Professor Neville Plint is the Director of the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) at The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia, and has held this position since October 2016. SMI’s purpose is to develop game changing people by working with partners to co- create solutions to the big challenges facing the minerals sector and to create change for responsible resource development.

Dr Ewan Sellers has 25 years’ experience in the mining industry combining numerical analysis and experimental work with field measurements integrated into knowledge management solutions for mining and blasting problems. Dr Sellers has written over 60 technical conference and journal papers as well as numerous consultancy reports covering numerical models for soil, rock failure and fracture, seismology, acoustic emission, laboratory testing, in-situ stress measurements, optimisation of blasting in theory and practice, and mine-to-mill value chain optimisation.

Rick Valenta is the Director of the BRC and the JKMRC – the geology, mining and mineral processing centres at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at UQ. Prior to that, he spent 23 years in Exploration and Development with major and junior mining companies in Australia and Canada in senior technical and executive roles. He has been involved in numerous mineral discoveries and development projects covering gold, copper and uranium. His current role is focused on innovation to provide future mineral supply and to make mining and mineral processing more sustainable. He leads a team of more than 100 researchers and postgraduate students working with over 30 industry and government partners.

Professor Deanna Kemp is the Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM). Deanna is responsible for developing the Centre’s research strategy, managing its annual budget, and overseeing 40 staff and post-graduate students. She serves on the leadership team of UQ’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) – a research institute focused on understanding and implementing the principles of sustainable development in extractive industries. Within the SMI, Deanna engages with sustainable development challenges across exploration, mining, processing, expansion, and closure. She is the Chair of the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) New Member Review Panel and Co-Chair of the Board of the IHRB. Prior to UQ, Deanna worked for BHP for ten years in site-based and corporate roles. She is one of the world’s most highly cited social researchers in her field. Her book, Extractive Relations: Countervailing Power and the Global Mining Industry, with John Owen, covers topics including social license to operate and social impacts in mining. Her most recent book, Credibility Crisis: Brumadinho and the Politics of Mining Industry Reform, with Andrew Hopkins, challenges the industry’s approach to rebuilding credibility post-disaster. Deanna’s forthcoming work is focused on community resistance to mining, the local costs of mining benefits, and the drivers of irresponsibility across the sector.

Shannon McCrae has over 20 years of mining and exploration industry experience that includes a variety of progressive leadership and technical roles. Recent roles in industry include Director of Global Exploration and Growth for Barrick Gold and key roles in the De Beers Group of companies. Shannon’s global corporate and field experience have led to a deep appreciation and enthusiasm for the mining and exploration industry. She’s had the pleasure of working with diverse teams both in Canada and internationally. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree in Geology (HBSc) from Western University and is a registered Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.) in Ontario, Canada. Shannon is currently Vice President of Business Development for Novamera, a company looking at innovative new ways to surgically extract narrow veins.

Steven leads the Mining and Metals sector for Deloitte in Australia, which gives him the opportunity to work across all aspects of Deloitte's mining practice including Audit, Risk and Financial Advisory, Tax, and Consulting. From physical automation to analytics to digitisation of supply chain, Steven has worked across the mining value chain on some of the most interesting and advanced applications of technology. Based in Perth, Western Australia, Steven has worked extensively in Iron Ore, Gold and Copper and delivered projects in Australia, Africa, South America, Singapore, US, UK and Canada.