The IOM3 Mining Technology Group (formerly the Mining Technology Division) is run by a dedicated leadership group with extensive knowledge and practical experience across a wide range of mining disciplines.
The group supports the mining and extractive industries worldwide by providing a focus for the promotion of, and exchange of knowledge on, all aspects of mining lifecycle technology including mine design and development, production and transport, and mine closure and remediation, plus other mining industry related matters. The group also encompasses, and supports the two associated subgroups the Ground Engineering Subgroup and the Sustainable Development Subgroup.
Meet the Mining Technology Leadership Team
Colin Comberbach CEng CEnv MIMMM
Post graduation, Colin's long career has centred on minerals, mining and quarrying. His earlier roles were within operating divisions of ECC plc (now Imerys), Redland plc and Lafarge SA. Colin worked on quarry/mine planning, exploration, design and optimisation projects and extration schemes, mainly in the UK and occasionally Europe and obtained chartered status along the way.
After 17 years in industry Colin entered consultancy in 2003 with Wardell Armstrong (now SLR) as a Technical Director for quarry and mine site projects including brownfield. In 2012 he became Technical Services Manager at mining software company Maptek to lead a team of geologists and mining engineers on training and consulting services for mining companies in Europe, Middle East and W Africa. He then returned to industry with a subsidiary of Holcim, until 2021.
At various stages during the above, Colin has practised in geotechnical design and regulatory compliance of excavations and tips and has made representations for mineral planning applications, appeals and public inquiries. He has undertaken corporate due dilligence in industrial mineral acquisitions or divestments, reserves and resources schedules compliant with the PERC standard.
Since 2022 Colin has focused on supporting IOM3 and its members as Chair of the Mining Technology Group. He values CPD and mentoring, being active on IOM3's Technology Communities Board, Advisory Council and PERC Advisory Group.
Stephen J Straw FIMMM
Stephen started his career with the National Coal Board as a Mechanical Apprentice in 1977, going on to have a career as a Mechanical Engineer holding senior managerial positions at numerous mines gaining extensive experience of designing, installing and maintaining of fully automated, integrated mining systems.
Stephen then joined the Woodsmith Mine Project in August 2023 as a Mechanical Training & Competancy Facilitator and oversees the mechanical staff on site who are employed by Redpath Mining.
Stephen has been a member of the Midlands Institute of Mining Engineers since 1990, becoming Honorary Secretary in 2017, a position he still holds.
Stephen is fully comitted to the advancement of engineering, science and the practice of the extraction and processing of natural resources, along with the education, training and competence assurance of all involved in those activities.
Stephen is the secretary of the Mining Technology Group and the secretary of the BACM section of the Prospect Trade Union.
Andy Birtles CEng FIMMM
Andy Birtles is a Mining Engineer, Professional Engineer and a Chartered Engineer and has specialised in the coal mining sector since 1979 and in the metalliferous and heavy minerals sector since 1999. He has worked on coal mining operations both in the UK and South Africa in various levels of operational management. Subsequently he spent time with various international mining consulting groups, and is currently a Director of ANB Mining Ltd.
Currently he is active in doing work assessing business interruption and material risk on mining operations.
Andrew Fulton
Principal Director of Gatesbridge Ltd, Andrew provides mining and mineral advisory services in the pursuit of responsible practices.
Over his 29 years, Andrew has developed a track record for determining best value options and delivering sustained positive outcomes from both established and emerging mineral assets.
Andrew is a Chartered Mining Engineer registered with the Engineering Council of UK and a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (FIMMM).
Andrew Fulton is also President of the Mining Association of the UK, a Board Member for the Mineral Products Qualifications Council, member of IOM3’s Mining Technology Group and Chairman of the UK Mining Education Forum.
Dr. Alan Auld
Dr. Alan Auld is a retired Engineering Consultant with more than 40 years of experience in the design of underground works, particularly shaft and tunnel linings. Alan is the author of more than 50 papers and articles published in books, technical journals and conference proceedings, the majority relating to the design and construction of underground structures. He was a co-founder of the original company incorporated in 1989 which became part of the Alan Auld Group of companies in 2010 subsequently bought out by Golder's in 2017.
Neil Battison
Neil is a Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of IOM3 and the Midland Institute of Mining Engineers and a certified member of IOSH.
Neil started his career with the National Coal Board as an electrical apprentice in 1981, going on to have a career as an Electrical Engineer holding senior managerial positions at numerous mines gaining extensive experience of designing, installing, commissioning and maintaining of fully automated, integrated mining systems.
Neil then joined the Health and Safety Executive; the UK's Independent Regulator in 2015 as a HM Principal Inspector in Energy Division regulating the major hazard sector, he gained the NEBOSH Diploma in Regulatory Occupational Health and Safety.
Neil has been a member of the Midlands Institute of Mining Engineers since 1984, becoming president for the 2018/19 year. Neil is fully committed to the advancement of engineering, science and the practice of the extraction and processing of natural resources, along with the education, training and competence assurance of all involved in those activities.
Neil has been a member of the Mining Technology Group and on the council of the Mineral Products Qualifications Council since 2018. He is passionate in maintaining his CPD along with supporting others maintain theirs.
Bob Siddall FIMMM
Bob Siddall has 30 years experience in the coal mining industry, both in deep underground mines in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire and in opencast mining. His range of experience has covered working on the coal face through to mine manager and then managing the Selby Coalfield, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire Groups before moving to manage the Opencast Division of British Coal. He also ran an MBO which was unsuccessful in buying the English portion of British Coal at privatisation.
During his career he has been active in Institution matters, becoming a Fellow in 1973 and being elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1995. He has been a Council member for many years and was President of the Institution of Mining Engineers in 1995-96. He was actively involved in several mergers and has been Chairman of the Mining Technology Division at is inception in 2002 and a member since then. He was a member of the Executive Board from 2012 to 2023 and Chairman of the Accreditation and Professional Development Committee for several years. He is an invited guest on the Midland Institute of Mining Engineers and was it’s President in 1992-93.
Rob Thomas CEng
Rob Thomas is a chartered engineer and geotechnical specialist with a career spanning nearly two decades in the global mining industry. His journey began in 2005 at a Brazilian gold mine before a brief spell in civil geotechnics in the UK. In 2008, he moved to Australia, where he gained extensive site and office-based experience in engineering geology and geotechnics within Western Australia's resource sector. Rob later led the mining geotechnics team at a multinational consultancy before founding Absolute Geotechnics in 2016. Now back in the UK, he continues to provide expert geotechnical and engineering geological services worldwide, supporting mining operations, feasibility studies, and due diligence projects across a diverse range of commodities
EurIng Norman William Jackson CEng FNEIMME FIMMM
Norman Jackson is an authority on mining engineering and industry restructuring, with expertise in environmental impacts. Following his career in mining, he was appointed Project Team Leader for the privatisation of British Coal Corporation (BCC). During this period, he gained experience through negotiations with Merchant Bankers, Legal Advisors, and DTI officials, as well as BC Board members, providing him with insights into industry restructuring.
Before his involvement with BCC privatisation, Norman Jackson was Head of Technical Services for the North East Group of BCC. He also played a significant role in safely closing down the coalfield due to economic pressures facing the Coal Industry. He is Internationally recognised for his knowledge of undersea mining with specific Health and Safety skills
Since leaving BCC in 1995, he has pursued a career as an independent international management and mining consultant, working with various clients on projects in the coal industries and related sectors around the world. He is a strategic thinker with a proven track record and a reputation as a respected expert witness in court on wide ranging mining issues.
A Trustee, Past President of NEIMME Norman is a Charted Mining Engineer and Certificated Mine Surveyor.
Wyn Griffith CEng FIMMM MIMinE
Wyn began his career with the then National Coal Board in the late 1970’s, finally leaving the UK Coal mining industry as an Operations Design Engineer, responsible for coalface design within UK Coal until 2011.
After 30 plus years’ service in the coalmining industry, Wyn took up a new opportunity with a specialist civil and mining engineering consultancy company for 5 years, before moving on, and becoming involved with a shaft re-entry project in North Wales, mine shaft inspections. More recently he has specialised in mechanical design work in the UK onshore gas transmission industry sector.
Wyn is currently the President of the Western Institute of Mining and Minerals; he is a Past President of the Midland Institute of Mining Engineers (MIMinE) and a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the IOM3. He is the Chairman of the Membership Committee of the MIMinE and is heavily involved in the mentoring of candidates wishing to gain their professional recognition through the IOM3.
He is also a member of the leadership group of the IOM3 Mining Technology Group.
Martha Needs
Martha graduated from Camborne School of Mines in 2018 with a MSc in Geotechnical Engineering. She is a Geotechnical Engineer and Project Manager at Knight Piésold, specialising in the design, operation and technical assessments of mine waste and tailings storage facilities. Martha works internationally, providing services in countries such as the UK, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Brazil, Australia, Spain and Canada. Martha is a specialist on the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) and has audited projects globally for juniors, major mining companies and ICMM members
Paul Bradley, CEng, CSci, FIMMM, CMgr, FCMI
Paul Bradley, CEng, CSci, FIMMM, CMgr, FCMI. With over 40 years of experience working as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer in the UK mining industry. He joined the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in 2008 as HM Principal Inspector of Mechanical Engineering in the Hazardous Industries Division.
Currently, the Health and Safety Executive’s Head of Operations in energy division, Paul has overall regulatory responsibility for offshore regulation, offshore and onshore well engineering operations (including Net Zero transition aspects), and the mines, quarries and diving and renewables industries.
The Health and Safety Executive is the UK’s Independent Health and Safety Regulator.
Richard Shellam CEng MIMMM
Richard is a Chartered Geotechnical Engineer with over a decade of experience in the mining industry, covering both operational and consultancy roles. His career has spanned diverse geological settings across the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia, with a primary focus on open pit geotechnics.
He has worked on major mine developments, managing slope stability assessments, risk mitigation strategies, and geotechnical data programmes. Richard brings practical knowledge in pit design, ground control, and numerical modelling, along with experience leading geotechnical teams and supporting safe, efficient operations.
Richard is also the co-founder of Geotech Assist, a UK-based company developing AI-powered tools to streamline geotechnical workflows and improve decision-making in mining. Through this work, he is actively exploring how emerging technologies can enhance data interpretation and hazard identification.
He joined the IOM3 Mine Technical Group Committee to support knowledge-sharing within the industry, particularly around innovation, practical geotechnical solutions, and the future of mine technology. Richard is passionate about building stronger connections between operations and emerging tools, and is committed to contributing to the MTG’s goals of professional development and advancing best practice across the sector.
Bill Tinsley CEng FIMMM
Bill is a chartered engineer with over 40 years experience in coal mine operations.
He joined the NCB in the early 1970's as a geologist specialising in exploration and geological hazards in underground mining operations. A career change saw him qualify as a mining engineer. He has experience in all mining engineering positions in deep coal mines and managed a large number of operations.
At Priviatisation took his first Mine Managers position within the Selby Coalfield and later became its Business Manager for the five operational sites. In 2005 he was appointed Operations Director for UK Coal with responsibility for Deep and Surface mining operations.
On leaving UKC, Bill worked as an independent mining consultant on due diligence matters and operational efficiencies.
He has been a member of the Institute for over 40 years and is active in a number of IOM3 activities. He is a member of the MTG, Accreditation and Professional Formation Committee and the Local Affairs Committee. He is also a trained assessor and scrutineer for potential registrants. He has represented IOM3 on the Engineering Council's Quality Assurance Committee.
Bill is also a member and Trustee of the Midland Institute of Mining Engineers and a past President.
Patrick Foster
Dr Patrick Foster researches mining health, safety, risk management and climate change impacts. A Mining Engineering graduate from the Universiry of Nottingham, he completed a PhD on safety risk assessment in mining. He previously worked as a Mine Safety Consultant with International Mining Consultants Ltd, focusing on health & safety audits, risk assessment training and research in South Africa, India and the UK. His expertise lie in improving safety management systems and understanding human factors in mining and quarrying industries.
The Mining Technology Leadership Team aims to:
- Share knowledge about mining technologies that will be central to the drive towards more sustainable and safer mining practices whilst meeting the projected exponential growth in demand for materials in the built, communication and transportation infrastructures of the future
- Collaborate within IOM3 and consult with the wider membership and external bodies
- Create technical news content, networking and professional development opportunities for IOM3 members with mining interests
- Develop a wider public and political acknowledgement that mining is global, essential and influences, affects and provides the needs of societies across the world
- Inspire the next generation of entrants into the extractive industries, and support individuals on their journeys to perhaps become future leaders of IOM3 and the stakeholders it serves
The Ground Engineering Subgroup (GES)
GES provides a focus for the ground engineering community within IOM3 as a subgroup of the Mining Technology Group. Its main objective is to create a space for ground engineering professionals in IOM3 for national and international ground engineering and to act as a forum, collating and facilitating networking and information exchange to provide opportunities for professional development.
