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Tags: mining, philanthropy, winter-2011

UQ alumnus Dr Bob Bryan has used his success in the mining industry to assist others

UQ alumnus and mining entrepreneur Dr Bob Bryan has this advice for aspiring businesspeople: be persistent and have courage, but never put at risk the family home!

Dr Bryan has made a life-long contribution to the mining industry, which was recognised when he was made an inaugural inductee to the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in 2009 and also awarded a UQ honorary doctorate in December.

He credits his success to having a nose for opportunities and the powers of persistence.

One of his most significant achievements was founding Pan Australian Mining Ltd, including the development of a major new gold mine at Mt Leyshon, near Charters Towers.

However, things might have been very different if it wasn’t for a missed opportunity some years before.

“I had the opportunity to secure a personal half-interest in a major gold deposit in Meekatharra, WA, which later grew into a major mining operation,” Dr Bryan said.

“I didn’t even think of this lost opportunity at the time, but I did later on. And so I thought, if I ever had another chance, I wouldn’t let it slip through my fingers again.”

Since then, Dr Bryan has played a pioneering role in the coal seam gas industry as a founder of Queensland Gas Company (QGC).

Under Dr Bryan’s chairmanship, QGC grew from an initial investment of half a million dollars to $5.6 billion in just eight years.

Dr Bryan attributes his success to a good education and supportive family.

“There was an inevitability about me studying geology,” he said.

“When I was a kid, my pop, who was the Professor of Geology at UQ, would take students out on geological excursions.

“I’d traipse along with them, and as the Prof’s lad probably made a proper pest of myself, especially with the older students, many of whom were ex-servicemen.”

However, Dr Bryan credits his mother as being the driving force behind his education, probably due to her own experience of being forced to leave school while in her early teens.

Years after his own UQ experience, Dr Bryan’s son Scott followed in his footsteps to become the third generation of geologists in the family.

Dr Bryan has generously supported his alma mater for many years, including helping to establish the WH Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre, named in honour of his father.

It is one of six centres that together form the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) at St Lucia, of which Dr Bryan was a founding Director.

“The mining industry is extremely important to Queensland. And so it has to be a priority for Queensland tertiary institutions as well,” he said.

“I think the future will see the SMI research projects becoming bigger and broader, accessing the talents from the various centres and working in collaboration.”

Another passion is the Bryan Foundation, which was recently established to support education and leadership initiatives, with a focus on Indigenous communities.

“We have to generate Indigenous leaders, by encouraging the mentoring of Indigenous kids while they are at school – to boost their self-esteem so that they see themselves capable of success,” Dr Bryan said.

“It would give me a huge buzz to see my kids and grandkids take over the Bryan Foundation and re-focus it to match their interests, and the needs of the day.”

Dr Bryan’s passion for giving is contagious, and he views giving back as an obligation.

“I think that those of us who have opportunity and capacity to do something, should do it,” he said.

“And it is every bit as much fun as making the money in the first place”.

By Melissa Jeffreys

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