Professional Associates

John Wells

John Wells is a Consulting Metallurgical Engineer (Royal School of Mines, 1967) with 40 years experience in the mining industry. He has worked extensively in operations, including: Sierra Leone (iron ore), Zambia (copper), South Africa (gold, uranium and base metals) and both North and South America (gold, silver and base metals). His career includes Metallurgical Superintendent for Anglo American and Director, Metallurgical Development for Barrick Gold.
John has also held senior positions with several of the world's foremost EPCM companies, including Vice President, South America for Kilborn (SNC Lavalin) and Global Director of Mineral Processing for Hatch. Over the last 4 years, John has worked as an independent consulting metallurgist in both North and South America. He is the author of 15 technical papers on precious and base metals recovery.
As a metallurgist and project engineer, John brings comprehensive African and South American experience to Videira, including: project evaluation and audit, project management, CapEx and OpEx estimation and review, as well as a practical approach to process plant design and operation.

Roger is a Consulting Metallurgist with over 40 years experience in the mining industry. Most recently, Roger has been a successful independent consultant on several large projects in Latin America, including Rio Blanco in Peru. Previously Roger was Vice President, Metallurgy for Anglo America in Chile, responsible for all of that company’s projects including Mantos Blancos and Collahuasi (Chile) and Quellaveco (Peru).
Roger brings extensive precious and base metals metallurgical expertise to Videira and excellent contacts throughout the industry, particularly in the fields of metalllurgical test work and process evaluation.

Allen is a project manager with over 30 years experience in the M&M sector. He specialises in metals and non metallic minerals and has managed several large scale projects in Latin America and worldwide.
After joining Bechtel in 1994 and heading their offices in Montreal, Toronto and Santiago, Allen retired as Executive Vice President in 2007. During his time with Bechtel, Allen grew their business significantly in the Americas and was responsible for all of Bechtel engineering activities in Chile.
Allen brings to Videira considerable experience in the management of multidisciplinary studies and in plant services. He maintains excellent contacts with both Bechtel and other industrial engineering consultants which further expand Videira’s access to world class resources and disciplines as necessary.

Andy is a consultant mining engineer with more than 40 years experience in the international mining industry.
He has served in senior management posts on projects involving brownfield extensions of current operations through to the development of greenfield sites. Andy has focused his efforts on base metals in Africa, Europe and Asia and precious metals in Africa, Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Far East. He currently advises major platinum producers and precious and base metals’ explorers throughout the world.
Andy brings to Videira extensive experience of project evaluation and development linked with excellent project management skills. As part of the original Lonrho development team in Argentina, Andy also has extensive expertise in Latin America.

Dennis is a consultant mining engineer and company director with more than 40 years experience in the international mining industry. He served as general manager for a number of projects located throughout Africa, Asia and Europe in precious and base metals and industrial mineral operations. Since 1978 he has been Principal of Thomas Mining Associates, and a leading figure in the field of international mining recruitment and personnel consultancy.
Since the early 1990s, Dennis has become involved with the successful sourcing and development of new projects in Africa, South America, Asia and the countries of the former Soviet Union and has served on the boards of a number of North American, European and Asian exploration and mining public companies in the roles of CEO, non-executive director and executive director, covering developments in precious and base metals, coal, mineral sands and iron.
Dennis brings to Videira extensive project and operational management expertise. As principal of Thomas Mining and Associates Dennis also provides Videira with the opportunity to tap into an active data base of 36,000 mining and natural resources sector professionals.

Robert Schnell is a Geological Engineer (USA) who has spent the greater part of his professional life working for major mining companies in Chile and Peru, specializing in project evaluation and management. He has held several senior positions with both Anglo American and the Hochschild Group.
Robert brings to Videira significant Latin American contracts negotiation expertise necessary for the development of large precious and base metals projects. He also has widespread project management, evaluation and feasibility study experience.

Romke Kuyvenhoven is a metallurgical engineer with more than 10 years of mining industry experience, including greenfield, expansion and optimisation projects in South Africa, Zambia, Canada, Brazil, Peru and Chile. Her main speciality is the planning, supervision and interpretation of metallurgical test work at laboratory and pilot plant scale, although her experience also includes process design and conceptual engineering studies.
Romke has a broad knowledge of the business climate in the mining industry in Chile and an contact base through her role as technical coordinator of mining events in the fields of Mineral Processing and Economic Geology in Mining.

Maria Julia is an anthropologist with experience in social issues and managing community relations during the different stages of development of mining projects in Peru. She has a Master’s Degree in Anthropology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú together with a Master’s Degree in Occupational Counselling from the George Washington University (USA).
From 1999 until 2008 Maria Julia worked with Golder Associates primarily within Latin America reaching the level of Associate before leaving to start her own consultancy. During this time she managed, implemented and contributed to a significant number of social and cultural studies, as well as evaluations to obtain environmental permits, social risk evaluations, community profiles and analysis of the mining company-community relationship.
Maria Julia brings to Videira current understanding of the requirements both environmentally and socially to successfully develop mining projects whilst ensuring the requirements of local populations and other stakeholders are met during the development and permitting processes.