Carmen is a Principal Geologist with the Geological Survey of South Australia and is A/Manager of the Resources and Commodities Team. She is working on a wide variety of projects to deliver high quality precompetitive data sets and industry advice across South Australia’s mineral exploration sector, with a specific focus on delivering the Critical Minerals Project for South Australia. With over 25 years’ experience in academia and government Carmen is also a passionate and engaging advocate for educating the next generation of geoscientist through her highly regarded contribution to the National Exploration Undercover School (NExUS).

Dr Carsten Laukamp is a Principal Research Scientist, with a strong background in mineralogy and economic geology. Carsten likes to unravel the electronic and vibrational modes, which can be observed in reflectance spectra collected from the continental to microscopic scale. For many years, Carsten has enjoyed using airborne hyperspectral (e.g. HyMap) and satellite multispectral (e.g. ASTER, WorldView3) imagery for regolith landform classification and mapping alteration mineral footprints associated with a wide range of ore deposit styles. Evaluating the recently launched satellite hyperspectral systems (e.g. PRISMA, DESIS) for mineral characterisation and critical metals exploration is Carsten’s latest passion.

Dr. Hess is a metallurgist who is a postgraduate of the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre. Over the past 45 years, Dr. Hess has worked extensively, both within Australia and internationally. Starting at Bougainville Copper and later working for WMC, Western Metals, OceanaGold and PanAust, Dr. Hess has been engaged firsthand in the full gamut of a mining project's life cycle - from discovery through to closure. This experience has been gained in predominantly in copper, nickel and gold projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Laos, Chile, Thailand, Myanmar and New Zealand. Prior to becoming MD of Aeon Metals in 2021, Dr. Hess was MD of PanAust Ltd owned by Chinese SOE Guangdong Rising Assets Management.

My name is Ruixue Wang, and I work as a research scientist at the Mineral Resources, CSIRO. I completed my PhD in geology at the China University of Geosciences Beijing, where my research focused on utilizing geochemical techniques to understand the metallogenic mechanism of bauxite. After completing my PhD, I was awarded an international exchange postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Queensland. During this time, my research centered around the geochronology of sediment-hosted gold deposits. I employed state-of-the-art analytical methods, including illite K-Ar and Rb-Sr, as well as carbonate in-situ U-Pb dating, to investigate the timing of gold mineralization. In 2022, I joined CSIRO's Mineral Resources division as a research scientist. My current focus revolves around the application of Laser-induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for mineral system mapping. Our research group combines fieldwork, laboratory experiments, and machine learning to address various topics, including understanding the constraints on gold mineralization, unraveling the evolution of ore fluids, and identifying the sources of sulfur. Alongside the LIBS project, I have a keen interest in studying the occurrence of lithium in phyllosilicate minerals.

Andrew has 25 years of experience in mining, holding site and corporate roles in both OECD and non-OECD countries. With a strong owners’ team perspective developed over 15 years at Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining, Andrew co-founded DTP Partners to support senior executives advance major capital projects. With broad experience across the mining value chain, Andrew has successfully executed multiple greenfield, brownfield, and transformational initiatives. His expertise centres on shaping business and project strategies, standing up large-scale programs in dynamic environments and delivering outcomes inside and outside the mine fence. During his five-year tenure as a senior program manager at the greenfield Oyu Tolgoi (OT) project, Andrew played a pivotal role across construction, business readiness, commissioning, and ramp-up phases during Phase 1. He provided project leadership and business architecture for the business/operations readiness program and the business-level PMO for the OT CEO. Following the successful commissioning, he led the Integrated Planning and Improvement team, driving operational and business performance beyond the nameplate capacity. Following OT, Andrew was the Manager of Business Improvement and Innovation leading the program for the Cadia East brownfield underground and surface expansions to complete commissioning and ramp-up to meet then exceed the business case performance metrics.

Ruth is an experienced Process Engineer and Commissioning Manager who has over 25 years’ experience in process engineering, design, commissioning and operation of precious and base metals process plants, and development studies for minerals projects in Australia, Asia and USA. She possesses specialist experience in high pressure acid leaching of nickel laterites, pressure oxidation of copper and gold ores and gold ore processing, including resin in leach technology, and has extensive experience in minerals processing and hydrometallurgical processes, from early testwork development to detail design and commissioning.