Whittle Consulting Founder, Jeffrey Whittle, Passes Away at the Age of 93
Whittle Consulting announced with great sadness the peaceful passing of their founder, mining pioneer Jeffrey Whittle, on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024. At the age of 93, Whittle leaves behind a remarkable legacy and lasting contributions to the mining industry.
Whittle’s journey in the mining sector began in 1979 when he joined Newmont Australia, now known as Newcrest, as a contractor. His fascination with a theoretical paper published in 1965 by IBM researchers Lerchs and Grossmann sparked his relentless pursuit of optimizing cash flow in open pit mines. The paper described an algorithm that utilized a block model of ore distribution, mining costs, and pit slope requirements.
Determined to turn this concept into reality, Whittle offered to write a program for Newmont based on the Lerchs-Grossmann algorithm. When his proposal was declined due to funding concerns, Whittle decided to develop the software himself.
In 1983, Whittle took a break from his contracting work and developed the first commercially available implementation of the Lerchs-Grossmann algorithm. This practical solution could be utilized on the computers of that era. Enhancing the algorithm’s efficiency, Whittle devised an inverted model of block dependencies, significantly reducing the storage requirements for the whole data structure. This breakthrough enabled real mines’ structures to fit in the limited memory, often less than 1 Mb, of mainframe computers at the time.
Whittle and his wife Ruth licensed the revolutionary software, named Three-D, to mining companies as Fortran source code. In 1984, they founded Whittle Programming, and over the course of 16 years, Whittle developed a series of mining optimization software packages. These packages, marketed and sold worldwide by his wife, became the industry standard toolkit. In 2000, Whittle Consulting sold the business to Gemcom in Canada, securing the Whittle package of programs’ ongoing development and dominance in the industry.
Alongside his work on the Lerchs-Grossmann algorithm, Whittle started to focus on multi-pit mine scheduling optimization software. His continuous dedication resulted in the Prober series of optimization tools which are widely used today by Whittle Consulting.
Over the span of almost four decades, Whittle excelled in developing computer software that revolutionized mine design, strategic mine planning, and the ability to optimize the efficiency and net present value of complex mining projects. Whittle’s contributions coined the term Enterprise Optimization, now widely used in the mining industry.
Before venturing into the mining sector, Whittle trained as an experimental physicist at the University of Manchester, U.K., and obtained an honours degree in physics. In 1961, he, his wife, and their young family immigrated from England to Australia. He began programming computers in 1962 while working at Defence Standard Laboratories in Melbourne. Whittle and his wife became naturalized Australians in 1977.
Whittle’s impact extended beyond the mining industry. In the late 1960s, during his work on year 11 and 12 exam data processing, certificate printing, and university place selection at the Monash Computer Centre, he developed a standardized scoring system for the Higher School Certificate (HSC). This system’s influence can still be seen today in the evolved VCE scoring system.
In 2018, Whittle received the Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) for his distinguished service to the information technology sector and the mining industry.
Jeffrey Whittle was not only an accomplished mining pioneer but also a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He is survived by his wife Ruth, their six children – Robin, Gerald, Paul, David, Judy, and Matthew – and 12 grandchildren.
Whittle’s immense contributions to the mining industry and his pioneering spirit will be remembered for years to come. His dedication and passion for optimizing mining operations have left an indelible mark, ensuring increased efficiency and profitability in a sector crucial to economies worldwide.
