Prof. Shirong Ge, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and the former president of China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing). His research interests focus on the intelligent mines and mining robots. He has led several China key projects and proposed the technical framework of autonomous navigation and cutting of shearer based on geographic information navigation, the parallel intelligent excavation, support and transportation technology model of excavators, the theory and technology of digital twin smart mines, and the technology spectrum of coal mine robots. He has successfully developed China's first coal mine search and rescue robot (2006), automatic cutting drum shearer (2010), long-distance permanent magnet motor intelligent drive belt conveyor (2018) and super heavy-duty permanent magnet motor intelligent drive scraper conveyor (2023).

Roussos Dimitrakopoulos is a professor of the Department of Mining and Materials Engineering at McGill University. He holds a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Sustainable Mineral Resource Development and Optimization under Uncertainty, and is director of the COSMO - Stochastic Mine Planning Laboratory (http://cosmo.mcgill.ca/). Roussos holds a PhD from École Polytechnique de Montréal, and an MSc from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He works on geostatistical simulation and stochastic optimization as well as artificial intelligence applications in mine planning and production scheduling, along with the simultaneous optimization of industrial mining complexes and mineral value chains under uncertainty. He has published extensively, maintaining large competitive grants from the National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada and a long-standing partnership with AngloGold Ashanti, BHP, AngloAmerican/De Beers, Agnico Eagle, IAMGOLD, Kinross Gold, Newmont, Vale SA and Vale BaseMetals (COSMO Consortium) who support this research. He has taught and worked in Australia, North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and Japan.

Kriti Chhabra is a Technical Executive with over 8 years of experience in corporate consulting and technology solutions across the Mining, Oil & Gas, and spatial sectors. Based in the Asia Pacific South region, she works with clients to solve complex business challenges through business process mapping, project management, and engineering process flow optimization. Kriti holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) major in Finance accompanied with a double bachelor's degree in Geographic Information Systems and Applied Geology from Curtin University of Technology (WASM). Her expertise spans: • The 3DEXPERIENCE Platform and its integration with IT/OT systems for Infrastructure and Mining customers • Project Management for large-scale transformation projects • Deployment of MOM solutions with a focus on material tracking, time usage models, and real-time decision-making • Simulation-based Virtual Twin implementations for major mining operations • Decarbonisation initiatives through advanced modelling solutions • Planning and execution systems for turnaround events and formula management

Tony is an experienced engineer and executive, who worked in the resources sector for over 30 years, with over 25 professional years of expertise in the full life cycle of mineral processing, extraction, refine and complex chemical projects, from concepts development, test work, engineering design, construction, commissioning, ramp up to steady production operations. Tony is passionate about developing innovative and sustainable solutions for critical minerals and energy challenges and facilitating industry-academia collaboration and knowledge transfer.