Richard Higham

at  Knight Piesold Consulting

Richard Higham joined Knight Piésold UK over five years ago and has worked in the mining industry in various roles internationally since 2015. He has a master’s degree in mining geology from the Camborne School of Mines (University of Exeter) and a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Bristol. He is also a Chartered Engineer (CEng).
Rich’s career started as a production geologist at a gold mine in Tanzania, and he also briefly worked in exploration in Northern Ireland before becoming a consultant for mining projects that took his career away from geology and more towards engineering.
Rich now focuses on the design and construction of mine waste management facilities as a senior engineering geologist and project manager at Knight Piésold’s London office. This work has taken him to interesting places all over the world to work on mining projects in Tanzania, Eritrea, Liberia, Ukraine, North Macedonia, Kazakhstan, and the UK.
Rich loves travelling both for work and pleasure and hopes to explore more of Africa in the near future.
How many years have you worked at Knight Piésold?
I have now worked at Knight Piésold for over five years. I started as an engineering geologist with a focus on geotechnical modelling (stability analysis and capacity assessments), supporting senior engineers with technical assignments. After approximately a year, I started taking on project management responsibilities and became more involved with more tailings facility design work. More recently, I have been involved with construction supervision project work, which fits together well with tailings facility design.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am the project manager for a gold project in Liberia where Knight Piésold is the responsible engineer for the tailings storage facilities (TSFs). This project involves the detailed design of a new TSF and on-site construction supervision of the new TSF starter wall as well as supervision of embankment raise construction on the existing TSF. This project also involves ongoing Engineer of Record (EoR) responsibilities including quarterly site visits and site monitoring review. I am currently acting as Deputy EoR for this project.
What keeps you interested in your work?
Each new project and client brings a completely different challenge, which means my day-to-day work can be very varied. I can never be sure what the next month will bring, which keeps things exciting.
How has Knight Piésold helped you drive your career forward?
I have been given the freedom to work towards areas of the job that I enjoy most and that suit my skillset, helping me to develop and progress my career. I am trusted with the responsibility for managing large fast-paced projects that can be challenging at times, but ultimately, I find it very rewarding.
How have you been supported during your career development?
My colleagues were very supportive with helping me to achieve my registration as a Chartered Engineer (CEng). They were generous with their time to review my application and allow me to practice my application presentation.
What has been your most memorable experience at Knight Piésold?
I spent nine weeks in Eritrea for a TSF construction supervision project in early 2022. It is a beautiful country that many people won’t ever get the chance to visit. I was travelling while COVID-19 restrictions were still in place and “enjoyed” quarantine Eritrea-style!
When you are not in the office where can you be found?
With friends checking out the limitless great restaurants and bars that London has to offer.
What is the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
Either green tree ants in Australia, crocodile kebabs in Namibia, or horse in Kazakhstan!

Please refer the Job description for details