Loren submitted her PhD on geometallurgical characterisation of mine waste at the University of Queensland in December 2024. After a decade in the industry as an exploration geologist, Loren leveraged her geochemistry and mineralogy expertise to focus on mine waste transformation and economic rehabilitation through her PhD research. Now working in Closure R&D, Loren bridges research innovation with industry application, working a multi-disciplinary capacity between geology, geophysics and metallurgy. Loren was an AusIMM EEF 2023 scholarship holder and is a current committee member of the Southeast Queensland Branch.

Allan McConnell is a geotechnical engineer, with 50+ years experience in Australia, SE Asia and the Pacific. He is the founder of the specialised geotechnical testing company Insitu Geotech Services (IGS). Allan is known for his past consulting work on major projects, including many involving very soft soils, and for his “crusade” to reduce risk and uncertainty in geotechnical engineering. It is this passion for reducing risk and uncertainty that led to the evolution of IGS. Allan is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, a Registered Engineer in Queensland, a long-term Committee Member and Honorary Life Member of the Australian Geomechanics Society, and a Committee Member of the Queensland Tailings Group. He was Chair of the 2015 ISC’5 (International Site Characterisation) Conference on The Gold Coast, and also chaired a mini-symposium at the 2024 ISC’7 Conference in Barcelona, titled “Sources of Uncertainty in CPT”. Allan has presented papers on the topic of CPT testing in extremely soft soils and tailings at several international and Australian conferences.

Evan is a Geotechnical Engineer with over eighteen (18) years of professional experience. He has worked across a wide range of tailings and water storage projects. He specialises in the planning, design, and construction of embankment dams and tailings storage facilities (TSFs). He has experience in the design and engineering stewardship of tailings and water dams both locally and abroad – with specific focus on soil mechanics and risk-based design. He is familiar with the Australian regulatory environment as well as global industry practice. He has postgraduate level training in both dam design and risk management. He has a detailed understanding of the risks associated with managing tailings and water storage assets throughout design, construction, and operations.

David is a Principal Tailings Engineer with 20 years' experience in the design, analysis, in situ investigation, and laboratory characterisation of tailings. He has carried out post-doctoral research on tailings static liquefaction and mechanical behaviour on two industry-funded research projects. He now leads a dedicated tailings testing facility, REELab.

Jim Greig is a professional geotechnical engineer with over four decades of expertise in in-situ testing, instrument design, and software applications. He earned his B.A.Sc. (1981) and M.A.Sc. (1985) from the University of British Columbia, focusing on in-situ testing methods, including CPT, PMT, VST, and DMT. Jim is a senior engineer at ConeTec, having been with ConeTec since 1994 and has conducted CPT testing and site investigations throughout North America, as well as in Trinidad and Japan. As the Technical Oversight for Geotechnical and Professional Services, he is responsible for developing proprietary software, visualization techniques, and new in-situ tools. He also oversees QA/QC, training, and regulatory compliance as a responsible registrant for British Columbia and Alberta. Jim is the author of ConeTec’s in-house geotechnical analysis software, which generates plots and reporting materials. He continues to provide technical specifications, geotechnical reviews, and hands-on testing for software development.

Maria Fernanda Barra is a Geotechnical Engineer currently with Vale S.A., where she leads international projects for tailings dry stack facilities, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams. With a strong background in Engineering of Record (EoR) for high-risk dams in Brazil, her expertise spans the interpretation of field and laboratory tests, critical state soil mechanics, numerical modeling, dam decharacterization, as well as geotechnical risk assessments. Prior to her role at Vale, she worked with geotechnical consulting firms, providing technical support for tailings storage facilities across various mining operations. Maria Fernanda holds a Master’s degree in Geotechnical Engineering from COPPE/UFRJ, where she conducted research on centrifuge modeling for offshore wind turbine foundations.

Dr Rod Eddies is part of Fugro's Land Leadership Team driving transformation of geo-risk management. A geophysicist by background, he has worked on energy, mining and infrastructure projects across the world and has a passion for improving our understanding of the subsurface and managing geo-risk into return.

Sebastian Quintero is a PhD candidate and the manager of the laboratory of Geomechanics at the University of Queensland. He has gained reputable experience in research, teaching, and consulting as at the School of Civil Engineering laboratories for the last 10 years. He supervises and teach every student who needs any test done related to soil, rocks, and tailings. He has developed a profile in research and consultancy of projects that require any testing at the Geotechnical laboratories. He has a promising track record of published articles, grants, and commercial income, and several students trained at the Laboratories of Geomechanics of the University of Queensland.