Mr Simon Clayton is the Assistant Secretary of the Agriculture and Non-Tariff-Barriers Branch in the Office of Global Trade Negotiations in DFAT. The Agriculture and Non-Tariff-Barriers Branch is responsible for policies affecting Australia’s agriculture and food trade, as well as technical barriers to other Australian exports. Simon’s work spans multilateral, regional and bilateral flora, including Australia’s engagement in relevant WTO committees. Simon joined DFAT in 2002 and has served in a range of foreign policy and trade roles in Canberra. He led the investment, e-commerce, and competition negotiations under the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (2016-2018), and worked on services negotiations in Australia’s FTAs with Japan, Korea, and China (2009-2011). Simon has served on overseas postings as Deputy Head of Mission in Berlin (2019-2022), First Secretary (Political) in Tokyo (2012-2015), and Deputy Director in Taipei (2005-2009). He speaks Japanese, Chinese and German.

Panel Synopsis: As countries accelerate efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains, international collaboration is becoming increasingly important. This panel will explore how governments, financial institutions and industry are working together to strengthen supply security, support investment and foster responsible resource development. Drawing on perspectives from Australia, America, Europe and Asia, the discussion will examine the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of critical minerals in an increasingly competitive and interconnected global market.

David joined Sedgman in 2001 and was appointed as Vice President Australia East and Asia in 2021. In the past 5 years has helped grow the business in the critical minerals industry. Prior to his current role, David held process engineering, project development , execution and commissioning leadership roles. He has 35 years’ experience in the resource sector with diverse commodity experience and has worked in multiple countries including Australia, India, Mongolia, Colombia, South Africa, Mozambique and New Zealand.

Taishi Sato is the Chief Representative in Sydney, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). JBIC is a Japanese policy-based financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Japan. He has spent all his career with JBIC over 20 years. Before assuming his current responsibility, he was a director in charge of equity investments at JBIC. He received a master’s degree in laws and politics from the University of Tokyo in 2002. He served as a member of Infrastructure and Investment Taskforce, B20 Australia 2014.

Lance Domm is Minister Counsellor (National Security) at the British High Commission in Canberra, taking up the role in August* 2026. Lance has served in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office since 2004. Most recently, he was Deputy High Commissioner in Karachi, Pakistan (2025-2026). Prior to this, he has been posted to the UK’s Mission to the European Union in Brussels twice, in 2018 as Political Counsellor and from 2007 to 2010 in various foreign and security policy roles. He was First Secretary in the British Embassy in Berlin from 2011 until 2015. In the UK, Lance has been a Deputy Director in the Afghanistan and Pakistan Directorate, held a number of roles in the Europe Directorate and was Private Secretary to two Ministers for Europe.

Patrick Fullenwarth is International Cooperation Officer, seconded from French Government agency Expertise France to Curtin University in Perth, WA. Working alongside the French Embassy in Australia, he focuses on developing bilateral cooperation on critical minerals. He is an industry geologist by background with nearly 20 years of experience across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and France. Having managed complex exploration and mining projects in uranium, nickel and lithium, he brings technical expertise and value-chain knowledge to the strategic dialogue between the two countries.

Govind R. Goenka is an India-based strategic investment and PSU engagement advisor specialising in critical minerals, mining and resources. He has over 30 years of experience working with Indian public sector undertakings, large industrial companies and international resource and technology providers. His work focuses on structuring overseas strategic investments, combining minority equity participation, long-term offtake and downstream alignment to improve project bankability. Govind has extensive familiarity with the operating and approval frameworks of Indian PSUs, including mining and energy sector entities, and regularly advises on market access, financing structures, risk mitigation and audit-defensible investment models. He is currently engaged in developing India-linked strategic pathways for lithium and other critical mineral projects across multiple jurisdictions.

Kristie began her career as a mining engineer in the mid 90's after graduating from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Engineering Honours. She worked across both underground and open cut operations before her career moved to include roles in Executive Search (mining sector), Lecturing at Curtin University (Mine Finance & Economics) and Business Development Director roles with both EY and PwC. Today, Kristie is a professional board director holding Non-Executive Director (NED) roles with Brazilian Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:BRE), Livium Ltd (ASX:LIT), Tasmea Ltd (ASX:TEA) and MinEx CRC. Kristie is also a member of the UQ EAIT Faculty Strategic Advisory Board, is a Graduate and Fellow of the AICD and a Fellow of the AusIMM.

Helen Degeling is a geologist and recognised, influential advocate for minerals development that delivers positive ESG outcomes and meets the demands of a just transition towards decarbonisation. She has previously held roles as a researcher, exploration and mine geologist, and exploration manager for junior precious, base and critical metal explorers, as well as leadership positions in critical minerals and sustainable mining across government and industry. Helen is now Director of Geoscience and Sustainability at Mining3, where she combines her traditional geological expertise and passion for circularity, sustainability and traceability to drive innovation and deliver practical solutions for the resources industry’s ‘next generation’ challenges.