Hailing from across the ditch, New Zealand born and bred Exploration Manager Dave wasn’t necessarily sure what he wanted in a career. After meeting a guy who worked FIFO, the length of rostered breaks seemed pretty alluring to a young lad. Since then Geology has taken Dave across the world in many different roles and it is clear in conversation, he has developed a deep passion for understanding the science behind the rocks.
After raising a family in Perth, Ballarat became destination for a tree change and a slower pace of living in 2014. Equip with a small herd of Alpacas, Dave and his wife live on a property south of Buninyong. Through curiosity, Dave was researching the Geology over his area and across Victoria, to his surprise he recognised the licence applications were made by Paul Johnson, someone he had met while working in Nevada back in 2013! And Andrew Bell, who he had actually done some work for about 15 years earlier when working in Western Australia! … talk about a small world. From there, Dave contacted the UK based Directors to discover their need for local representation and management.
What started out as an early retirement tree change to rural Victoria has evolved into an exciting search providing an unexpected windfall of local stories, anecdotes and adventures from residents and community members who have a family history stretching back to the first days of Gold discovery in the 1860’s.
Kiara grew up in the remote Goldfields of WA and moved to Victoria at the start of 2019 to pursue greater opportunities in her sporting career. Working as a Science/Math teacher part time and training for athletics full time, the lockdown challenges prompted a career shift into the Geology department of Ballarat Gold mine mid-2020. After high school, Kiara worked at south Kalgoorlie operations to save money for university where she studied Conservation and Wildlife Biology as well as Secondary Education in Science and Math. It was working in Kalgoorlie where Kiara first met Tarrant, who was her connection to opportunity in Ballarat. During her time working at the Ballarat Gold mine, Kiara met Dave before hemoved on. When her sporting commitments became too difficult to balance with the long hours on the mine, an opportunity to work with Dave at Red Rock, utilising her background in Environmental conservation and Teaching, Kiara has thrived in her role as Community and Environment Liaison for the Company. With the flexibility of working remotely, and the philosophy of “look after others and they will look after you” – Working for Red Rock allowed Kiara to take the opportunity to join Australia’s Bobsled team abroad in late 2021, and she was fortunate enough to be selected and represent Australia in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics!
Tarrant grew up in Ballarat and always had a soft spot and interest in palaeontology. He went to Uni Majoring in physics and chose Geology as an elective. He discovered a real enjoyment for the earth sciences and being able to apply his apt problem solving skills to the ever evolving subjective puzzle that lays under the surface: this prompted a change in his major across to Geology. Like many Geologists, Tarrant enjoys the variety in exploration, playing outside and experimenting with idea’s and theories. At Red Rock he’s been able to utilise the last 10+ years of experience in both exploration and mining, to work confidently and independently modelling theories and ideas about resources that might exist deep underground. From his connections as part of the Ballarat venturers (boy scouts) Tarrant found a love for Ultimate Frisbee when he was 14, and has continued to play on and off alongside his Geology career.
Growing up in Lal Lal, Jack has always been a lover of the outdoors, camping and exploring the environment. He’s a keen fisherman, and particularly enjoys the serenity of fly fishing, taught to him by a fellow Geologist friend. In school he had a knack for understanding science, though it wasn’t until his year 12 careers advisor suggested Geology that he discovered his perfect match. Jack loves rocks, loves the mystery of what lies beneath the surface and problem solving to create hypotheses and understanding. After beginning his career at the Ballarat Gold mine and moving on at a time of managerial flux, Jack has flourished with his first taste of “boots on the ground” exploration at Red Rock. Jack is a proud dog dad of the “goodest of boy” breeds, his Golden Retriever Chip, who he and his partner adopted after she made the move from Melbourne out to Lal Lal.
Clark’s first exposure to Geology was back in 2006 in the small town of Leonora in Western Australia, working as a field technician for his uncles Ballarat based company- Serendipitously, Leonora is Kiara’s hometown where she grew up and her parents still live! Clark enjoys computers, games, and understanding how they work which lead to him studying IT in Ballarat back in 2013, alongside this he completed a minor in Japanese, holding a sentimental interest in the people, culture and environment. Clark also worked underground at the Ballart gold mine which is where he met the rest of the team prior to moving on to Currawong Resources, before joining Red Rock in 2021. Clark is currently studying geology, and looks after our IT, databases and organising field activities for the crew.
Red Rock Australasia evolved from COVID, within 2 years we have grown from a mineral exploration concept to a bona fide exploration group, its roots now firmly placed in Ballarat. The Company is providing employment for local Geoscientists, budding geology students and reaches many local suppliers, products and services. We have now established a long-term commitment to adding to the history and understanding of mineral resources in Victoria and we are determined to show how it can be done responsibly and respectfully to both the community and our environment.
