Chris graduated from the South Australian Institute of Technology with a Metallurgical Engineering degree in 1990, and was awarded his PhD from the Ian Wark Research Institute of the University of South Australia in 2002. Chris has work within the mining industry in a variety of roles from shift foreman at the Teutonic Bore copper/zinc operation to Principal Technologist with Pasminco. He was employed by Magotteaux as Manager Minerals Processing Research, and leads their technical efforts investigating the effect of grinding chemistry on downstream processes until August 2024. He now works part time for Magotteaux at the Global Mineral Processing Specialist as well as consults through Mineralis Consultants.

Chris graduated from the South Australian Institute of Technology with a Metallurgical Engineering degree in 1990, and was awarded his PhD from the Ian Wark Research Institute of the University of South Australia in 2002. Chris has work within the mining industry in a variety of roles from shift foreman at the Teutonic Bore copper/zinc operation to Principal Technologist with Pasminco. He was employed by Magotteaux as Manager Minerals Processing Research, and leads their technical efforts investigating the effect of grinding chemistry on downstream processes until August 2024. He now works part time for Magotteaux at the Global Mineral Processing Specialist as well as consults through Mineralis Consultants.

Over 30 years’ experience in heavy industry process control and automation. Started his career in the early days of standalone control systems, migrating them to networked solutions and now fully integrated architectures, including IT/OT and cloud-based applications.

Michelle Heley is a Bioleaching Data Scientist at IGO and a metallurgist with more than 15 years' experience across gold and base metals operations in Australia and Papua New Guinea. After beginning her career in plant metallurgy, Michelle developed an interest in data science and AI, completing a Graduate Diploma in Data Science and coaching data science graduates to gain hands-on operational experience and understand where the data comes from before building models. Today she works at the intersection of metallurgy, data and artificial intelligence, helping to develop practical tools for metallurgy and processing teams. Michelle contributes to the AusIMM Metallurgical Society committee and is committed to helping the industry navigate the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies. She believes the same principles underpin the best projects - AI included: starting with the right questions, building on good data, and people who are curious to learn and adapt. Away from work, Michelle recently completed Western Australia's 135km Cape to Cape Track, a reminder that meaningful progress, whether on a trail or with AI, is usually built one step at a time.

Elsa Jordaan is a Principal and Director at Deployed Analytics in Perth, Western Australia, with more than 20 years of experience embedding advanced analytics, machine learning, and AI across the resources, energy, and heavy processing sectors. She specialises in bridging theoretical data models with practical industrial deployment, helping organisations digitise assets, assess analytics capability, build long-term model trust, and improve return on investment from analytics assets. Passionate about developing the next generation of data scientists, Elsa has led data science programs of work at Woodside Energy, Hatch Engineering, and South32 Worsley Alumina. She is also a respected thought leader in mining and minerals processing, speaking at major technical events such as the ALTA Sustainable Mining Conference and contributing industry insights on analytics deployment and team management. Elsa holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, combining academic rigour with practical, on-the-ground industrial expertise.

Kerrie Mengersen is an Adjunct Distinguished Professor in Statistics at QUT, founding Director of the QUT Centre for Data Science, and co-founder of the Australian Data Science Network (ADSN). She is internationally recognised for her expertise in Bayesian statistics, statistical modelling, and machine learning, with applications across health, the environment, agriculture, and industry. Kerrie is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, and the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a co-founder of BioInfo Pty Ltd, a long-term commercial consultant in data science, a part-time consultant with Precision Analytics Group, and an Associate Member of the Department of Statistics at the University of Oxford.

Dominic Stoll is a minerals process engineer turned CEO with 19 years of experience across plant operations, digital transformation and technology commercialisation in the mining and industrial sectors. He is currently leading an industrial AI company focused on making a plant's best proven performance the standard for every crew and every shift — and then safely pushing beyond it. His approach is grounded in a simple belief: it is rarely the technology that fails. It is the failure to bring people with it. Before founding his own ventures, Dominic worked with and for tier 1 and tier 2 mining companies across Australia, Africa and South-East Asia, spanning operational, consulting and digital solutions roles. He is passionate about cutting through the noise around industrial AI and focusing on what actually delivers value on the plant floor.