Samara Porter

Lead Mechanical Engineer

Samara is a Lead Mechanical Engineer with over 16 years of mechanical engineering, area lead management, design, construction, commissioning and operations experience in the mining & metals industry.
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Based
Brisbane, Australia
Languages
English

My moto is to lead by example and not accept substandard practices. Be proactive, not reactive - is important for the success in any role.

Based in the Brisbane office, Samara brings over 16 years of experience working on engineering design of processing plants at various project phases from studies through to design, construction and commissioning. Her diverse and extensive expertise, including on-site experience, provides unique insights and contribution to the success of our projects.

Some of Samara’s major projects and studies include Goldstrike mine, Ridgeways deeps (Cadia Mine), Rosemont Gold mine, Carrapateena Copper mine, Lihir Flotation Tails and FER project, Eva Copper project, Hillside Project, and Ravenswood Expansion where she’s worked with multiple teams for concept design, detailed engineering, construction and commissioning. In particular, she has been involved in the pumping and piping design, wet plant layout for concentrate handling, flotation, tailings and water services.

In addition, Samara was a commissioning and lead mechanical engineer for the Moose River Gold project in Canada and part of Stage 3 of the Ravenswood Expansion, responsible for providing construction support and signing off on necessary pre-commissioning documentation to ensure a smooth transition to the commissioning phase of the project. She then led the charge to commission and sign off parts of the plant ahead of time by prioritising critical and difficult areas to ensure commission deadlines were met.

In 2019, Samara was Reliability and Planning Superintendent at the Capricorn Copper Mine, Queensland, where she further challenged and expanded on her knowledge in preventative maintenance and plant availability. She managed the planning department and assisted in plant shutdowns while ensuring the plant had appropriate resources and maintenance teams met their deadlines.

Samara started her career through the Ausenco Graduate program, where she gained hands-on experience early in her career through working on numerous projects and in various departments. She now enjoys mentoring junior engineers and assisting them in their career development.

Countries of experience:

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Papua New Guinea
  • USA