The Coalition for Eco Efficient Comminution (CEEC) has announced several major changes in its governance and operation, with CEO, Alison Keogh (right), stepping down, Janine Herzig (left) joining CEEC as Executive President and Board Director and Marc Allen taking over from Michael Battersby as Chair.

After six years of working as CEO to promote CEEC, Keogh has decided to step down from the position, and to welcome in new leadership for CEEC’s next chapter, CEEC said, adding that it will make an announcement shortly about the appointment of additional operational staff and Directors.

Keogh says she is proud to have been an early mover to help industry share critical knowledge on installing renewables and progressing net zero emissions approaches. She grew the group’s global reach, led international workshops across three continents and developed free webinars and podcasts to reach more people, CEEC said. She also initiated CEEC’s first workshop on Water Curves in North America and helped raise awareness of how important comminution and processing are to reduce energy, emissions and water footprint across mining worldwide.

More recently, she steered CEEC through the global pandemic and oversaw the organisation’s 10-year anniversary milestone in 2021.

“I am honoured to have led CEEC, which helps industry share practical solutions and innovative advances that are so important for the sustainable minerals needed for our world’s future,” she said. “Collaboration is vital to accelerate the world’s transition to net zero emissions. CEEC brings leaders and innovators together to share knowledge of cutting-edge processing to reduce mining’s footprint.

“I look forward to CEEC’s next chapter led by Marc Allen and Janine Herzig and encourage visionary leaders to contribute to this inspirational and global group.”

CEEC’s Board of Directors has undertaken a strategic review to consider the ever increasing environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements of the resources sector. The outcome of this analysis is that CEEC has created the role of Executive President and has brought in Janine Herzig in this position.

Herzig is a Director of MetVal Consulting Pty Ltd, Convenor of the MetPlant Conference Series, former Non-Executive Director of Base Resources Ltd and former Director and Immediate Past President of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). She has over 30 years’ experience in the resources sector, across multiple commodities; starting her professional career as a graduate metallurgist in Mount Isa and later working in various operational and project roles across on numerous sites, including 10 years with Iluka Resources.

As General Manager – Minerals and Industrial, with Amdel, she then led a major expansion and transformation of the company, which then became Bureau Veritas.

A Fellow and Chartered Professional (Metallurgy) of the AusIMM, Herzig is currently the Chair of the AusIMM ESG Board Advisory Group, Chair of the AusIMM International Advisory Forum, and Chair of the AusIMM Awards Committee Highest Honour Panel. She is also Co-Chair of the Global Mineral Professionals Alliance (GMPA) and its Global Action on Tailings (GAT) initiative.

Herzig is also a member of the Steering Committee for the NExUS program, the Advisory Board for the ARC Training Centre for Integrated Operations for Complex Resources, presenter for the AusIMM Professional Certificate in ESG and Social Responsibility and is on the Advisory Board of the Australian Society for Off-Earth Construction (ASOC) which operates out of the Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources.

“I am delighted to assume this comprehensive leadership role with CEEC, having been a CEEC Advocate for the past two years,” she said. “It allows me to combine my passions for mineral processing, ESG initiatives, technical excellence and giving back to an industry that I love.”

CEEC’s Board has appointed Marc Allen as Chair of CEEC, taking over from Michael Battersby.

Allen is an energy and emissions expert who joined the CEEC Board as a Director in 2019. He is the Technical Director at engeco, a Singapore-based consultancy providing advisory services primarily in energy and greenhouse gas management and strategy, as well as broader sustainability, across Australasia.

He has over 20 years’ experience in a variety of operational and consulting roles with INPEX, Energetics, Simulus and BOC. His experience has focused on sustainability, process engineering, carbon management and energy efficiency to enable the transition to a low-carbon economy through development and implementation of robust strategies for greenhouse gas and energy management. He has published several papers on renewable energy, energy efficiency and carbon pricing, and holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) degree from the Curtin University of Technology. He is also a mentor for the Curtin Next Step mentoring program.

Outgoing Chair, Michael Battersby, welcomed Allen to the position: “I have been honoured to hold the position of Chair of CEEC for the last four years. However, renewal is always beneficial. I will join Joe Pease in becoming a past Chair and will continue as a Director.

“Having worked with Marc Allen during my time as Chair, I know he will lead CEEC to new heights in the coming years.”

Allen commented: “I have been involved with CEEC since 2018 and am very much looking forward to fulfilling the role of Chair and working to continue our mission to maximize energy efficiency across the minerals processing industry. I’m appreciative of the leadership shown by both Joe Pease and Michael Battersby during my time at CEEC so far and hope to continue to work with them closely while they remain on the board.”

CEEC will be announcing additional changes to prepare for the next evolution of the organisation and its growth and expansion. These include an increased focus on net zero, decarbonisation and ESG, finalisation of the Water Curves project, the release of new ‘Spotlight Leader Conversations’ video interviews and more episodes of the new ‘CEECing Change’ podcast.

The winners of the 2021 CEEC Medals were announced on June 21 and will be officially awarded by President, Janine Herzig, at the upcoming IMPC-APAC Conference in Melbourne in August.