Allan Trench

Allan Trench is a mineral economist, geophysicist and business management consultant.

Allan holds a BSc (Hons) Geology from the Royal School of Mines, London, a Ph.D (Geophysics) from Glasgow University, an MBA (Distinction) from Oxford University and an MSc (Distinction) in Mineral Economics from the WA School of Mines (WASM).

Prior to moving to Australia in 1991 on a Royal Society Visiting Postdoctoral Fellowship, Allan was a Natural Environment Research Council Research Fellow in Geophysics at Oxford University.

Industry roles have included management of nickel and gold/base metal exploration teams in WA, initially for WMC (1992-1997) and subsequently for a group of junior ASX listed companies (1997-2001).

From 2001-2003 Allan worked as a business strategy consultant for McKinsey and Company, then as a manager at KCGM Pty Ltd (the Kalgoorlie Super Pit 2003-4; at that time a 50/50 Joint Venture of Newmont Mining and Barrick Gold) and Woodside Petroleum (2004-2006), and subsequently as a consultant with CRU Group (since 2007), providing business analysis and intelligence on the global mining and metals and markets.

From 2011-2015, Allan was Professor of Mineral & Energy Economics at the Curtin Graduate School of Business, Curtin Business School.

He is currently MBA Director and Professor at UWA Business School and also Research Leader, Progressive Risk & Value, Centre for Exploration Targeting, University of Western Australia.

Allan serves as a non-executive independent director mineral resources and minerals services & technology (METS) companies.

- Scenarios for the Future of Global Copper Mine Supply (PhD research supervision, John P. Sykes)

- The microeconomics of the Periodic Table: Lithium (3) to Uranium (92)

- Progressive risk and value along the mining value chain; The concept of 'Convex' and 'Concave' commodities

- Geological controls on the operating cost structure and GHG emissions of Australian gold mines (PhD research - Dr Sam Ulrich - completed 2024)

- Strategic Management of Resources Companies

- Mineral Economics for Geologists - CET

- Strategic Analysis and Consulting

- Business Advisory Project - UWA MBA

- Resource Sector Management - Curtin MSC/MBA

- Financial Analysis & Mineral Economics - UNSW

- Exploration Management & Decision-Making - KIGAM (South Korea)

- Contributor to “The Business of Mining” MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) – Curtin University of Technology. https://www.edx.org/course/business-mining-curtinx-tbomx

- Mineral Economics
- Mineral Sector Strategy
- Boardroom Practices and Governance
- Effective Exploration Management
- The Economics of Australia's gold sector

- Australian critical minerals