Before his appointment Westerhuis was general manager of operations at Ensham’s open cut mine near Emerald. He steered the operation through its recovery following devastating flooding in January this year.
Westerhuis acknowledged Pegler for his contribution to the company and the Australian mining industry.
“Mr Pegler’s distinguished career was recently recognised when he was conferred with lifetime membership of the Queensland Resources Council of which he was president for an unprecedented two terms.
Westerhuis was recently named Mine Manager of the Year at the 2008 Australian Mining Awards.
He is a mechanical engineer graduating from the University of Western Australia in 1985. He was awarded an MBA from the University of Queensland in 2000 and has been involved in the Australian mining industry for more than 20 years.