Five Years on and we have a lot to Celebrate

From excavating an egress tunnel under part of Brisbane’s CBD for the multi-million dollar Inner Northern Busway project, to innovative design and advice saving $34 million in construction costs on one project, I have built a career on getting my hands dirty and loved it.

This week, as we celebrate the fifth birthday of Cartledge Mining and Geotechnics (CM&G), I was asked to reflect on my time in the business and it was fun to look back at what we have achieved in that short time.

After 10 years working as a geotech for some of the biggest players in the industry, I started CM&G in 2015 as the mining boom was ending and my employer had less work coming in.

I saw both a need to create my own income stream and an opportunity to build the kind of consultancy I believed could respond agilely to the marketplace.

At first it was simply trying to survive but I realised it was also an opportunity to build my client base and carve out a niche where we could deliver a suite of flexible, innovative and responsive geotech consulting services to the mining industry.

Our work

In that time we have delivered on small and large projects alike including a four-year partnership with mining giant Peabody.

Most notably, we utilised innovative design of Moorvale South levee as well as advice for construction of the haul road which is estimated by Peabody to have reduced construction costs by $34 million, or some 25%.

For Peabody we undertook a range of works from developing floor domain plans to optimise floor treatment and improve understanding of failure mechanisms to the new design of a SWU boxcut levee which reduced construction costs on the Wambo mine by $500k.

We also implemented inverse velocity analysis of slope deformation data to predict highwall failure times enabling safe mining below unstable wedges and created systems and processes at CMJV to increase geotechnical awareness and encourage proactive rather than reactive behaviours.

We also recently completed the IFC for Adani’s 270-kilometre Carmichael Rail Project in central Queensland.

Team building

It has been an incredible experience to build the team I wanted and needed for the business and we now have a team of 10 who have worked on projects in Australia, PNG, Indonesia, America, South America, Madagascar, Suriname, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China, Nigeria and Italy.

I understand that you are only as good as the team around you. If you work with people you enjoy and who are good at what they do and are professional, it makes for a great work culture.

And when people enjoy their work, it’s good for clients and the business.

The blend of practical and technical experience in our team at CM&G means we are able to provide geotechnical solutions for the lifecycle of any mining project from exploration to mine closure.

We have the technical understanding which allows us to be innovative and push the boundaries which in turn helps to create safe workplaces for those who work in mining.

And with their thirst for knowledge, our team stays abreast of new developments in industry and technology which will help us to be even more efficient and agile into the future.

The next five years

Looking ahead, I am determined CM&G will retain the flexibility and small team mentality as we continue to grow, where everyone pitches in, has an attitude of agility, understands the need for good communication and appreciates the value of adding those personal touches when working with clients.

The first five years of CM&G have surpassed all of my expectations and that has been in large part thanks to the team I have around me. As we continue our journey of growth, we look forward to working with new and existing clients to provide innovative solutions which help them realise their goals.

I am excited about the journey we have undertaken in the last five years and can’t wait to see what the next five years bring as we continue to expand our reach through Australia and internationally.