New Consultant Society Committee Members
The Consultant Society Committee is pleased to welcome two new members for 2026, John Riordian and James Carpenter. They both bring a wealth of experience to the Committee, and we all look forward to working with them to bring the best to our members.
John Riordan is Vice President of Engineering for DRA, leading a 140-person engineering and design team while staying hands-on in metallurgy, testwork, and flowsheet development across battery and critical minerals. With nearly 39 years’ experience, he has held senior roles in South Africa and Australia, including Managing Director of Bateman Australia (150 staff) and General Manager positions at Bateman/Tenova and Ausenco, with full P&L, risk, and strategy responsibility. After Tenova acquired Bateman, he became Chief Technology Officer for Tenova Mining & Minerals, leading a global team to advance technology, direct R&D and IP, and advise on acquisitions and restructuring. His practice spans concept to definitive feasibility: flowsheets, mass and energy balances, CAPEX/OPEX estimating, audits, due diligence, and lab, pilot, and demonstration programs. A committed mentor, he has supported adult education, trained graduates, and mentors senior engineers. He remains active in hydrometallurgical projects across base metals, lithium, rare earths and uranium.
James is a geoscientist with over 23 years of international mining experience having operated in a variety of roles including Competent Person for Mineral Resources, consultant, expert witness, project manager and geologist. He has a strong record in Mineral Resource estimation and geostatistical studies, project due diligence and deposit evaluation. As a consultant, he specialises in Mineral Resource estimation, independent due diligence studies, independent technical reports and audits, training in geostatistics, sampling and quality assurance and quality control, and mentoring of mine and resource geologists. James has experience in a range of commodities and deposit styles including precious metals, base metals, bulk commodities and other minerals in Australia, Asia, Africa, and the southwest Pacific seafloor. James is currently working as a Senior Consultant (Project Evaluation) for SRK Consulting.