John Karageorgos is a Chemical Engineering Graduate from the University of Adelaide from the class of 1989. John has been working in the Mineral Processing industry for 30+ years, and would class himself more as a Metallurgist than a Chemical Engineer. John started his life in metallurgy at Mount Isa, where he eventually lead the Process Control Group at Mount Isa Mines. In his early years, John also worked at KCGM (Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines) as the Process Control Superintendent and Metallurgical Superintendent.

Reg commenced his career some 25 years ago at the original Telfer Operation in WA, where brand new shovels and wheel barrows were eagerly purchased in readiness for the Summer Metallurgy vacation student program. A Graduate position at the Bronzewing gold mine (which was sold twice in his three years there) was followed by a couple of years as Plant Metallurgist at the KCGM Gidji Roaster. Reg, his wife Juls and two daughters (Vada 21mths & Tess 3mths) then packed up to commission Barrick’s Cowal Gold Mine in NSW as the Senior Metallurgist. After three challenging and memorable years Reg and his family returned back to WA to settle in Albany. Now with a third daughter Emmy who was born in Wagga Wagga and whom he often threatens to return to NSW if WA continues to shut its borders. Taking up a position at the Granny Smith mine as Metallurgy Superintendent, Reg was involved in turning a gold plant which was regularly described as “The Land that Time Forgot” into a world class processing and mining operation. With the divestment of Barricks Australian assets in 2013, Reg now works for Gold Fields as the Regional Metallurgy Manager, regularly visiting and working alongside the Processing teams at each of the four sites. Valuing the back to basic principles, championing the Graduate Metallurgist training program and challenging the site Plant and Senior Metallurgists with those famous words – “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?”

Wynand has over 25 years’ experience in Automation and Process Control. He started his career in the Aluminium industry, facing challenging electromagnetic and communications environments. He was involved in automating casting machines and improving operator interfaces. He then joined the Iron Ore and Copper industry after moving to Australia. Here he took on a leadership within the automation and control space, as well as leading electrical and instrumentation teams and managing shutdowns. Wynand and his family moved to Perth where he now work in the Gold industry as Superintendent Automation with a focus on improving inter-operability and security of OT systems. Wynand’s experience in diverse roles gives him a good appreciation for functionality, accuracy, operability, maintainability, and reliability.

Justin has over 17 years’ experience within electrical, instrumentation and process control fields in the mining industry. As the Process Control Superintendent for 29 Metals Golden Grove Operation, he manages all aspects of process control and control systems on site. Responsibilities range from troubleshooting the day-to-day Processing Plant issues through to delivery of complex Process Plant and Mine improvement, optimisation and expansion projects. His career in mining has seen him move through roles as an Underground Electrician, Electrical/Instrument Technician and Process Control Engineer with involvement through all stages of the project life cycle from design, construct, commissioning which facilitates consideration for operability and maintenance. Justin’s broad range of experience has enabled him to develop a solid understanding of, and appreciation for, the fundamentals required to successfully implement and maintain electrical/instrument/control systems in the mining environment.

Zeyad Alwahabi obtained Ph.D in laser spectroscopy from University of Sussex, England. In 2021, he founded Laserscope focusing on chemical detection and providing technical solutions leading to efficient pathways. Laserscope has been working with local and international clients in several projects including plasma devices, in situ elemental mapping in soil and sensitive real-time gold detection. Prof Alwahabi has held several positions at the University of Adelaide, and he led many laser diagnostics programs for practical and applied laser spectroscopy. Working with researchers at Centre of Energy Technology, he secured over $M6 in competitive research funds. He taught environmental transport processes and process control & instrumentations at the under- and post-graduate levels. Prof Alwahabi has established international laser diagnostics collaborative programs with many institutes including Lund University in Sweden, ETH Zurich in Switzerland, and KAUST University in Saudi Arabia. He published over 250 peer-reviewed articles and he is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Adelaide, a member of the international laser induced breakdown spectroscopy committee and an Optica senior member.