Mike Kotraba General Manager - DynoConsult
With a master’s degree in Economic Geology from the University of Nevada-Reno and over 30 years of progressive management experience in technical and operational roles, Mike brings a long list of accomplishments to the table. Past positions and accomplishments include:
- General Manager/Mill Manager, Operations Manager, and Mine Manager at Grupo Mexico’s
Asarco Ray Mine (surface copper operation).
- Operations Manager, U.S. Gold Operation
- Quarry Manager, U.S. Limestone Operation
- General Manager, U.S. Silica Mining Operation
- Operations Superintendent/Mill Manager, U.S. Phosphate Mining Operation
- Production Superintendent, U.S. Gold/Silver Mining Operation
As Project Manager for Dyno’s Drill to Mill efforts, Mike brings a high level of competence and understanding across the entire Drill to Mill value chain and will be responsible for coordinating Dyno Nobel efforts as well as collaborating with the numerous stakeholders involved in any Drill to Mill project.
Paul Kuznik DynoConsult Manager – Eastern Canada
Paul studied in Construction Engineering at ETS University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2003). He then worked in an engineering firm related to quality control of materials such as soils, concrete and asphalt. After a year in project management, Paul managed a department specializing in preventive structure inspection, movement control as well as vibration and noise monitoring. Paul’s has also worked on projects involving excavation, blasting, pile driving, dynamic soil compaction demolition and other operations of construction as well as being called as expert witness for court cases. In 2014, he joined DynoConsult as a Field Engineer. Currently, he supports operations teams in product application and best practices, prepares numerous trainings, site measurements, safety audits, optimization of blasting in various sites spanning from construction work, through quarries to mines. He prepares blast designs in complex areas yielding safe and profitable results.
Nicole Beeman Business Analyst – Corp. Accounts & Technical Services
Nicole earned a degree in Audio Engineering from the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences. She has been working in the mining industry for 7 years and joined Dyno Nobel in 2013 as a recruiter for North America. In 2015, she joined DynoConsult as an Analyst. Since then, she’s helped maintain tracking for all DynoConsult projects, provided analysis for the group, as well as supported various corporate functions for the team. She manages DynoConsult data and corporate analytics.
Scott Giltner Principal Consultant
Scott has earned his PhD in Mining Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. He also received a Master of Science degree and Bachelor of Science degree in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri - Rolla. Scott also became certified as a Project Management Professional from the Project Management Institute. He has over 35 years of experience in mining and blasting. Scott has worked in several countries including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Russia, Peru, Australia, Dominican Republic, and Canada. His specialty area is blast optimization and instrumentation used for blast monitoring and quantifying blasting results. Scott’s current responsibilities include developing, managing and implementing projects focused on delivering value-creating process solutions to the quarrying, mining and construction industries.
Miguel Valenzuela Senior Consultant
Miguel Valenzuela earned his Bachelor of Science in mining engineering (MCL) in 2013 from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT. Since then, Miguel has worked in open-pit metals including gold, copper, and iron, as well as surface coal mines, and he has served in several technical and operations-oriented roles. He is an expert in mine engineering and planning, drill and blast design and management, and Drill to Mill operations.
Miguel’s interest in the mining industry started with an internship at Dyno Nobel in the Powder River Basin area, where he developed a passion for explosives and blasting. He currently supports Dyno Nobel as a Senior Consultant in the Western United States with a focus on supporting partners in the region, blast design optimization, value-added projects, technical consulting, product support, and blaster training.
Randi Seiwald Senior Consultant
Randi holds a BS in Mining Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines (2019). Before Dyno Nobel, she gained experience in blast design, drill/blast coordination, and crew management. Her experience is a mix of surface and underground applications. In 2022, she joined Dyno Consult as a Field Consultant for Florida. Current tasks include vibration analysis, shot design, drone services and additional tech services.
Tacio Ferreira Senior Consultant
Tacio earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil and a Master’s degree from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Tacio joined DynoConsult in September 2022, and has experience in underground gold mining and surface copper, iron, and aggregates (quarry) mining. Tacio has worked in the areas of mine planning, drilling and blasting, and mineral processing. He believes that a holistic view is crucial to making the right decisions in each step of the mining business.
Bethany Witter Field Consultant
Bethany earned a BS in Mining Engineering with a minor in Green Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2019. She has been a Field Consultant with DynoConsult since graduation. Bethany has worked on vibration prediction and analysis, drone videography, underground stope analysis and fragmentation analysis. She has also administered software and equipment training sessions. Daily tasks include 3D face profiling, boretraking for hole deviation, drone services, blast designs and additional tech support.
Matthew Cottrell-Cumber Field Consultant
Matthew earned his BS in mining engineering with a minor in Green Engineering from Virginia Tech in 2018. He has been a field consultant with DynoConsult since graduation. He has worked on vibration control, blast optimization, blast planning, and fragmentation analysis. Daily tasks include 3D profiling, boretraking, shot layouts, drone services, and other technical support for blasters.
Nathaniel Schaefer Field Consultant
Nate earned his BSc (2016) and PhD (2020) in Mining Engineering from the University of Kentucky. He has been a Field Consultant with Dyno Nobel since October of 2020. Current tasks include 3D face profiling, boretraking, drone analysis, timing analysis, cast analysis, and blast design. Experience in Carlson AutoCAD, Dyno42, Quarry 6, Strayos, ViewShot3D, and Alpha-Blast.
Charles Dammann Field Consultant
Charles earned his B.S. in Mining Engineering from South Dakota Mines in 2022 and joined DynoConsult in January of 2023 as a Field Consultant. He worked in surface gold and iron, and currently works with coal cast blasting, drone photogrammetry, and 3D face profiling. He has experience with borehole audio televiewing, Vulcan, AutoCAD, Python, and WinprofX.
Xavier Beneteau Field Consultant - Eastern Canada
Xavier earned his BEng in Mining Engineering with a specialization in Co-op during the 2021 school year. He gained hands on mining experience, in 2018, with Alamos Gold – Island Gold as an underground student, for 4 months. Here he gained knowledge of the physical practice of underground mining, but mainly focused on longhole blasting as well as cable bolting. After returning to his studies for 2 semesters, he then worked at Impala Canada – Lac des Iles mine as an Engineering Co-op Student, for 16 months. Working within the Technical Services department, Xavier acquired a vast toolbox of skills related to the engineering aspect of mining. Being an eager individual, he gained experience in underground surveying, ventilation, development, and more. In addition to this, making his passion of blasting known, Xavier often created drill/blast plans whenever tasked or just to fill time.
Thomas Bamford Field Consultant - Eastern Canada
Thomas earned his BASc (2015) and PhD (2021) in Mineral Engineering from the University of Toronto. He has been a Field Consultant with DynoConsult since 2021. Thomas has over 5 years of mining research experience in blast monitoring, AI, and robotics. His areas of expertise include fragmentation analysis, aerial surveying for blast monitoring and analysis, and teaching.
Sylvain McFadden Field Consultant II - Eastern Canada
Sylvain has been with Dyno Nobel since February 2023. He earned his Mine & Civil Technologist diploma from College Boreal in Sudbury, Ontario in 2005 and has more than 15 years of experience in long-hole blast planning utilizing narrow-veined, bulk mining, Avoca mining, and modified Avoca mining methods.
To gain perspective of on-the-job requirements to use different long-hole blasting products, Sylvain physically loaded and blasted down holes underground for eight months. In addition to blasting, Sylvain has completed cable-bolting designs utilizing ground control best practices. He has also completed underground ventilation surveys and has done short-term planning in both cut and fill and room and pillar mining.
Sylvain has been part of many continuous improvement and reconciliation teams investigating, studying, and improving all aspects of long-hole drilling and blasting, such as quality control drilling, drill hole patterns, timing, and blast monitoring.