Will Patton is the Principal of Resource Modelling for BHP's West Australian Iron Ore business, where he focuses on advancing mineral resource estimation and conditional simulation workflows. Will’s experience spans more than 20 years in the mining industry and includes direct shipping iron ores, nickel laterites and iron oxide copper-gold mineral systems. Throughout his career, he has honed his expertise in geological modelling, mineral resource estimation and application of machine learning techniques in resource evaluation and mining production contexts. Will is committed to developing the WA Iron Ore team's skills in data analytics, geostatistics and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. Will's strategic vision and collaborative approach have been crucial in aligning resource modelling processes with BHP's broader business objectives and sustainability goals.

Experienced mining engineer with a background in both consultancy and operational roles within the mining industry. Proven expertise in strategic and long-term mine production scheduling, specializing in the design and optimization of iron ore, gold, and copper operations. Skilled in implementing multi-mine optimization models to enhance decision-making processes, including cut-off grade optimization, CAPEX, and operating mode decisions. Currently at KPI Mining Solutions, dedicated to assisting mining companies in implementing and scaling stochastic mine planning optimization software, concepts, and processes to achieve more profitable and risk-resilient mine production plans.

Joao Pedro de Carvalho is a mining engineer working for Vale. He holds a Ph.D. and a MEng from the McGill University’s COSMO Laboratory. He received a Bachelors of Mining Engineering in 2016 from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil).

Author: Jose Mamani holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering from Universidad Nacional de Moquegua. He has professional experience in Chile and Peru and has developed strong capabilities in open-pit mine planning and tailored technical solution development. He is currently working as a Strategic Mine Planning Engineer at Qori Plan, supporting projects across Peru, Chile, and Canada. Co-autor: Filiberto Mamani has approximately 17 years of experience in the mining industry across the United States, Canada, and Peru, with a strong focus on mine planning and strategic mine development. He holds a degree in Mining Engineering from Universidad Nacional del Altiplano – Puno and a Master’s degree from the University of Arizona, USA. He currently leads the consulting firm Qori Plan.

Based in Montreal, Canada, Jérémy André is Regional Customer Success Lead for Mine Engineering at Maptek, where he works closely with clients to improve product adoption and maximise value from Maptek solutions. He also serves as Global Technical Lead for Evolution, Maptek’s mine planning optimisation software. Previously, Jérémy was part of Maptek’s Technical Services team in North America, delivering software implementations, technical presentations, and consulting support to mining operations. With a background in Operations Research, he completed a research master’s degree at Polytechnique Montréal, focusing on constraint programming for tactical underground mine planning. His work included developing a stochastic optimisation model to reduce tactical scheduling uncertainty in a sub-level stoping operation in Nunavut, Canada.