Jason Emery is an RPEQ certified geotechnical engineer with a keen interest in practical innovation and applied research. Jason has published and presented papers in several international journals and conferences including Australia, China, and the USA. He holds a dual BSc/BA from UQ, a GD and Masters in Geotechnical Engineering from UNSW and is a final year PhD candidate at UNSW. Jason is currently the director and principal geotechnical engineer of Optimum Geotechnics, primarily working for mines located in the Bowen Basin of Central Queensland.

Kathryn commenced employment with BHP in their coal operations in 2014. Since this time, she has held Site Geotechnical roles at a number of BHP’s Bowen Basin Open Cut Coal Mines. Kathryn was recognised as a Chartered Professional in the geotechnical field with AusIMM in 2018 and is also a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland. Kathryn is a past chair and committee member of the Bowen Basin and Hunter Valley Open Cut Geotechnical Society. Currently, Kathryn is the geotechnical superintendent overseeing the geotechnical teams at multiple BHP coal mines.

Peter has more than 30 years of research, operations, and consulting experience specializing in mining geomechanics and geotechnical engineering. Throughout his career he has been responsible for planning and managing mining project studies from initial site investigations, analysis and design, through to operational risk assessments, due diligence, audits/reviews and project closure. His expertise includes slope engineering and underground rock mechanics for tunnelling, infrastructure, narrow vein and mass mining methods, cave mining geomechanics, including the use of advanced 3D numerical modelling.

Dr Jianping Li has 30 years of mining engineering and rock mechanics experience – in open-pit and underground hard rock mining – achieved through working in research organisations and mining industries in Australia and China. He co-developed the Acoustic Emission (AE) technique for in situ stress measurement at the WA School of Mines. He co-authored 25 papers in the areas of rock mechanics, open-pit and underground mining geotechnical engineering, AE in situ stress measurement, mine backfill and blasting. He is an AusIMM Fellow, chartered and registered professional. He is now a Principal Geotechnical Engineer for BHP Coal.

Meredith has 20 years of geotechnical experience in the areas of both underground metalliferous mines and open pit, coal and metalliferous mines, and specializes in site investigations for mining concept through to feasibility and implementation geotechnical studies. She has managed many studies that include evaluation of rock mass characteristics, ground support design and slope stability analysis, reviews, ground control audits, core logging, mapping, monitoring, ground awareness training, and site supervision.

Chris Drover began his career in the mining industry in 2008 at the Leinster Nickel Operations of BHP Nickel West, working in both the surface and underground mines there until 2014. In 2018, he completed a PhD in Rock Mechanics at the WA School of Mines. The major focus of that research was the design, construction and monitoring of deep tunnels in hard rock. Chris is currently a Principal Engineer, Mining and Rock Mechanics, at Beck Engineering. Chris is based in NSW and consults to a wide variety of mining projects both in Australia and internationally.