Nathan is a relative newcomer to mine closure and has worked for the MLRA for over three years. His experience includes extensive stakeholder management, helping Victoria's declared mines to transition to closure and working closely with key stakeholders within government to facilitate this process. He has worked previously in the private sector for oil and gas companies, including large multinationals. This included various technical geoscience and project management roles, helping to reduce uncertainty, manage risk and realise value. Nathan has a passion for the energy transition, helping mines transition to post-mining land-uses, and helping to facilitate the future use of mine land for the benefit of communities. He holds a PhD in geosciences, unravelling the impact of plate tectonic processes encoded in sedimentary rock layers in New Zealand.

Tanya Mok is a Technical Advisor for the Mine Land Rehabilitation Authority (MLRA), where she joined in 2024. In her role, she focuses on providing technical advice to government, community, and licensees, to facilitate good rehabilitation outcomes for the Latrobe Valley. Before joining the MLRA, Tanya worked as a geotechnical engineering consultant, gaining extensive experience on projects that supported the operations, rehabilitation and closure of open cut mines and quarries across Victoria and Australia.

Wesley Kiwingim is a chemist profession with more than 10 years’ experience in the mining industry, with expertise in laboratory operations. He contributed to the field of environment science through his research on mine waste pollution and its impact on ecosystems. Specifically, he as explored the desulfurization of sulfide mine waste tailings, with a case study centered around the Ok Tedi Mine in Papua New Guinea. This has been a significant source of environmental stressors due to its sulfide-rich waste materials. Kiwingim’s work emphasizes environment compliance assessment, a critical aspect of ensuring that mining operations adhere to regulations and minimize their ecological footprint. His research delves into the complexities of acid rock drainage, tailings desulfurization, and the use of tools like the Acid-Base Accounting test to evaluate environmental impacts. Wesley Kiwingim’s scholarly contributions provide valuable insights in sustainable mining practices and the challenges associated with mitigating mine waste pollution in critical ecosystems such as freshwater river systems. His work emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to environmental compliance and risk assessment, as well as management