Danielle has over 25 years of experience in the mining sector, with more than 20 years specialising in closure planning and cost estimation. She is passionate about integrated mine closure planning — 'start with the end in mind' — understanding a project early so technical solutions meet client needs at every stage of development. Her portfolio spans rehabilitation planning, closure maturity assessments, mine cost estimation, and teaching short courses and workshops across a range of commodities in the Australia-Pacific region. Danielle has extensive experience working within regulatory requirements, with a particular focus on the Queensland and Western Australian jurisdictions. She has managed closure maturity assessments and planning, annual liability reporting, life-of-mine (LOM) provisioning and regulatory financial bonding, and has collaborated with external consultants on feasibility studies, due diligence processes and financial assurance audits. Her own career began in petroleum and coal exploration, working on data management and interrogation, GIS compilation and geophysical basin structure interpretation as part of the SRK Australian basin study team — a grounding she credits for the technical rigour she brings to closure work today. She enjoys sharing that path with new professionals finding their own way into the sector.

Emily-Jane (EJ) Schutte is a fourth-year Environmental Engineering / Earth Science student with a strong interest in environmental performance, mine closure, and the future of the resources sector. Alongside her studies, she has gained practical experience as an Undergraduate Engineer with Xenith Consulting, supporting environmental approvals, regulatory compliance, and environmental management across a range of mining projects. She also completed a vacation program with Yancoal's Stratford Coal Mine in the Environment & Community team, where she developed experience in environmental monitoring, compliance reporting, environmental management systems, and mine closure. EJ is President of the AusIMM Hunter Student Chapter, leading initiatives that connect students with industry through technical events, mine and processing plant tours, and professional networking. She also serves on the AusIMM Hunter Region Branch Committee and as Secretary of WIMnet NSW, supporting leadership development and greater participation across the resources sector. Passionate about bridging the gap between university and industry, EJ is committed to creating opportunities for students at a university without dedicated mining programs while promoting sustainable and responsible resource development. She hopes to build a career in mine closure and post-mining land use, facilitating the delivery of positive environmental and community outcomes throughout the mining lifecycle.

I’m an Honours student in Civil Engineering at the University of Tasmania. My thesis, supervised by Dr Ashley Dyson with industry supervision from Charles Vuillier (GHD), explores the repurposing of mine tailings to minimise or eliminate the need for tailings storage facilities, combining critical metal recovery methods with geotechnical stability analysis.

Darrel is a Graduate Metallurgist with New Porgera Limited (NPL) at the Porgera gold mine in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea, and a New Professional member AAusIMM (NP). As part of Barrick’s COMPASS Graduate Development Program, he undertakes plant rotations across site operations and contributes to metallurgical improvement and trial projects focused on plant performance and optimisation. Darrel graduated from the Papua New Guinea University of Technology in 2025 with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mineral Processing Engineering. During his undergraduate studies, he served as President of the Mining Engineering Students Association (MESA) and was actively involved in student leadership and professional development initiatives. Following the accreditation of PNGUoT engineering programs under the Washington Accord through Engineers Australia, he joined Engineers Australia as a student member. In his final year, Darrel was awarded a scholarship by New Porgera Limited and completed industrial training at the Porgera operation. He subsequently gained operational experience as a Trainee Plant Operator with K92 Mining before returning to NPL as a graduate metallurgist. Darrel is passionate about process optimisation, sustainable mining practices, and the application of practical metallurgical solutions to improve operational performance across the mining value chain.

Jules is an experienced leader in the mining and energy sectors, with more than 25 years’ experience spanning mining engineering, environmental management, approvals, social performance and sustainability strategy. She began her career as a mining engineer and has spent the past two decades specialising in sustainability and environmental performance. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) and a Master of Environmental Management, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD). Jules has worked across operational, corporate and consulting roles throughout Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, with expertise in strategic planning, risk and project management, governance and assurance, approvals and compliance, mine closure, and operational HSE management. In her most recent role at BHP as Head of Sustainability Governance and Assurance, Jules led the global assurance of climate, environmental and sustainability standards and minimum requirements. She also governed BHP’s Social Value Framework and 2030 sustainability goals, and social investment portfolio. Jules has been actively involved with the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) for over 25 years, holding a range of leadership and committee roles, including with the Social and Environment Society, the Life of Mine Conference Committee, and WIMnet. She is currently serving her second term as a Director on the AusIMM Board.