Managers
Tony Caruso - Managing Director
As Managing Director, Tony is responsible for all business divisions of Mastermyne.
Tony has a wealth of experience in the mining service industry, with a particular focus in underground contract mining. Tony has exclusively worked in the Industry since 1989, before joining Mastermyne in 2005. Tony's roles have ranged from various project management roles to his current position of Managing Director.
Combined with his strong trade background he has a post graduate degree in Business Management and is a member of the Australian Institute of Management. Tony has a strong reputation for being result-focused, for driving growth and drawing the best out of high performance leaders.
Allan Purse - General Manager Mastermyne Underground
Allan is a General Manager at Mastermyne and oversees operations across numerous mine sites in the mining operations division.
Allan has been working underground since 1975 working in a variety of settings ranging from maintenance in bord and pillar panels and development environments to production roles with some of Australia's largest longwalls. In 1998, Allan started with MIM at Newlands Southern underground in QLD. More recently he has been Production Manager at Newlands Northern underground operations.
During his career, Allan has led teams to achieve a variety of industry benchmarks for safety and production. Allan's strengths are his hands-on practical experience and strong people and leadership skills. He has held roles from leading hand through to SSE during his career which allows Allan a grass roots understanding of issues and enhances his contribution in the senior management arena.
David Fitzpatrick - General Manager Mastermyne Engineering
Dave Fitzpatrick recently joined the team through the acquisition of his company Infin-Tech and was promoted to General Manager of Mastermyne Engineering in December 2009. Dave has been involved in the design and development of numerous fabricated products to the underground coal industry in both South Africa and Australia since 1991. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree (with honours) and a Diploma in Production Engineering.
Dave's "can do will do" attitude enhances his aim to make Mastermyne Engineering one of the largest suppliers of fabricated equipment to the Australian mining industry.
Jeff O'Keeffe - Directional Drilling Manager
Jeff joined Mastermyne in February 2010 and is responsible for the directional drilling business.
Jeff has 14 years coal mining experience including roles of fleet management, mining, maintenance and gas drainage engineering positions with the past 9 years in management positions. Prior to his coal mining experience Jeff had extensive experience with civil construction materials design / construction practices for the Queensland Government.
Chelsea Ivory - Corporate Services Manager
Chelsea joined the Mastermyne team in 1998. She currently holds the position of Corporate Services Manager. Chelsea is responsible for all aspects of the administration of the Mastermyne business from payroll to invoicing to the smooth running of the office. She leads a strong team, in the Mackay office and on site to support the sites project teams and our clients.
She has been instrumental in the successful development of the Company from a small contractor with an itinerant workforce to one of the largest contractors in the industry with over 300 personnel. Chelsea has developed and implemented the systems and processes that make Mastermyne so successful. Chelsea ensures that the administration of the Company runs smoothly and that we are able to deliver to the Mastermyne standard. Over the last few years Chelsea has been intimately involved in all aspects of the growth of the business including the negotiation and implementation of AWA's, the selection, purchasing and implementation of a new state of the art financial package and the setting up of the administration of new projects, to name a few. Chelsea's strengths are in ensuring that any new process adopted maintains Mastermyne's high level of service expectations, benefits our clients, our employees and our business and does not reduce our efficiency or effectiveness.
Vivienne Gayton - HR Manager
Vivienne recently joined the Mastermyne team as the HR Manager. For the past twelve years Vivienne has held management roles in an employer’s union and group training organisations and has a proven ability to “simply get things done”. Vivienne is committed to aligning Mastermyne’s HR activities to our business strategy through her broad business acumen and by building solid relationships with operational teams and business partners. Viv’s leadership style is underpinned by walking the talk, endorsing appropriate behaviours and a workplace that demonstrates trust and respect. Vivienne has completed a Diploma in Business (HR), post graduate studies in Industrial Relations and Alternative Dispute Resolution and is currently completing her MBA with a Risk Management specialisation.
Chris Kneipp - Financial Controller
Chris joined Mastermyne in March 2006 as the Management Accountant. Chris has a background from open cut mining in the Surat Basin and has completed his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Southern QLD. Since beginning his employment Chris' main involvements have been the implementation of a new management information system, statutory audit, management reporting and implementation of new finance facilities. With previous experience in implementing management information systems, Chris' main goal in the short term is to successfully introduce a new software package that is capable of producing practical and meaningful reports for management without the hassle of reproducing data outside of the system.
Beau Brookes - Commercial Manager - Fleet
Beau has in excess of 30 years experience within the mining industry both within Australia and overseas. This experience has been gained in Coal and Hard Rock operations in both Underground and Opencut mines. Beau's underground experience has been gained working in the Illawarra, Hunter Valley and Bowen Basin Underground Mines. Having done a trade at an early stage, Beau went on to become Service Manager and Branch Manager for OEM's supplying equipment to the Mining Industry. Beau also spent a number of years involved within the Mining Industry in South Africa and South Korea as well as Hard Rock Underground Contract Mining in Western Australia. Beau now brings these years of experience to Mastermyne as the Commercial Manager - Fleet.
Leon du Preez - Business Development Manager
Leon started with Mastermyne in early July as Business Development Manager to assist with growing the business strategically. Part of this role will be looking after R&D, ensuring that Mastermyne keeps its competitive edge in the business.
Leon brings to Mastermyne a wealth of experience having worked internationally across various commodities in the underground environment. In South Africa he has worked in senior management roles in Gold and Platinum; he then moved to Australia in 2006 with his family where he started working in the Coal Industry.
Leon’s career in the mining industry started in 1984 and he has worked in various operational roles from operator to production manager, as well as being responsible for the legal requirements of the mine; he also holds a Mine Manager’s certificate for South African mines. Since his arrival in Australia Leon has worked in a number of roles in the Coal Industry including mining engineer (looking after mine design and surface gas layouts), contract coordinator, Development Superintendent, Longwall Superintendent and Operations Manager; Leon was also the Business Improvement Manager for Moranbah North before taking up his position with Mastermyne.
This experience, coupled with his MBA and a Black Belt in Six Sigma, provides Leon with the business skills to grow the business strategically.
