people

David Smirk - Director (BSc. (Hons), Murdoch; Grad. Dip. Bus. Admin, Deakin)

David co-founded Residue Solutions in 2006 after working for over 17 years in the mining industry primarily at 9 alumina refineries with Alcoa, Alcan, Alusuisse-Lonza and Rio Tinto on all aspects of HSE issues in alumina refining, residue management and alternative use residue research.

Prior to starting Residue Solutions, David was the Manager, Tailings and Water for Rio Tinto Aluminium Ltd and before that the HSE Superintendent for the Rio Tinto Aluminium Yarwun Refinery where as well as HSE accountabilities he was responsible for the design, commissioning, licensing and technical support of the residue management facilities.

David first identified aspects of Mud Farming from university research in 1989 and this has been subsequently refined and improved at a range of locations since then.

Tim Varcoe - Operations Manager

Prior to joining Residue Solutions in 2010, Tim was the Residue Management Area (RMA) Superintendent for Rio Tinto, Yarwun Alumina Refinery, a role held since 2003. Prior to joining Yarwun, Tim held a variety of operational and project roles within Rio Tinto (Boyne Smelters Limited and Weipa) that focused on capital management and delivery of sustainable maintenance programs.

At Yarwun, Tim was responsible for developing a new operational team to manage the design, development and implementation of mud farming in a new facility including the forward planning of operations. In addition, this role encompassed all aspects of safe and environmentally responsible management of a residue disposal area. 

Tim has an impressive safety record. During this period, and indeed for any project under his control for his entire career, there have been no Lost Time Injuries. Complementing this record has been a steady development of advanced management skills inclusive of Lean, Frontline Development and Six Sigma.

Annette Van Balen-Smirk - Office Manager (BSc. (Hons), Flinders; Grad. Dip. Bus. Admin, Deakin)

Annette co-founded Residue Solutions in 2006 after working for over 15 years in the alumina industry (Alcoa, Alcan, Alusuisse-Loca and Curtin University) on optimisation of red-side process technology and documentation of the industries environmental emissions for submission to the Australian Federal Government.

Prior to starting Residue Solutions, Annette was a senior Environmental Chemist with Pacific, Air and Environment (Australia based Environmental Consultancy) detailing industry environmental emissions of submission to the Australian National Pollutant Industry (NPI) database.

Tony Babb - MudMaster Trainer/Operator

Tony joined Residue Solutions in 2008 and has worked with MudMaster's since the development of the technology. As such he has a wide experience of the evolutionary development of the machines and also their application to a range of tailings materials at a range of locations. Specifically Tony oversaw the integration of the MudMasters into Alcoa World Alumina (Kwinana, Pinjarra & Wagerup); Anaconda Nickel (Murrin Murrin); BHP Billiton (Worsley Alumina); Rio Tinto Alcan (Yarwun & Gove); and Rusal Aughinish (Aughinish, Ireland).

As the MudMaster has a second trainee seat provided, hands-on, field training of new MudMaster personnel using the Residue Solutions training modules is possible. This approach has allowed Tony to successfully train over 20 operators in Mud Farming operations. Tony can instruct trainee operators in: