May 21, 2020
We are pleased to announce that in addition to our offices in Brisbane and Perth, we are now also operating in Newcastle, located in the Hunter Region of New South Wales (NSW). Jonathan Sanders recently moved with his family from Vancouver, Canada back to Newcastle to help establish our presence in the region, reinforcing our strong connections with our existing clients in NSW.
About Jonathan Sanders
Jonathan Sanders is a Senior Environmental Scientist and Associate with KCB. Jonathan brings nearly 15 years of experience within the mining, ports, and hydro-electric power industries. Prior to joining KCB, Jonathan was a Senior Environmental Advisor at Xstrata’s (now Glencore) North Queensland Operations. Jonathan attended Newcastle University and started his career at Port Waratah Coal Services (PWCS) on the Project 3D expansion of the Newcastle Kooragang Coal Terminal.
Jonathan’s specialty areas include mine closure planning and design, environmental assessment, and mine waste and tailings management. He has worked on a range of environmental and mine closure projects located in the U.S, Canada, Mexico, Indonesia, PNG, Australia, and Guyana.
He is a Certified Environmental Practitioner (CEnvP) with the Environment Institute of Australian and New Zealand (EIANZ). Jonathan is also a certified Environmental Practitioner in Canada and was a verified service provider with the Mining Association of Canada Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program.
How long have you been with KCB?
About 8 years. Prior to joining the company, I used KCB for several years when I worked for Xstrata. KCB was one of my “go to” consultants due to their ability to deliver quality outcomes. I decided to make the switch to consulting and joined KCB in 2012 after an opportunity came up at their Vancouver office.
What do you / KCB bring to Newcastle?
KCB is an award-winning engineering, geoscience and environmental international consulting firm. We provide solutions for some of the largest, technically challenging projects in the world. Our valued clients, some of whom have worked with us for decades, have trusted us with the design, development and closure of some of the most challenging mining operations worldwide.
I bring my local experience, having previously working in Newcastle, as well as industry/Owner experience, and broader international experience on a range of challenging environmental and mine closure projects. I’m fortunate to be supported by an amazing technical group of engineers, hydrogeologists, hydrologists, geochemists, GIS specialists, and environmental professionals who underpin our broad capabilities.
We are most interested in providing technical support which is challenging, of strategic importance to our clients and allows us to apply a broad range of our capabilities. Potential support areas where we can provide value as a technical service provider include:
- Regional and local groundwater assessment
- Water and tailings dams management, including Engineer of Record (concept through to closure)
- Mine closure planning and integration of technical support to understand and manage residual risk
- Final voids assessment
- Mine water, mine waste geochemistry and water quality modelling
- Civil and mechanical infrastructure design
- State and Federal water-related regulatory support
What is the most relevant experience that would tie in with the work you can do in Newcastle?
It’s hard to define one moment or experience, but broadly speaking I’d say:
- Industry experience: Having worked on the Owner’s side previously, I have some perspective on the range of decisions required and how KCB can best bring practical solutions to the table.
- Tailings management: This has been a key focus for mining companies to manage life of mine tailings risks as part of their core business. I’ve supported our global clients on tailings management systems, alternatives assessment, risk assessment and closure planning.
- Mine closure planning and design: I’ve led closure plan preparation of various project definition stages, due diligence assessments and development of onsite training. A recent and personally rewarding project involved close engagement with the community to define final end land uses to support closure objectives/success criteria, assess residual risk and support the technical aspects in closure design and constructability.
Apart from the work, what do you love about living in Newcastle?
I grew up on a farm in central-west NSW and so the country has always felt like home to me. Newcastle has a country-town feel to it with the added benefit of being close to the beach, Hunter Valley and national parks. Newcastle also has an amazing history of industry and innovation that is reflected in the community. My wife is from the mid-NSW coast, so a bonus is having both our families within driving distance to see their grandkids.
