Dr Randolph Pax has a PhD in Physics and has conducted commercial and fundamental research, development, and technology transfer in several industries. These include the steel, sugar and aerospace industries where new measurement approaches were developed leading to new concepts and process improvements. The last 30 years his interests have been in mineral processing, specifically grinding (mills) and mineral sands beneficiation. He was employed at the JKMRC for 9 years, at Mineral Technologies as principal Technologist and for the last 16 years within his own company (RAPID). The development of a non-contact measurement system to ‘see’ the internal operation of grinding mills, specifically SAG (BAG), AG, and ball mills and their relationship to the associated circuit has been a successful highlight. His interests include measurement, mathematical modelling, control of processes and materials science/physics.

Paul Bullock is Manager of IsaMill and OxiLeach and has more than 25 years' experience in minerals processing. He has built his career around applying practical engineering and metallurgical solutions to improve plant performance and deliver business value. Based in Brisbane, Paul leads the development and commercial application of IsaMill technology, working across technology innovation, testing, scale-up and site implementation. His experience spans comminution, flotation and hydrometallurgy, with a strong focus on translating engineering concepts into tangible improvements in energy efficiency, operating costs and plant performance. At MillOps, Paul will discuss the role of innovation and continuous improvement in maintaining technology leadership, sharing case studies from the development of several recent IsaMill advancements.

Paul has over 18 years of experience in the minerals processing industry in a variety of roles including; plant metallurgist, analytical metallurgist, project metallurgist, development manager for an OEM and as a consultant for a global engineering company. Paul’s experience in all aspects of the industry from site based, services, OEM and consultancy allow him to provide holistic and practical solutions to his clients. Paul’s interests include optimisation of SAG mills and liner design, closed ball mill circuits and stirred milling. In particular, Paul is a recognised expert in SAG mills and liner design having conducted work globally and written numerous papers on the subject.

Barbara Rocha is a PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering at the University of São Paulo (USP), Brazil, currently undertaking a research period at The University of Queensland with the Hydrometallurgy Research Group. Her research focuses on hydrometallurgical processes for the recovery, separation, and purification of rare earth elements from complex primary and secondary resources. Her work explores techniques including solvent extraction, ion exchange, selective precipitation, and leaching, with particular interest in improving the selectivity and efficiency of rare earth element recovery. Her research contributes to the development of more sustainable processing routes for critical raw materials.