Leonardo Kaid, President

Leonardo Kaid has over 25 years of experience in the mining and metals industry. His expertise encompasses EPCM including material handling, project execution, and market expansion. Leonardo has been pivotal in driving growth and establishing key partnerships for Virta, supporting clients to achieve their objectives through innovative solutions and strategic planning. His international experience includes working on major capital projects across various continents, enhancing Virta's global reach and technical capabilities. Under his leadership, Virta has expanded its value proposition in mining, chemical plants, and ports and terminals.

Hordur Kristjansson, Project Execution Specialist

Hordur is an executive professional with 40 years of experience in project, construction and operations management. As an industry-recognized expert in all facets of industrial project execution, he has built a proven record in the supply, delivery, construction and commissioning of design/supply and EPC projects in 16 countries totaling over US$1B. Material handling projects include over 50 km of overland conveyors, over 20 mobile heap leach stacking systems, crushing/screening plants, and numerous plant conveyors and structures. He specializes in lean management processes and teams; both greenfield and brownfield projects; and cutting-edge innovation such as fast-track project delivery and off-site modularization of components and structures.

Ruben Lezius, Technical Director

Ruben is a materials handling specialist with over 24 years of hands-on experience, ranging from belt feeders and plant conveyors to long overland conveyors exceeding 10 miles and 10,000 t/h and incorporating horizontal and vertical curves, gearless drive systems, trippers and shuttles. Complete material handling system project experience includes crushing and screening facilities; stackers and reclaimers; and belt and apron feeders. Ruben specializes in project concept development through complete execution, including detailed design, conveyor calculations, equipment selection, chute design (including DEM) and project implementation.

Aaron Garrett, Controller

Aaron has 20 years of experience in Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM), serving the government, power, operations & maintenance, mining, and infrastructure industries. He has held various roles in finance, accounting, audit, and compliance, gaining extensive knowledge in both operational and project environments. His early years were dedicated to project accounting, where he managed all financial aspects of the projects he supported. These roles included expatriate assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, supporting mission-critical operations.

Dave Bennett, Subject Matter Expert

Dave has more than 50 years of experience in the design and construction of bulk materials handling systems. This includes crushers, stacking and reclaim systems, various types of conveyors and rail car dumpers and indexers. He has also participated as part of an international team investigating innovative advanced materials handling systems for use in future high-capacity mining projects. Dave’s international experience includes projects in UK, Canada, Australia, Southern Africa, South America, South East Asia, Europe and the Middle East. As one of our Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), Dave provides invaluable expertise and support to various Virta material handling projects.

Neale Watson, Subject Matter Expert

Neale has more than 35 years of experience in the material handling industry, including feasibility studies, detail design, commissioning and operations. While Neale’s base is currently Australia, he has spent considerable time in Chile, Canada, Indonesia, Africa and the USA. Neale’s expertise spans the fundamental aspects of materials handling, with a focus on hard rock material handling, including underground and surface facilities, fixed and semi-mobile facilities, storage and reclaim systems, feeders and conveyors, as well as crushing and screening.

Raymond Gauvin, P.Eng., Subject Matter Expert

Raymond has over 25 years of experience in the mining industry. Highly experienced in ore handling systems, crushing, and long, high capacity belt conveyors, Raymond has been involved in detailed engineering and studies of primary, secondary, and tertiary crushing and screening plants for hard rock applications in the Americas and Asia. Conveyor experience includes the mechanical engineering of overland conveyors, equipment sizing, transfer station design, belt splicing stations, selection of drive and brake controls, conveyor guarding and take-up design.

Walter Küng, Subject Matter Expert

Walter has over 40 years of experience in mechanical and structural engineering, engineering and project management, construction and startup. He has extensive design experience across a broad spectrum of bulk material handling systems, open-pit and underground mining, port and stockyard environment. Walter has worked on some of the largest mining projects globally and managed overland conveyor projects, in-pit fully mobile crushing systems, input crushing and overburden handling and spreading systems. He developed horizontally curved conveyor simulation software and led operations for a key supplier of equipment and systems for open pit and underground mining, bulk material handling and process plants.

David Kruse, Dynamic Analysis Specialist
(through exclusive agreement with AC-Tek Inc.)

David is co-owner of Advanced Conveyor Technologies, Inc. He has been the principle designer for many of the world’s longest and most complex conveyor system. This includes the 21 km single flight Sandoni overland conveyor. This conveyor has multiple horizontal curves and is currently the longest in the world without a mid-station tripper drive. He has been involved with the commissioning of many high tonnage conveyors such as the VALE S11D overland system transporting 21,000 t/h of iron ore. His specific interests are in the areas of belt dynamics, data acquisition and field measurements, rubber rheology, and transfer chute design using the discrete element method (DEM). He has developed a wide variety of mining engineering software. This includes both the Sidewinder conveyor design software, and the Newton DEM chute design software.

Ryan Lemmon, Dynamic Analysis Specialist
(through exclusive agreement with AC-Tek Inc.)

Ryan is co-owner of Advanced Conveyor Technologies, Inc. He has been a project engineer in the design of overland conveyors for more than 25 years. Conveyor design experience includes static and dynamic analysis, belt turnovers, conveyor layout, terrain modeling, idler life calculations, pulley and bearing analysis, modal and vibration analysis of belt and structure, horizontal and vertical curve analysis, forensic engineering, and field measurement of conveyors. He has been the principle design engineer of many of the longest and largest overland conveyor systems around the world. Research in conveyors has included static and dynamic analysis, discrete element modeling, and finite element analysis of pulleys, turnovers, belt transitions, idler junction stresses in belts. This research has been incorporated into AC-Tek’s Sidewinder conveyor design software and Newton DEM chute design software.