Michael is RSC’s General Manager Geoscience and Principal Geochemist. He was previously a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO Mineral Resources, based in Perth, for almost five years. Prior to joining CSIRO Michael spent over five years working for Barrick Australia Pacific Ltd as an underground geologist based at Plutonic Gold Mine — additionally he completed his PhD on that deposit. During his time at Plutonic, he worked across multiple Barrick sites developing pXRF best practice and utilising pXRF to gain geological insights into mineral deposits. Michael is an expert collecting, integrating, and interpreting diverse chemical and mineralogical datasets using multivariate techniques in exploration and mining settings. He has worked globally on many different mineral system types including orogenic Au, epithermal Au, placer Au, shear-hosted Cu, IOCG, Cu-Au porphyry, Pb-Zn-Ag deposits, Li and REE pegmatites, and heavy mineral sands. Michael is also actively involved in the use and development of cutting-edge data handling and machine learning techniques to maximise value from geochemical, mineralogical, and remote-sensing datasets. He is the author of >35 peer-reviewed journal papers with a focus on applied geochemistry, metamorphism, and economic geology.

Dr Heta Lampinen works with a wide range of Earth observation data, including hyperspectral, geochemical and geophysical survey data to facilitate geological, structural and mineral mapping across multiple scales on the surface and subsurface. Heta's technical skills include operating hyperspectral core and field sensors, advanced hyperspectral data processing and integration with complimentary geoscience data. Heta is excited to be working in projects that link mineral information from hyperspectral airborne and satellite images with in-situ mineralogy, and their applications for mineral systems analysis.

Dr Simon Richards is an expert in mineral systems geoscience applied to mineral exploration. He has a unique multidisciplinary and multi-commodity career with experience across almost all disciplines of geoscience ranging from consulting to geophysical R&D. He completed a PhD in structural and metamorphic geology focussing on the tectonic evolution of the SE Tasmanides. Dr Richards completed a postdoc at ANU where his knowledge of global plate tectonics was integrated with seismicity, seismic tomography and ore deposit research to explore the relationship between complex 3D crustal structure and mantle and how this relates to ore deposit formation through time. Dr Richards was a lecturer in structural and metamorphic geology at James Cook University where he completed in-depth research into the tectonic evolution of the Southwest Pacific. Following his academic-focussed career, Dr Richards worked with Nautilus Minerals exploring deep sea active volcanic regions for evidence of modern mineral deposit forming processes. He has a passion for teaching and has continued to mentor junior geologists through their academia and early private industry careers. Dr Richards has recently joined Geoscience Australia to help complete the development of a new mineral systems model and associated mineral potential map for High Purity Quartz.

Over a distinguished two decades at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Clint has become a critical member of the Ore Enrichment Technologies and In-situ resource utilization teams Commencing in 2003 in mineral research, Clint has consistently been at the forefront of innovation within CSIRO. His work in electrical impedance spectrography for dilute magnetite concentration detection has established important steps in detection methodologies regarding magnetite loses and dense medium control. Furthermore, Clint’s in-depth studies on natural gamma radiation have unveiled crucial information relevant to the advancement of mineral exploration. Complementing this, his pursuit in mineral process optimization, focusing on flotation, screening and centrifuge dewatering, have charted new territories in resource utilization and optimization techniques, underscoring a sustainable approach to mineral extraction. With an unwavering commitment to health and safety excellence and an astute analytical acumen, Clint's contributions to the Mineral Resources group as a testament to his dedication to CSIRO and excellence in scientific research.

Professional Geologist (P.Geo) specialized in project management, resource estimation and exploration targeting with 15+ years in management, grassroots & brownfields exploration, advanced drilling, mine geology and project evaluation in various countries. QP in ultramafic-hosted Ni-Cu-PGE deposits, porphyry Cu-Au-Mo, VMS, lithium, and coal deposits. Strong expertise in Machine Learning application to exploration targeting and mineral processing.