Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?  

In-house legal counsel have a great opportunity to better learn and understand the business and industry that we are working in. I have encouraged my team to take full advantage of this opportunity by identifying individuals in other disciplines in the business that are willing to give them one on one time to provide them with insight into their work, skills, and contribution to the business. This allowed my team to better comprehend how the company functions which led to the counsel being able to provide higher-quality legal advice and services to the business. It also improved the team’s enjoyment of their jobs.    

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in? 

In my career as in-house counsel, I have been fortunate to provide legal services to all aspects of the mining business including mergers and acquisitions, disputes, environment and work health and safety regulatory matters, procurement, exploration, and corporate governance and compliance.  

In recent times, I was the lead negotiator for AngloGold Ashanti in the settlement of a large silicosis class action suit brought against the major gold mining companies in South Africa.  This involved years of negotiation with the mining companies and the class action lawyers. The settlement, valued at approximately $280m, involved setting up the Tshiamiso Trust.  

In the past year at Newcrest Mining, I have focused on providing legal advice related to regulatory matters at Newcrest’s largest mine in Australia including advising on regulatory investigations and compliance. 

I have also provided legal support to Newcrest’s Red Chris Block Cave project in British Columbia. I advised on aspects of the pre-feasibility study and permitting strategy. The study assesses adding underground block cave mining to the open pit operations at Red Chris mine.  

Newmont Corporation and Newcrest have entered a binding scheme implementation deed, in relation to the proposal for Newmont to acquire 100% of the issued shares in Newcrest by way of an Australian scheme of arrangement. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 of 2023. The transaction and the pending integration of the companies have been a focus of the Newcrest legal team this year.  

What is a cause, business related or otherwise, that you care about, and why?  

I provide legal services to Newcrest’s Sustainability Fund, and find it to be most rewarding. It is wonderful to see how Newcrest’s support of NGOs tangibly improves the quality of the communities in which we operate our mines.