Hearts & Mines · Sep 28, 2026 · 58:20
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In this episode of Hearts & Mines, David is joined by first-time co-host Nathan Giglia to speak with Dominic Piper, editor of Australia's Paydirt and Gold Mining Journal. A multi-award winning journalist with more than two decades covering the international resources sector, Dominic has built his reputation on the junior and mid-tier end of the market, writing without fear or favour and travelling to the places most people would never put on an itinerary.
This is a rare look at the industry from the other side of the microphone. Dominic talks about growing up working class in the northeast of England, the screenplays he has been quietly writing for years, and why the junior sector runs almost entirely on force of personality. He is candid on the Peter Principle in mining, why brilliant geologists are so often set up to fail as leaders, the two decisions he got wrong and what they taught him, and why permitting gridlock is really a problem created by the majors. Along the way there are Kalashnikovs at a West African border post, a warning about what happens when a company elevates itself onto a new share register, and a thoughtful case for why the breakdown of community is the biggest risk the world is ignoring.
David Beilby 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidbeilby/
Alana Bray-White 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/alana-bray-white-8b4478219/
ivy & gecko 🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/company/ivy-gecko
Timecodes:
(00:00) Intro (00:40) Meet Dominic Piper, multi-award winning mining journalist (03:45) Africa Down Under, from 60 delegates to 1,400 (05:50) Darlington to Perth, and wanting to be a journalist at nine (10:25) The secret screenplays and the characters of the junior sector (16:00) Clarity of purpose when you control none of the variables (18:25) The Peter Principle, good geologists and unprepared leaders (21:35) Leading through COVID by stripping back to fundamentals (26:25) Two failures, the gold conference and a personnel call (29:15) Hiring for a unicorn or a dinosaur (32:30) Kalashnikovs, bribes and border posts in West Africa (34:35) Culture in a small team, and attracting people to mining (39:25) Permitting, the majors and mining's chance to be the good guys (44:00) M&A, Northern Star and the Elliott effect (47:40) Rapid fire, hope, community and the leader he'd most like to meet
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Recorded and produced by Podwave Studios:https://podwavestudios.au/
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in 'Hearts & Mines' are those of the podcast participants and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of ivy & gecko or any other agency, organisation, employer, or company associated with the podcast. Content provided is for informational purposes only.
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