UNDERGROUND MASSMINE INSTITUTEBoard & Steering
Commitee
UNDERGROUND MASSMINE INSTITUTETechnical Steering Commitee
Prof Andre van As
Andre is an underground mine geotechnical engineer with over 30 years of experience, specialising in caving operations and projects. His expertise includes caving geomechanics, cave management, and innovative mining technologies. Andre worked for Rio Tinto for 22 years and has been involved in 10+ major caving operations, from exploration through to closure, and serves on several geotechnical review boards.
In 1997, Andre collaborated with Dr. Rob Jeffrey to introduce hydraulic fracturing to the cave mining industry, earning the CSIRO medal for research excellence. This innovation transformed cave induction and rock mass preconditioning practices globally. From 2005 to 2018, Andre was instrumental in trialling and advising on Cave Tracking technology, now widely used in caving operations worldwide.
Since 2015, Andre has taught Caving Geomechanics and Caving Engineering, leading professional development courses on cave mining fundamentals. Andre currently works at the University of Queensland’s Bryan Research Centre as Professor and group lead for ‘Deep Mining Geoscience’ research, and he manages the South Gobi Underground Mass Mining Institute, sponsored by Rio Tinto Copper. Andre has authored/co-authored 40+ technical papers, advancing knowledge in his field.
Dr Alex Campbell
Alex leads the underground Copper Technical team at Rio Tinto as the Chief Mining Engineer for Copper Technical. His team provides technical support for underground operations and studies at Oyu Tolgoi, Kennecott and Resolution. Alex’s career includes previous roles in both mining and geotechnical engineering at Cannington, Ernest Henry and Mount Isa Mines. He later gained international experience as a consultant working for a wide range of underground mines across the globe prior to joining Rio Tinto in 2022.
Dr. Steve McKinnon
Dr. Steve McKinnon is a distinguished mining geomechanics engineer with over 45 years of international experience spanning academia, consulting, and applied research. He holds a Ph.D. in Mining Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand and has built a career at the intersection of rock mechanics, stress analysis, and underground mine design, specialising in the design and layout of hard rock mines at depth. He received a B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science (geophysics option) and an M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering (geotechnical engineering) both from the University of Toronto. His Ph.D. is in Mining Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand.
He has worked as a researcher at the Chamber of Mines of South Africa (5 years), and from 1998 to 2019, Dr. McKinnon served as Professor and Chair in Mine Design at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada (20 years), where he also held adjunct appointments in the Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering. He continues to contribute to academia as Professor Emeritus and Adjunct Professor at Queen’s, and as a Visiting Professor at Luleå University of Technology in Sweden.
Dr. McKinnon’s consulting career includes leadership roles at Itasca Consulting Group in the U.S. and Chile, as well as senior positions in Sweden and South Africa. Since 2020, he has operated as an independent mining geomechanics consultant, advising on geotechnical review boards and major mining projects worldwide, including Chuquicamata Underground, Oyu Tolgoi, and El Teniente.
His research focuses on mining-induced seismicity and the characterisation of stress fields in complex geological environments. Dr. McKinnon has supervised numerous graduate students and authored influential publications on seismic stress inversion, numerical modelling, and rock mass behaviour.
In addition to his academic and consulting work, Dr. McKinnon served as a part-time Commission Member of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission from 2019 to 2021.
UNDERGROUND MASSMINE INSTITUTEStrategic Advisory Board
David Collopy (Chairman)
David has over 35 years’ experience in senior and executive management roles within large organisations, with extensive experience in underground mining operations across Australia and overseas.
An inspirational and loyal leader, he has a proven record of achieving superior results in safety, health, and operations.
He is a strategic thinker who improves share value through a systematic and commercial approach, influencing and mentoring team members by promoting positive and lasting change.
Currently, as Head of the Underground Centre of Excellence for Rio Tinto, he is responsible for ensuring underground operations achieve best operator ambitions, and for planning and building underground mines that address Rio Tinto’s priority technical threats while seizing present and future opportunities.
Prof Mark Noppe
Prof Mark Noppé is the CEO of JKTech (the technology-transfer company of the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI)), on secondment from his role as Director of the SMI’s WH Brian Mining Geology Research Centre.
Mark provides research and advice on mining and geoscience project assessment, development and operations, supported by 25 years’ consulting and 12 years’ industry experience with Anglo American.
Prior to joining UQ-SMI in October 2022, Mark was the group chair of SRK Consulting and a Corporate Consultant, where he and the teams focused on a range of geosciences, project development and mining projects for industry and investment clients. He was MD of SRK Consulting (Australasia) and prior to that was the founding MD of Xstract Mining Consultants. Mark began his Australian consulting career with the Snowden Group in 1997.
Mark is a Fellow of the AusIMM, an AusIMM director, a non-executive director of junior explorer Litchfield Minerals Limited and mentors with the International Women in Resources Mining annual program.
Mark was part of the inaugural Consultants Society (2014–2019) and its second chair. He received the AusIMM Charles Marshall Award for Technical Excellence (in consulting) in 2020.
Otgonbayar Togtokhbayar
Otgonbayar Togtokhbayar was appointed as General Manager of Technical Services and Growth of Oyu Tolgoi in November 2021. He began his career with Oyu Tolgoi in 2001 during the exploration phase and has since held various leadership roles across exploration, resource evaluation, project development and mining operations, combining both strategic and operational leadership.
Otgonbayar has extensive experience in geological prospecting, mineral resource evaluation, resource modelling, estimation and mineral resource reporting in multiple jurisdictions.
In his current role, Otgonbayar oversees integrated long to short-term mining and production planning and the technical services disciplines for operations, centered on advancing orebody knowledge and identifying early-stage growth opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability of Oyu Tolgoi. He is also the designated Competent Person for Oyu Tolgoi’s mineral resources, responsible for ensuring compliance with both Mongolian and international reporting standards.
Previously, Otgonbayar worked as a Senior Consultant at AMC Consultants in Australia, where he contributed to numerous mineral resource evaluation projects across a variety of commodities including iron ore, copper-gold, graphite, and PGE-nickel-copper mineralization. He played a key role in several Australian projects, such as Mt Elliot, Mt Dore, and Starra, as part of the evaluation of IOCG deposits in the Cloncurry region.
He holds an MSc in Geology from the Mongolian University of Science and Technology and a BSc in Geology from the National University of Mongolia.