Damian is a Consulting Engineer managing a multidisciplinary engineering team with extensive experience in the gold, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, nickel, lithium, vanadium and iron ore industries with particular emphasis on gold. Experience has been gained in plant operations feasibility studies, detailed design, construction and commissioning, and all unit operations. He is an internationally recognised specialist in Mineral Processing and Hydrometallurgy having worked in North and South America, South East Asia, Africa and Europe and is highly sought after as an International Expert. The last +30 years working as a Principal Consulting Engineer on many resource projects and for mining, banking and engineering companies has provided a broad range of experience. Damian is a Registered Expert Witness and has been engaged on many cases. He is the author of over 220 technical papers on mineral processing, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy.

Damian is a Consulting Engineer managing a multidisciplinary engineering team with extensive experience in the gold, copper, lead, zinc, uranium, nickel, lithium, vanadium and iron ore industries with particular emphasis on gold. Experience has been gained in plant operations feasibility studies, detailed design, construction and commissioning, and all unit operations. He is an internationally recognised specialist in Mineral Processing and Hydrometallurgy having worked in North and South America, South East Asia, Africa and Europe and is highly sought after as an International Expert. The last +30 years working as a Principal Consulting Engineer on many resource projects and for mining, banking and engineering companies has provided a broad range of experience. Damian is a Registered Expert Witness and has been engaged on many cases. He is the author of over 220 technical papers on mineral processing, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy.

Nathan is a Partner in Watson Farley & Williams’ Dispute Resolution Group and the lead of our global Public International Law practice group. Nathan is one of only a handful of recognised legal experts in deep seabed mining. He advises contractors, applicant contractors, investors, technical partners and Sponsoring States on all aspects of deep seabed mining, drawing on his deep understanding of UNCLOS and lengthy experience with the International Seabed Authority. Nathan also specialises in advising on regulatory frameworks for other emerging sectors, particularly investment projects governed by international treaties. Nathan also specialises in cross border disputes and international arbitration, particularly claims involving foreign governments under investment treaties and free trade agreements. Nathan’s experience includes representing both investors and States in commercial and investor-State arbitrations administered by the PCA under UNCITRAL and ICSID rules. His 10+ years’ experience includes arbitrations under the ICSID, HKIAC, ICC, LCIA, SCC, SIAC and UNCITRAL Rules and he has appeared in matters before the International Court of Justice. Nathan is recognised as an emerging leader in international arbitration and was recognised as “Young ADR Practitioner of the Year” at the Australian ADR Awards. In 2024, the Australian disputes team was recognised as “Alternative Dispute Resolution Group of the Year” at the Australian ADR Awards..

Aaron is an Associate in Watson Farley & Williams’ Dispute Resolution Group. Aaron is a US-qualified attorney with extensive experience in international arbitration and dispute resolution. Aaron has represented clients in the deep seabed mining, renewable energy, technology, oil and gas, petrochemical, electric power distribution, sports and glassworks industries. Aaron has particular expertise in complex matters of public international law, including rights under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), bilateral investment treaties and multilateral free trade agreements. Before joining WFW in Bangkok, Aaron worked in the New York City office of an international law firm.

Iuliia is a Senior Associate in Watson Farley & Williams’ Dispute Resolution Group. Iuliia specializes in investment and commercial arbitration including experience representing States and State entities. Iuliia advises clients on complex matters of public international law, including on all aspects of deep seabed mining and the law of the sea. Iuliia also advises on corporate structuring to obtain investment protections under international investment treaties and free trade agreements. Iuliia has 4 years’ experience at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, assisting tribunals in inter-State and investor-State arbitrations. Prior to joining the firm, Iuliia practiced in leading law firms in Amsterdam and Paris, where she worked on high-profile commercial and investor-State disputes. Iuliia served for four years as Assistant Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, where she assisted arbitral tribunals in inter-State and investor-State matters.

Mitchell completed his undergraduate degree with honours in Mechatronics and Computer Science at the University of New South Wales in 2023. Since then he has started a PhD program, looking into ways to improve aggressive UAV control utilising onboard monocular video for pose estimation. His interests include, Computer vision, path planning, control, and robotic focused mechanical design.

Kristina Markovic is a systems engineer, currently working in the autonomous and intelligent systems space at Nova Systems. She has worked across projects in the defence, rail, and mining domain, and holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and commerce from Monash University. Kristina is passionate about applying systems thinking principles to complex problems and using a holistic approach to provide solutions that deliver safe, efficient, and sustainable outcomes.

Ben McKeown is a mining engineer with 25 years investing and leadership experience in the global mining and energy industries. He started his career in technical and commercial roles before moving to private equity investing in global resources. Ben has been chair or director of various mining and energy companies and is currently chairman of a Peruvian focused mining company listed in Canada. He is now pursuing his interest in the emerging field of space resources, and is undertaking a PhD in space resources at UNSW in Australia. He recently completed a post graduate certificate in space resources at the Colorado School of Mines.