Dr Jeff Taylor
Jeff Taylor has a BSc(Hons) in geology and a PhD in geochemistry. He has more than 40 years’ experience as an earth and environmental scientist. He has specialist expertise in AMD (acid and metalliferous drainage) characterisation, classification, prevention, management and treatment. Jeff specialises in the design, construction, instrumentation and monitoring of improved waste rock piles, to minimise or prevent pollution (source control). He has conducted AMD, mine waste management and water quality management and treatment projects for the mining sector across Australia as well as in New Zealand, PNG, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, Lao PDR, China, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, US, Canada and South Africa, and has contributed to the completion of projects in at least 10 more countries.
Jeff was a key author for the last two Australian federal governments leading practice sustainable development handbooks for the mining industry on managing and preventing acid and metalliferous drainage. As a founding Director of Earth Systems, Jeff has led the development of (i) software to speed-up and improve the accuracy of AMD risk classifications using static geochemical data (AMDact software), (ii) hardware (oxygen consumption equipment) to accelerate the conduct and improve the accuracy of kinetic testwork in order to better understand the geochemical behaviour of geological materials during weathering, (iii) techniques to passivate reactive sulfide minerals in waste rock piles, and (iv) in-situ treatment techniques and associated equipment, and managed the completion of 40-50 mine site treatment tasks in several countries (Neutra-Mill family of portable treatment systems). He has also developed and recently successfully implemented at full scale a new technology to stop pollution from underground mines (Inert Atmosphere Technology).
Jeff routinely publishes Earth Systems’ research and project outputs and is invited to present shortcourses on the AMD management and prevention on a regular basis.