About us

Prof Barry Millsteed has extensive professional experience as a geological consultant in the minerals industry in both greenfield and brownfield environments. He has worked in diverse geological environments on diverse commodities resulting in extensive experience in:

  • Uranium and molybdenum: Sandstone-hosted deposits within the Main Karoo Basin of South Africa and in Cenozoic sediments of Botswana
  • Copper: Primary copper sulphide and carbonate deposits in various portions of the copper-belt of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).  The primary sulphide deposits are associated with cobalt (as Hetrogenite)
  • Epithermal and alluvial gold in the Kibaran Belt of eastern DRC
  • Epithermal gold in Sudan
  • Epithermal gold in the Man Shield of Liberia
  • Epithermal manganese in Zimbabwe
  • Alluvial diamonds in Mozambique
  • Thermal coal in South Africa
  • Clay and building sand: numerous projects in South Africa

Extensive experience has been gained in the planning and implementation of drilling campaigns (diamond drilling and RC drilling), planning and implementation of airborne geophysical surveys, soil and stream geochemical sampling, remote sensing analysis and ground verification, interpretation of geophysical and interpretation of satellite imagery data sets as well as GIS based analysis and map production.

Barry is an expert in geological mapping and producer of structural interpretations.  He has worked on rocks spanning a wide gamut of geological environments from unconsolidated sediments, undisturbed and flat-lying vulcanosedimentary basin-infill through to highly deformed metamorphic rocks.  Stratigraphically, he has worked on strata ranging in age from Palaeoarchaean through to the Recent.  Barry prides himself on not only producing geological maps and structural interpretations of the highest quality, but also mapping with a focus on understanding mineral genesis and exploration target generation.

As part of his participation in these exploration programs Barry has led field teams in environments that are both extremely physically challenging as well as politically unsettled and demanding from a security stand point.  He has worked with ethnically diverse teams, and has a track record of success in success in creating positive outcomes while dealing with the resultant cultural and language barriers.  These experiences have inculcated him with a focus on safety, consistency of approach and respect for people.

As an independent consultant Barry has been involved in a diverse portfolio of commodities, and has been exposed to an extremely diverse set of project management activities such as budgeting, contract management, mineral law, environmental legislation, tenement management, reporting generation, and public relations. Success in these fields of endeavour is underpinned by advanced written and oral communication skills.

Barry learned his geology in the coal-bearing Sydney Basin and the Lachlan Fold Belt of New South Wales, eastern Australia.  His PhD research was on the stratigraphy of the coal-bearing Permo-Carboniferous section of the Galilee Basin of Queensland. He was later employed by the Geological Survey of South Africa as a research geologist where he worked on the stratigraphy and basin development of the Permian coal-bearing basins of southern Africa. He also has extensive academic experience.  After leaving the Council for Geoscience he was a lecturer at the Universities of Durban-Westville and KwaZulu-Natal.  He subsequently held the post of Associate Professor (Geology) at the University of Limpopo. He is currently HoD: Deprtment of Geology and Mining at the University of limpopo. Throughout his career he has formulated and presented courses in:

  • Stratigraphy
  • Geological mapping
  • Sedimentology
  • Geochemistry
  • Earth’s surface processes
  • Basin analysis
  • Geological evolution of South Africa
  • Geological evolution of Africa
  • Resource evaluation
  • Mineral law
  • Social, environmental and health law (SHE) pertaining to mineral exploration
  • Geology for engineers
  • Palaeontology

Concomitant with the extent of his field-based experience is the fact that Barry brings a track record as a senior academic that speaks heavily to his ability to bring academic rigour to my interpretation of geological data sets.  He also prides himself on a track record of being able to think both laterally and to see outside of the box when problem solving.

Professional Associations:

  • Fellow Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy
  • Fellow Geological Society of South Africa
  • South African Council for Natural Scientific Professionals
  • Geological Society of Australia
  • Palaeontological Society of South Africa
  • Australasian Association of Palaeontologists
Areas in Africa where projects have been performed
Areas in Australia where significant geological research has been undertaken