahara Group HR Head Office in Lagos-Nigeria.
In her previous roles Jennifer designed and brought to life an engagement roadmap which delivered unmatched customer experience in alignment with Vodafone’s Employer of Choice proposition, worked with cross functional stakeholders to drive talent engagement initiatives in alignment with business strategy and used Internal communications as an engagement tool to define and reinforce their ways of working to support and strengthen their Culture. For 3 consecutive years she was the Vodafone Ghana People Survey Champion.
She served as a part of a 7-member cross-functional senior leadership project team which successfully developed from scratch, the phenomenal M-susu product; Vodafone Ghana’s first step to mirror Kenya’s M-Pesa in the Mobile Money play.
She was the lead in setting up the HR Business Partnering model in Vodafone Qatar and moved on to governing, monitoring and analysing the operational efficiency of the organisation and managing change across people, process and technology elements.
Jennifer was the first Female Chairperson of Vodafone Ghana’s Standing Joint Committee of the Communication Workers’ Union (Mar 2011-Dec 2013) where she provided leadership and ensured the effective operation of the governing body, represented Vodafone Ghana Executive team as Lead Negotiator and ensured smooth major negotiations and rightsizing with the Union through appropriate Stakeholder management.
She loves to coach and mentor young women, support groups working with disadvantaged children and women and enjoys music and gardening. Jennifer is an Ordained Minister.
Joseph Lebbie is a Geologist with over twelve (12) years working experience in the private and public sectors in various leadership and technical roles as Project Geologist (Data & Mapping), Senior Exploration Geologist, Mine Geologist and Chief Geologist in Sierra Leone.
He is a multi-skilled geologist with demonstrable hands-on experience in Geographic Information System and Remote Sensing technologies and applications; geo-scientific data processing and analysis, information and knowledge management systems. Knowledgeable in data management, QAQC protocol implementation, supervision of drilling and sampling of blast holes.
Joseph has a vast experience in monitoring and co-ordinating grade control processes in open pit mining, ore reconciliation and has contributed towards the implementation and development of Tonkolili Grade Control process using Datamine and Mine Trust System Database.
He played a key role as lead geologist in supervising the initial drilling and the resource extension of the Tonkolili Iron Ore deposit in northern Sierra Leone which led to the worlds’ largest reported magnetite JORC compliant resource estimate of 12.8 billion tonnes of Iron Ore.
Joseph Lebbie has exhibited an outstanding leadership, management, organizational and motivational skills and has inspired, mentored and developed teams and individuals to reach acceptable and industrial standards. He has also been involved in the training of a number of local Geologists and a track record of successfully leading and managing start up projects and overseeing the transition from exploration geology to production.
Joseph Lebbie believes in training and continuous improvement of the standard processes of the industry.
Juliet Manteaw-Kutin is the currently the General Counsel for Asante Gold.
Prior to joining Asante Gold in August 2022, Juliet was the Head, Legal, Corporate Affairs, and Company Secretary of Anglogold Ashanti Ghana. Formerly an associate at one of the most prestigious law firms in Ghana, Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa & Ankomah and a legal counsel with MTN Ghana, Juliet Manteaw-Kutin has been head of legal services and company secretary of major gold extraction company AngloGold Ashanti in Ghana since November 2013. She assumed the role at a challenging period in the history of the company, making optimizing legal expenses high on her agenda in order to align with the overall business strategy on cost management.
She attributes her significant reduction in legal expenses to improved internal dispute prevention processes, careful selection and management of external counsel and the negotiation of alternative billing. Alongside these internal improvements, she has worked on a number of exciting projects initiated by the company, which has enhanced her knowledge in many non-legal areas including commerce, crisis management and stakeholder engagement.
The range of improvements, projects and business objectives she has been able to achieve since being with AngloGold Ashanti Ghana show Manteaw-Kutin to be a top-level operator in the mining in-house legal sector.
Justice Fenteng has MBA (2004) from University of Wolverhampton in the UK. He completed a Postgraduate Diploma (1994) in Mining Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa – Ghana, following a Bsc in Mining Engineering in 1993. He has over 25years experience providing mine planning and mining engineering, operations and consultancy services to the mining industry in Ghana and across the world. He has worked in both surface and underground mining operations and has held strategic management and technical roles in various mining companies including AngloGold Ashanti. Perth – Australia, Karara Mining Ltd, Pert – Australia, RioTinto Iron Ore, Pannawonica, Western Australia, Abosso Goldfields Ltd, Damang – Ghana, Golden Star resources Ghana Ltd.’s Wassa mine and Ashanti Goldfields Ltd, Obuasi – Ghana through the ranks to senior management.
He has a Mine Manager’s certificate from the Inspectorate division of the Minerals Commission of Ghana and has been the Mine Manager of Newmont Goldcorp Akyem mine since 2017 charged with leading the Mining team (Mine Operations, Mine Maintenance, Mine Engineering and Mine Geology) comprising mine engineers, geotechnical engineers, hydrologists, mine technologists, mechanical engineers, maintenance technicians, geologists and surveyors and oversees the short term, medium and long term planning, contributes to the mine plan, costing for mine department, business planning among others.
Mr. Justice Fenteng is passionate about training engineers and mentoring young professionals to achieve professionalism and high standards in furtherance of the sustainability of the mining industry. He is a member of the Ausimm and a Fellow of the West African Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum – WAIMM.
Kwamina Ackun-Wood is a geologist with over fifteen (15) years working experience in the Mining Industry. He is the Acting Technical Services Manager at Chirano Gold Mines (a subsidiary of Kinross Gold) and has served in various leadership and technical roles as Exploration Manager, Geology Superintendent, Senior Geologist, Business Process Optimization (BPO) Change Manager and Senior Surveyor prior to his current role.
He has an MSc (2010) in Geological Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa. He has been in the gold mining industry with expertise in exploration to mining operations. Over the years he has been involved in Greenfield and Brownfield exploration, building high confidence 3D geological models and estimations, project development, mining & production geology, business process optimization and Mine-to-Mill Reconciliation.
Kwamina through his roles has exhibited analytical and creative approach to problem solving and outstanding leadership skills in people management. He has also managed the implementation of all change programs and their impact and lead changes of culture, approach, systems and processes in the mine.
Mohammed Munkailah (Munks) is a founding director for Sahara Natural Resources. Munks has over 25 years’ experience in the mining industry. He is currently the CEO of Sahara Natural Resources. He has worked in various management positions as the Executive General Manager, Regional Director (West Africa) and a Non-Executive Chairman of Sahara Natural Resources and SMG Consulting Group respectively (2010 to 2020) prior to becoming the CEO in July 2019.
Mohammed holds a BSc Degree in Geology from the Department of Earth Science, University of Ghana-Legon.
Mr Olivier ZIDA is a geologist with over 20 years’ experience providing mineral exploration, mine development, mining and geology operations in the mining industry. He holds a Master’s degree (1991) in Philosophy of Civil & Mining engineering from National Polytechnic Institute of Nancy in France; a Master’s degree (1989) in Sciences of Underground Resources from the University of Nancy I, and an MBA (2012) from the Moncton University in CANADA. Mr ZIDA completed a Bachelor’s Degree (1988) in General Geology from Institut National Superieur Polytechnique’’ of the University Of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.
Olivier ZIDA has worked for major mining and exploration companies including SIKA Resources, International Gold Resources, Incanore Resources, and ANGLO-AMERICAN CORPORATION SOUTH AFRICA. More recently he was the Chief Geologist of CLUFF Mining’s (2006 – 2013) Burkina Faso and Cote d’Ivoire operations. He has also been involved in several industry related training programs and has mentored a lot of geologists in mining and exploration practices.
Mr Olivier ZIDA has been involved with WAIMM since the early 2016 and he is currently the Ouagadougou chapter representative. He is of the view that all professionals need to assist in enhancing professionalism in the industry across the sub-region and is willing to put his technical, leadership and management expertise in some areas of the mining sector, his wide knowledge of the sub-saharan geology, mining industry, and mining codes, coupled with his dynamism to help WAIMM reach its objectives.
He is currently the Managing Director of Begimme Burkina sarl and is Member of ‘’Prospectors &Developers Association of Canada’’ (PDAC); Member of the ‘’World Mining Technology Society’’; Member of the ‘’Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy’’.
Stephen Asante Yamoah is a mining engineer with 15 years’ experience in the Mining industry. He holds both BSc and MSc in Mining Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology, Tarkwa.
He is currently the Senior Manager-Mining of AngloGold Ashanti Iduaprim site. He has been involved in project initiatives and other studies following his previous roles in Iduaprim as senior mining engineer, mine planning superintendent and chief mining engineer.
Stephen Asante has a mine manager’s certificate of competence from the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission of Ghana and believes that old and experienced industry professionals should come together as a consortium to operate and own a profitable mine. He would want to see young professionals giving off their best with focus and commitment to drive the mining industry towards sustainable operations.
Victoria Addison is a Mining engineer with about 20 years of industry experience internationally, in providing mining and mine planning engineering services in open cast gold and base metals mining. She has a Master of Law, LLM (distinction) in Mineral Law & Policy (2005) from the University of Dundee, UK, She also holds a BSc (Hons) in Mining Engineering (1996) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology – School of Mines, (now UMaT) Ghana.
Victoria has held several technical and leadership roles with multinational companies in a wide range of terrains with the commitment to continuous improvement in the safe, efficient and economic implementation of all aspects of mining, including mine planning and designing work. Her recent roles have included, inter alia, Mining Manager Position at Randgold Resources Limited, Loulo Gold Mine, Mali, from February 2010 to August 2011; Senior Mining Engineer at Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Ahafo Project, Ghana, from March 2006 to December 2008; and Senior Mining Engineer at Goldfields Ghana Limited, Damang Mine, Ghana from May 2002 to June 2004.
Victoria has also authored and co-authored a number of technical papers, some of which have been published in the AUSIMM Bulletin (2006), CEPMLP CAR, University of Dundee (2005), and the SAIMM Symposium Series (1996).
Victoria Addison has been involved with WAIMM since 2014 and has been a member of the governing council since 2015. She currently serves on the Ethics and Professional and Publication Committees. She believes WAIMM will provide women professionals in the industry the much needed mentorship and professional development opportunities that will enhance their participation and interest and also spearhead them to greater heights. She is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (MAusIMM).
Victoria recently served as Vice President, Mining at Galiano Gold Inc., Vancouver, Canada. She was also a Senior Consultant with SRK, Vancouver – Canada.
She is currently the Senior Engineer – Corporate Finance Division, British Columbia Securities Commission, Vancouver – Canada.
Dr Charles Freeman Alolibila Akayuli has a PhD (1999) in Materials and Structures from the Kobe University, Kobe – Japan, and has over 35years experience as a research scientist, geotechnical and mining engineer. He has an MSc (1986) in Rock and Soil Mechanics from University of Zambia, Lusaka and a BSc (1986) in Mining Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology (now UMaT) in Tarkwa, Ghana. His experience includes mining and mine planning, geotechnical investigations, soil and materials research in both underground and open-pit mines, civil engineering and construction works. Dr. Akayuli has held various technical, leadership and lectureship roles throughout his entire professional career.
He is a research scientist and has been involved with the Geotechnical engineering division of the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) in Kumasi, Ghana for over about two decades. He has conducted a lot of research and consultancy on tailings dam and feasibility studies and other mining industry projects in Ghana and other West African Countries. Dr Akayuli spent four years at the University of Zambia from 1991 – 1995, where he lectured undergraduate level courses in mineral economics, rock and soil mechanics.
He joined Tarkwa Goldfields in 1980 where he worked for 8 years as an Assistant Mine Planning Engineer and later as a Shift Boss and Mine Geotechnical Engineer in an underground setting. Dr Charles Akayuli has conducted over 30 publications including Journal, conference papers, research reports and Technical paper publications to his name.
He has been a member of the governing council since 2014 and he is currently the Chair the Publications committee for WAIMM and also serves on the Education Committee.
He is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Ghana Geotechnical Society, International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) and International Society of Rock Mechanics.
He is currently the Managing Director of Geosystems Consulting, a geo-environmental consultancy firm based in Kumasi, Ghana.
Dr. Abdoul Aziz Ndiaye is Senior Lecturer in Mining Geology / Geostatistics and is Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences (IST) of the University C. A. D. of Dakar (Senegal).
After graduating as geologist engineer and after a Master in Mining Geostatistics at the Ecole des Mines de Paris, he worked for more than 10 years in the mining industry in phosphates, industrial clays and in the exploration of gold.
He joined IST in 2007 where he’s teaching Mining Geostatistics and Economic Evaluation of Mining Projects.
His works focuse on the applications of real options to mining, particularly in considering geological and financial uncertainties in the economic evaluation of mining projects with applications to mining taxation and income sharing between “stakeholders” (State, Mining Companies and Communities).
Dr. Ndiaye is a member of the Society of Applied Geology (SGA) and of the Technical Working Group of the African Union Commission in charge of GMIS as part of the African Mining Vision (AMV).
From a grant of Australia Awards Africa, Dr NDiaye is developing a research on quantitative approaches in the implementation of the real options framework to models of mining taxation and revenue sharing.
Mr Ofosu has a Master’s degree in GIS and Remote Sensing applications from Greenwich University in London, UK. A product of the University of Mines and Technology in Ghana where he studied Geological Engineering.
His expertise and experience involves conducting Subsoil Investigations for Mine Infrastructural Development, Tailings dams, buildings etc.; Geotechnical Evaluation of Soil and Rock Materials for Road Construction and Building Foundations. His research interest is in ground investigation and stability analysis and has some publications and technical papers to his credit.
Mr Bernard Ofosu is a founding director of WAIMM and has been serving on the Executive board since 2013. He has been a governing council member since 2014 and also serves on the Membership committee and also other management roles.
Mr Ofosu is currently a Senior Research Scientist at the Geotechnical Engineering Division of the Building and Road Research Institute (BRRI) in Kumasi, Ghana. Mr Ofosu believes in getting professionals in the mining industry in the subregion to work in a specific set of standards and codes as other professionals in advanced mining communities the world over.
Bashir Akwasi Ahmed is the Director and Vice President Production & Development of Asante Gold Corp. A resident of Obuasi, Ghana, Mr. Ahmed, a Ghanaian National, is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in mine operations, planning, production and management. This wealth of expertise gained him the position as Mine Manager at Obuasi, one of the World’s foremost underground gold mines, producing up to 1.8 million tonnes per year (~4,900 tpd). In this capacity Mr. Ahmed managed a workforce of over 1000, with an annual budget of US$100 million.
Dr. Anthony Aubynn has spent his entire professional career in the mining industry with a stint in the Petroleum industry in Ghana. He has been involved in local affairs and community relations mostly for Goldfields Ghana Ltd and also Tullow oil Ghana.
He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and Political Science from the University of Ghana: he has three Masters Degrees in Development Studies, Development and Environmental Studies, and International Relations from the University of Tampere and Helsinki, in Finland, and the University of Oslo, Norway. He has a PhD in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Helsinki.
He is the founder and President of the African Institute of Extractive Industries and also the founder and Lead Partner of Stratol Limited, an oil and gas company.
He is the immediate past CEO (2012-2016) off the Minerals Commission of Ghana and has been involved in managing mining operations in Ghana for over 20 years.
He would want to see more PR from mining industry professionals to erode the negative impression about the industry and hopes to see the day when Ghanaians will be actively involved in mining whether large or small scale as long as it is legal and does not impact the environment negatively.
Charles Mensah has over 20years experience implementing management and financial systems for Companies in Ghana and UK. He is a product of the University of Derby (UK) and holds an MBA from Manchester business school (UK).
Charles has recently completed an Executive programme with Harvard University (USA) on “Driving Government Performance” and an ACCPAC Certified Consultant. Charles has had extensive experience in the natural resources industry in Ghana where he has delivered a number of lectures on Organizational and Project management techniques.
Charles Mensah has been a member of the Governing Council since 2014 and is currently the Vice Chair of the Finance and Legal Committee and the Chair of the Finance and Legal group. He has also been involved in other management and operational roles and was the main consultant who assisted with the WAIMM organizational profile leading to the founding of WAIMM in 2013.
Charles brings on board his professional and business experience to promote WAIMM’s interaction and collaboration with other professional organizations within Africa and internationally.
Charles is the managing Partner / CEO at Trust Consult Limited in Ghana. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (FCMA) UK and a member of ICA (GH).
Kwabena Owusu Akyaw has an MSc (2011) in Mineral Engineering from the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) in Tarkwa – Ghana, where he also completed a diploma in Mineral Engineering in 1999. He has over 16years experience providing mineral processing and plant operation services to the mining industry in Ghana. He has worked in both CIL/Heap leach and Plant Metallurgy operations and has held strategic management and technical roles in various mining companies including Anglogold Ashanti – Iduapriem mine, Goldfields Ghana’s Tarkwa mine and the Golden Star resources Ghana ltd.’s Wassa mine.
He is a certified process manager from the Inspectorate division of the Minerals commission of Ghana and has been the Metallurgical Manager of Golden Star Wassa – mine since 2010 with responsibilities for ensuring safe, efficient and cost effective operations of the metallurgical department and also as the ICMC Audit and Certification coordinator among others.
Mr Owusu Akyaw joined Goldfields Ghana ltd – Tarkwa mine in 2001 where he spent 8 years holding various positions from Plant Metallurgist to Superintendent Metallurgist; prior to that he was a shift Metallurgist at Anglogold Ashanti Iduapriem mine in Ghana.
Kwabena Owusu Akyaw has been a governing council member since 2015 and is also serves as the Vice President of the Metallurgical Society. His experience as a plant engineering metallurgist has taught him that mentoring of metallurgical technical and operation staff will lead towards the achievement of and sustainability of internationally acceptable best practices in the industry.
Prof Grace Ofori-Sarpong is an associate professor in Minerals Engineering at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana and currently the Dean of The Faculty of Mineral Resources Technology (FMRT). She is the immediate past Head of the Environmental and Safety Engineering Department and the Vice Dean, Planning and Quality Assurance Unit of the University of Mines & Technology, Tarkwa, Ghana. She is also. She holds a PhD (2010) in Energy & Mineral Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University, a MSc. (2002) in Environmental Resources Management from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi where she also completed a BSc (Hons) in Metallurgical Engineering in 1998.
Prior to her recent appointment, Prof Ofori – Sarpong was Head of the Petroleum Engineering Department (2013 – 2015), UMaT, and has been a senior lecturer since 2010.
She has received several awards both locally and internationally including the DIES Training on Internal Quality Assurance in Anglophone West Africa, 2014; Australia-Africa Partnership Facility (AAPF) Award to participate in African Women in Mining and Development Study Tour in South Africa and Australia, 2012; Development Partners in Higher Education (DelPHE), UK, Award for research on Artisanal Mining, Small-Holder Farming and Economic Development, 2011; National Science Foundation, USA, Award for “Research and Education on Buruli Ulcer, 2010; Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellowship, Netherlands, 2009; Shell Ghana Award for a project on Strength Augmentation of Grinding Discs Used in Small-Scale Gold Mining Operation, 2014 among others. She was also a Member of the international team that developed the Strategic Plan for the Africa-U.S. Network of Centers of Excellence in Water and Environmental Science and Technology under the auspices of USAID (2010 – 2010)
She has conducted a number of research including Biotransformation of complex ores by fungi and bacteria (2007 – date), Purification of wastewater using microbial and plant matter (2007 – date), and Microwaves in extractive metallurgy (2006 – date) among others and has been involved in a lot of journal publications and other conference publications.
Prof Grace Ofori – Sarpong has been a member of the governing council since April 2016. She strongly believes Women can make a major impact in the mining and petroleum industry. She is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), (2014 – Date), International Women in Mining Community (WIM), UK, (2013 – Date), Member, Society for Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, USA, (2006 – Date).
Prof Richard K Amankwah is a Professor in Minerals Engineering at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT), Tarkwa, Ghana.
Prof Amankwah is currently the Vice Chancellor of UMaT. He was educated at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana, Technical University of Clausthal, Germany and Queen’s University, Canada where he obtained a PhD in 2005.
He has received several appointments/research grants from international organisations including the United Nations, International Growth Centre, UK, National Science Foundation, USA, European Union and the British Council. He is a Visiting Professor to the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, African University of Science and Technology and International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2ie), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
His research interests include gold beneficiation, water quality management, and microwave processing of minerals, small-scale mining, medical geology, microbial mineral recovery and environmental biotechnology.
Prof Richard Amankwah has been involved with WAIMM since 2014 and has been a member of the governing council since 2015. He believes WAIMM is an excellent platform to bring all professionals involved in the mining industry together and work towards a common goal of enhancing professionalism. He is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and Society for Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers.