Dr. Grocott is an accomplished executive in the mining and mineral processing sector with nearly 40 years of international experience. Stephen was Chief Technical Development Officer at Clean TeQ Holdings Limited accountable for all technical and process development. He also supported technical marketing, due diligence and project funding for the A$2Billion Sunrise Ni-Co-Sc Project in NSW. Stephen’s exposure to EV and battery producers combined with his world-class expertise in process and development for minerals processing and battery chemicals underpins the progress of the company.

Stephen Durkin is CEO of AusIMM, the peak body and trusted voice for professionals working in the resources sector. Before joining AusIMM, Stephen was CEO of Engineers Australia (EA) for five years. Stephen's leadership focuses on building high performance organisations by fostering an innovative culture and supporting teams to collaborate and thrive. At both AusIMM and EA, Stephen has led transformations of these long-standing associations to be more contemporary and financially sustainable, with a stronger external brand.

Scott Stewart is the Queensland Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals and Member for Townsville. As Minister for Resources and Critical Minerals, he is responsible for one of the state’s largest industries, which supports more than 75,000 good jobs and is worth $74 billion dollars to the Queensland economy. In 2022, Minister Stewart launched the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan. The plan sets out a clear 30-year vision for the sector with a focus on Queensland becoming a global leader in supplying critical minerals and ESG credentialing. The Minister is passionate about the future of mining in Queensland and recently announced the Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy alongside the Premier.

Rowena was appointed ASM Managing Director in March 2023 and had been Chief Executive Officer since July 2022. Rowena joined ASM in July 2021 as Chief Operating Officer. She has over 30 years experience in the mining and minerals processing sector, including in a range of senior roles in strategy, operations and commercial. Prior to joining ASM, Rowena was Chief Sustainability Officer at South32, accountable for sustainability strategy, risk management and HSE business processes. Other past roles include Vice President Supply at South32, General Manager BHP’s Kwinana Nickel Refinery, and operational leadership roles within Rio Tinto’s aluminium smelting business.

Nigel is the Chief Scientist of Rio Tinto. He holds a BSc (Eng) and PhD in Metallurgy and Materials Science from Imperial College, London, UK and is an Associate of the Royal School of Mines. He holds an MBA from Queen’s University, Canada. Nigel has worked for Rio Tinto for 34 years in the aluminium, copper & diamonds divisions of Rio Tinto holding various operational and functional positions across the company in R&D, Environment and Technical Management, Regional Industrial Development, Technology Sales, Operational Excellence and Climate Change worldwide. In his previous roles he was the Managing Director of Copper & Diamonds Operations, Head of Group Technical – Processing for Rio Tinto, and Senior Vice President of Technology and Supply Chain in the Aluminium Product Group.