BSc. Hons. Exploration Geology | Executive Education – London Business School | MBA (Finance) | MAusIMM | MGSSA | Pr. Sci. Nat | Exploration Manager – WA WHS Act 2020.

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Edward is a senior exploration and mining leader with more than 25 years of experience across multiple commodities worldwide. He has led major programmes from greenfields discovery through to large‑scale resource definition, bringing deep technical insight, commercial acumen and a strong governance mindset to every stage of the value chain.

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Edward has held senior roles with Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Gold Fields and De Beers, leading multi‑disciplinary teams across Africa, Australasia, Europe and the Americas.

 

His expertise spans exploration, orebody knowledge, resource development, project management, mining, processing, value-in-use, JV governance, project evaluation, stakeholder engagement and strategic decision‑making in complex environments.

 

He is recognised for shaping exploration strategy, influencing investment decisions and delivering safe, high‑quality technical outcomes that create long‑term value.​

Vic is a qualified Mining Engineer and a highly-respected mining executive with over 50 years of experience in the resources sector. 

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During his career, Vic has been deeply involved in all aspects of the mining industry. This includes mining operations, project development, sales, marketing and executive recruitment - which includes company board formations.

 

He has also played key roles in the creation and growth of a number of private mining companies. Several of these have successfully progressed to listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

 

His expertise in early-stage company development, capital markets engagement and commercial strategy have been instrumental in transforming exploration and development projects into publicly listed enterprises.

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Vic is a Life Member of the Western Australian Mining Club. This reflects his long-standing contribution to, and leadership within the Western Australian mining industry.

 

His extensive industry network and practical engineering background, continue to add significant value to mining ventures at all stages of development.​

Hilke started his career at the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands), obtaining a MSc in Structural and Economic Geology.

 

After military service, he completed a PhD in Archean gold deposits at the Key Centre for Strategic Mineral Deposits at the University of Western Australia. 

Following a brief period of consulting in the gold industry, he joined Hamersley Iron in 1995.

In 2000, he joined Rio Tinto Exploration, generating projects in iron ore, copper, gold, uranium, base and battery metals.

 

He was a key player in the discovery of several iron ore deposits, and most recently the Winu copper-gold-silver and Ngapakarra gold-copper deposits.

 

He received the Rio Tinto Discovery Award in 2005, 2008 and 2020, The AMEC Prospectors Award in 2020, the Thayer Lindsey Award in 2022 and the SEG Silver Medal in 2025. 

Hilke has authored world class-publications in leading journals such as Economic Geology, the Journal of Structural Geology and the Australian Journal of Earth Sciences.

He is a fellow of the Society of Economic Geology.​​