2025年 演講嘉賓
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Nofriady Aziz, Director Nuclear Facility Management, BRIN NationalResearch & Innovation Agency
Aziz is an experienced researcher in mineral and chemical processing with expertise in Rare Earth Element (REE) separation. He has been involved in REE research with BRIN since 2017, presenting and publishing his work at conferences. Additionally, Aziz mentors and teaches students in foundational chemistry.
Mooki Bae, Scientific Researcher, Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources KIGAM
Education: BSc (Hons.) Material Engineering, Hanbat University, Republic of Korea PhD. Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology (UST), Republic of Korea Previous Affiliations: Mooki has 10 years’ experience in the hydrometallurgical research in South Korea. He has been working at the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) from 2020. He has mainly focused on researching the recycling of precious metals such as gold, PGM and has also been actively conducting battery-related research, which has recently become an issue.
Gavin Beer, General Manager, Met-Chem Consulting
Gavin Beer has 35 years of experience in technical and operational roles in the mining industry. He is a Member and Chartered Professional of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). Gavin is recognised as a Competent Person for JORC 2012 and as a Qualified Person for NI 43-101 reporting with respect to his metallurgical expertise. He is a specialist consultant in the rare earth sector since 2007 and has worked on more than 30 rare earth projects over this time.
Robert Blythman, Exploration Manager, Cobra Resources plc
Robert has about 20 years’ experience as an exploration geologist, focused on South Australia, Victoria and the Northern Territory. He has both mining and exploration experience in orogenic style gold projects and his experience covers a range of commodities including gold, copper, uranium and rare earths. Robert is responsible for delivering Cobra’s field programmes safely and successfully while ensuring the best possible outcome for all stakeholders.
Peter Coghill, PhD, Group Leader & Principal Research Scientist, Magnetic Resonance Mineral Resources, CSIRO
Since joining CSIRO as a postdoctoral researcher in 1994, Peter has focused on developing instrumentation primarily for the minerals and energy industries, working across a wide variety of commodities and applications. Most recently, he has taken a keen interest in bulk ore sorting, contributing to the development of new analysers, such as a magnetic resonance analyser (MRA) designed for chalcopyrite and other copper minerals. Additionally, he has been involved in understanding and analyzing the use cases for bulk ore sorting. The MRA development led to the formation of NextOre, a joint venture company with CSIRO. With the maturation of the copper technology, Peter is now exploring other bulk sorting projects, including those related to lithium, hematite, and magnetite.
Goutam Das, PhD, Principal Research Scientist, Processing, CSIRO
Goutam Das is a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO Mineral Resources, Waterford, Perth. He holds M.Sc. and Ph.D degrees in chemistry from Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, India. Prior joining to CSIRO in 2006, he worked in SGS Lakefield and Western Minerals Technology in Perth, Rubamin Limited in Baroda, India and Institute of Mineral and Materials Technology (under CSIR) in Bhubaneswar, India. He has over thirty-three years’ experience in hydrometallurgy in the area of base and light metals process development, chemical processing, tailings reprocessing, battery material synthesis, nano material synthesis and smectite ore slurry rheology.
Bogdan Dlugogorski, PhD, Distinguished Research Professor, Science & Technology & Energy & Resources, Charles Darwin University
Professor Bogdan Dlugogorski is a chemical engineer and chemist, and a Distinguished Research Professor at Charles Darwin University (CDU). He holds a DSc in Fire Safety Science and Engineering from the University of Newcastle, a PhD and MEng in Chemical Engineering from McGill University, and undergraduate degrees in Chemical Engineering and Geophysics from the University of Calgary. His research focuses on developing fluorine-free firefighting foams, refining spodumene to lithium chemicals, mitigating NOx formation in mining explosives, and recycling materials from plastics containing brominated flame retardants. Professor Dlugogorski has previously held significant academic leadership roles, including Dean of the School of Engineering and Information Technology at Murdoch University and Director of the Priority Research Centre for Energy at the University of Newcastle, and a Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at CDU. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Combustion Institute, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, Engineers Australia, and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute.
David Dreisinger, PhD, Interim CEO & Co-Founder, Atlas Materials, Canada
David Dreisinger holds B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from Queen's University in Kingston, Canada. Since 1984, David has been at the University of British Columbia and is currently a part-time professor in the field of Hydrometallurgy. In 2021, Dr. Dreisinger co-founded Atlas Materials and now serves at CTO and Interim CEO. The company is working toward decarbonization of the nickel and cobalt supply chain along with impacting the cement and magnesium markets. David has published extensively with his students and holds 25 US patents in various fields. He has received a number of awards, including being named as a member of the United States Academy of Engineering in 2023.
Michael Dry, PhD, Owner, Arithmetek, Canada
BSc Chemical Engineering , University of Cape Town, South Africa PhD (Eng) University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Past Chair, Hydrometallurgy Section of MetSoc, Canada Extraordinary associate professor, North West University, South Africa. Mike has 40+ years’ experience in R&D, primarily in the application of hydrometallurgy to the extraction of metals. Since 2003 he has been operating as Arithmetek Inc., offering process and cost modelling services to the industry at large.
Harry Fisher, Senior Consultant, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Ltd., Australia
Harry Fisher is the Product Director for nickel and cobalt at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, where he leads forecasting and analysis of these key battery raw material markets. With a strong background in commodity markets combined with over a decade of global experience, Harry provides critical insights and forecasts that help shape strategic decisions for industry stakeholders. His expertise has made him a sought-after speaker at international conferences and a trusted advisor to leading companies in the Li-ion battery value chain.
Elizaveta Forbes, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Queensland
Associate Professor Liza Forbes is a metallurgist with over 20 years of experience in both research and industry. She leads the Flotation Chemistry research group within the JKMRC. Aside from technical aspects of her work, Liza specialises in bringing together collaborative partners from research, government and industry.
Adriana Garces Granda, PhD, Technical Support Metallurgist, Draslovka, Australia
Adriana is a Mining and Metallurgical engineer and holds a PhD in Engineering. She has extensive experience in hydrometallurgical processes for metal extraction including nickel, cobalt, gold and cooper in both operational and research environments. She started her career as researcher in Colombia and Chile and then moved to Australia where she started her career in operations. She joined Draslovka in early 2024 as Technical Support Metallurgist to oversee the GlyCatTM technology’s implementation at different scales (laboratory, continuous pilot plant and full-scale), on various mine sites across different regions (America, Africa, Asia, Australia) to provide technical and scientific support in controlling and addressing process disruptions.
Adrian Griffin, Principal, Future Technology Trust
With 40+ years’ experience in the mining industry, covering commodities that range from alumina to zircon, Adrian has operated on every continent, including Antarctica. He has run major gold, nickel and rare earths operations and overseen lithium exploration and the development of downstream battery technologies such as cathode powder production, cell manufacture and lithium-ion battery recycling. Adrian has been a driving force advancing technologies to improve supply and in doing so diminish the criticality of mineral resources. Adrian holds a BSc (Hons) from Melbourne University
Andrew Hawkey, Manager, Diemme Filtration, Australia
Andrew has 35 years’ experience with solid-liquid separation processes, including process design and construction of industrial waste water treatment plants for food processing, manufacturing and automotive industries. He also has experience in design and construction of sludge dewatering facilities for a wide range of industries, mineral concentrates and tailings dewatering processes, with particular experience with bauxite residue dewatering.
Taufiq Hidayat, PhD, Lecturer, Institut Teknologi Bandung Indonesia
Dr. Taufiq Hidayat is a lecturer in the Metallurgical Engineering study program, Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, Bandung Institute of Technology, since 2019. Dr. Hidayat completed his undergraduate education from the Department of Metallurgical Engineering from ITB in 2005; then completed a Master's degree in 2008 and Doctoral's degree in 2013 both in Pyrometallurgy field at the University of Queensland, Australia. Some of the research areas he is involved in include slag chemistry, non-ferrous high temperature processing, kinetics of heterogeneous reaction, and computer coupling of phase diagrams and thermochemistry. Dr Hidayat has published more than 80 technical publications in metallurgy area. Dr. Hidayat is also actively involved in discussions and creation of documents related to mineral sector development policies in Indonesia, such as Indonesian Grand Strategies of Nickel, Copper, Bauxite, Tin, Gold-Silver, Coal, and Dolomite.
Elizabeth Ho, Sr Hydrometallurgist, Minerals Grp, ANSTO Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Org
Elizabeth studied extractive metallurgy at Murdoch University, Western Australia. She worked for Intec Ltd. for 2 years before joining ANSTO and has over 25 years of experience in hydrometallurgical process development. She has worked on rare earth processing for the last 19 years, for approximately 20 clients at both bench and pilot plant scale, developing flowsheets for ore/concentrates through to a mixed rare earth product. Other areas of work have included developing alternative oxidants for uranium leaching and desktop studies.
Corin Holmes, General Manager, Jenike & Johanson
Corin Holmes is the General Manager for Jenike & Johanson Pty Ltd. He obtained his Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Greenwich, UK. Moving to Perth in 2012, he helped establish Jenike & Johanson’s Australian subsidiary becoming General Manager in 2022. During his career Corin has worked on a many projects designing hoppers and feeders, transfer chutes, stockpiles, and Train Load Out bins, helping ensure reliable flow in many industries. Improving or creating a design validated by the underpinning FLOW science of is one of the best parts of his job. The reward comes with the knowledge that the effort involved help to prevent or solve very real problems while providing clients with peace of mind. Corin has authored and presented numerous technical papers and presents public and in-house training courses.
Zela Tanlega Ichlas, PhD, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia
Dr. Zela Tanlega Ichlas is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Metallurgical Engineering at Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), Indonesia, and a technical advisor to PT Ceria Nugraha Indotama, PT Geoservices, and PT Geo Dipa Energi. His research focuses on hydrometallurgy and waste valorization, aiming to maximize resource value while minimizing environmental impacts in mineral processing. He has contributed to over 30 industrial metallurgical projects and published more than 20 papers in international journals. Recently, Dr. Ichlas and his team at ITB, in collaboration with Curtin University, were awarded the KONEKSI Collaborative Research Grant from DFAT for their project, “Sustainable Ecosystem Development of Lithium-ion Battery for Electric Vehicle: From Design Process to Recyclability.”
Wolfgang Keller, Vice President & Head of R&D, EKATO RMT GmbH, Germany
Wolfgang KELLER is a Senior Process Engineer and Head of R&D at EKATO Ruehr- und Mischtechnik. He has more than 25 years of experience in the field of chemical and mechanical process engineering. From 1996 to 2000, he worked at LONZA as a Production and R&D Engineer in a polymer plant. In 2000, he joined EKATO’s R&D department, where he has focused on various applications, including polymers and mineral processing. He holds a Master’s degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Process Engineering from the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany. Wolfgang Keller is the author of numerous papers on industrial mixing technology and holds several patents. Memberships: - EFCE (European Federation of Chemical Engineering): board member of the ‘Working Party in Mixing’ - VDI (Verein Deutscher Ingenieure)
Daniel Keßler, PhD, Managing Director, DSB Säurebau
During his PhD studies at University of Mainz, Germany and Seoul National University, Korea, Daniel focused on functional and reactive inorganic/organic surface coatings. Afterwards he joined the research and development department at Steuler-KCH GmbH using his experience to continue development of coatings and linings for severe corrosion protection. Later Daniel holds several international management positions within the heavy corrosion industry. He was involved in different international projects within mining, chemical industry or power generation. Since 2024 Daniel is Managing Director of DSB, a corrosion protection lining company specialized on HPAL and POX vessels. He has authored numerous technical papers in distinguished journals, and has contributed to several international meetings and exhibitions related to polymer science and corrosion engineering.
Hannu Laitala, Chief Metallurgist, Hydrometallurgy, Metso Corp., Finland
Hannu has 30 years’ experience in the metallurgical and chemical processing industries, working in plant operations, plant start-ups and technology development for companies including Outokumpu Harjavalta Metals, Outokumpu Technology and Ashland Chemicals. Projects and studies have involved copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, manganese, rhenium, uranium, gold and silver. Hannu has worked and developed processes and equipment for atmospheric leaching, pressure leaching, several different filtrations, chemical precipitations, redox control processes, and solvent extractions—especially for battery metals production. Hannu holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering , Helsinki University of Technology, Finland and SAIMM Professional Membership.
Murdoch Mackenzie, PhD, Consultant Metallurgist, Australia
Education: University of Otago New Zealand, University of New South Wales. Experience: BHP Central Research, Senior Lecturer, University of NSW, Technical Director, Trochem South Africa, Regional Manager, Henkel Asia Pacific. Private hydrometallurgical consultant specialising in solvent extraction of copper, nickel, uranium, and rare earths.
Chris Madin, Manager, JordProxa
Chris is a chemical engineer, working as the Sales Manager for JordProxa. Chris has been working in mining, mineral processing and water industries for over 25 years. He has lived and worked in Australia, Canada, and the USA. He has experience working with Veolia, Andritz, Alfa Laval, and at JordProxa he is focused on process plants for battery minerals, biproduct salts and ZLD. Chris is pleased to be involved in the energy transition to batteries and renewable energy. It is good for the planet and interesting as a chemical engineer!
Richard Matheson, Director, Market Development, Nickel Institute, Australia
Richard has worked in the nickel and stainless steel industries since 1987. His career began in Queensland Nickel and later consulted to many of the new nickel projects of the era. He undertook the principal research into the establishment of the Australian Stainless Steel Development Association (ASSDA) and worked with the organisation for the past 30 years, mainly as Executive Director. During his tenure the market for stainless steel more than doubled in Australia. He has extensive knowledge of nickel and its applications and has helped establish and grow markets for nickel-containing products in diverse sectors, and many regions around the globe. Richard began with the Nickel Institute, in 2007. Today he leads the Market Development team of the Institute to promote the use of nickel in appropriate applications which includes leading the Institute’s Batteries project, and clean energy.
Leslie Miller, Senior Application Engineer, OLI Systems, United States
Leslie Miller is a Senior Application Engineer at OLI Systems, leading applications in critical materials and water treatment. She explores advanced modeling and optimization tools to solve chemistry-related operational challenges in industry. With 17 years of experience in water and wastewater treatment for the Oil & Gas and Maritime sectors, Leslie has a strong focus on novel technology development and scale-up. Since joining OLI Systems in 2021, Leslie has applied her expertise to emerging fields such as Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE), Rare Earth Extraction, and battery recycling. She leverages advanced chemistry modeling and simulation techniques to drive innovation in these areas. Leslie holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University, USA and has previous experience with ExxonMobil Research and Engineering; Naval Surface Warfare Center, United States Navy
Godfrey Mitshabu, Hydrometallurgy Consultant, BASF South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Democratic Republic of Congo
Godfrey has 37+ years’ experience in the metallurgical, mineral, and processing industries in the DRC. (Copper, cobalt, diamond), working in metallurgical consulting and plant operations. He has authored and presented technical papers at international conferences, including SAIMM, COM, ISEC and ALTA and holds a BSc (Hons.) in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Lubumbashi.
Rob Mock, Director R&D, NOVA Hydromet
Rob is one of the founders of NOVA Hydromet, a company specializing in severe service applications for pressure hydrometallurgy worldwide, and currently serves as its director of research and development. Using an interdisciplinary approach based on first principles, Rob has helped resolve multi-million-dollar production issues at some of the world’s largest autoclave production sites and pioneered industry best practices in letdown analysis and design. He is passionate about solving complex problems, often using mathematical models that draw on various sciences and his experience in control theory from the aerospace and instrumentation industries. Rob has authored multiple patents, previously worked at Memorex, Textron, and Caldera Engineering, and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Brigham Young University.
Brett Muller, Managing Director, Simulus Group
Brett has worked primarily in the base metals industry with operational experience in nickel, copper and uranium, followed by flowsheet development, economic assessments, testwork supervision, design and consulting for GRD Minproc, Simulus and more recently Lifezone Metals.
Aleks Nikoloski, PhD, Professor, Centre for Water & Energy & Waste, Murdoch University
Professor Aleks Nikoloski, with a PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from Murdoch University, has 28 years of experience in teaching, research, and as a process engineer in extractive metallurgy. He works with industry to develop new technologies for minerals and metals production, specialising in applied electrochemistry for hydrometallurgy and energy storage systems. His research focuses on sustainable technologies for treating various minerals and metals. Over the past decade, Professor Nikoloski's research has concentrated on advancing technology for the beneficiation and chemical processing of lithium-containing materials to produce lithium precursor chemicals for batteries. In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities, Professor Nikoloski is actively involved in multiple professional organisations and has an extensive publication record in peer-reviewed journals. He has also disseminated his findings at numerous international conferences, solidifying his standing as a leading expert in his field. His contributions to extractive metallurgy have been recognised with various awards and honours. Committed to mentoring future engineers and scientists, Professor Nikoloski fosters a collaborative and innovative research environment. He supervises PhD and master's students, guiding them through their research projects and assisting them in achieving their academic and professional goals. His work advances the scientific understanding of metallurgical processes and aims to address environmental challenges associated with the mining and metals industries. Through his research, he strives to develop sustainable solutions that minimise the environmental impact of mineral extraction and processing, contributing to a more sustainable future.
Andrew Nissan, PhD, Senior Director, Battery Strategic Sourcing, Lyten
Andrew Nissan is the senior director of strategic sourcing for Lyten with a focus on building the supply chain for their lithium-sulfur battery production. Lyten recently announced a 200MWh/year facility in San Leandro, CA, USA starting production in 2025 and a 10GWh/year facility in Reno, NV, USA starting production in 2027. Prior to working at Lyten Andrew was the director of materials engineering at Panasonic Energy of North America (PENA) in the Tesla Giga-Factory in Sparks, NV, USA and before that was a staff metallurgist for Tesla in Palo Alto, CA, USA. Andrew specializes in material characterization, fracture mechanics, metallurgical engineering, and physical metallurgy. Andrew received his PhD in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Colorado School of Mines and his Bachelor of Science in Material Science and Engineering from the University of California, Davis.
Jess Page, Group Technical Manager, Data Analytics, WGA Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec, Australia
Jess Page is WGA’s Group Technical Manager. She is an experienced chartered chemical engineer and mathematician, who leads integrated teams of data scientists and engineers to deliver data driven solutions for complex systems. Jess leads development of process simulations, machine learning and cloud-based solutions, in a range of sectors including minerals exploration, minerals processing, water, managed aquifers, oil and gas, and manufacturing.
Anita Parbhakar-Fox, PhD, Associate Professor, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland
A/Prof Anita Parbhakar-Fox is a Principal Research Fellow in Applied Geochemistry at the W.H. Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre within the Sustainable Minerals Institute and the founding leader of the Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH) group. Anita's research is focussed on mine waste characterisation to improve mine planning and waste management practices where she has worked with mining industry, METS sector and government stakeholders. Most recently, Anita is leading government and industry funded projects characterising a range of mine waste materials across Australia to evaluate their economic potential with a focus on critical metal recovery. Anita is an Australian ‘Superstar of STEM’ and a twice winner of the IOM3 Materials World Medal.
Tony Parry, PhD, Senior Consultant, Nexus Bonum, Australia
Tony was initially involved in pyrometallurgical technology development with Mt Isa Mines (developing the IsaSmelt Process), then followed an extensive period in stockbroking and corporate finance as a mining analyst before returning to metallurgical projects. Since 2014 Tony has recognised the potential of emerging sensor-based ore sorting technology and pre-concentration technologies generally in generating significant economic and environmental benefits for mining projects. He established his own consultancy in that area which was subsequently merged with specialist engineering group Nexus Bonum in 2021 to provide full services from test work programs to detailed feasibility studies.
Carlos Perea, PhD, WASM, Curtin University
After completing a Bachelor's degree in mining and metallurgy engineering at the National University of Colombia in 2013, I worked for over three years in Colombia's gold mining, metallurgical industry, and mining inspection for the Colombian government. In August 2014, I joined the Extractive Metallurgy Research Center (CIMEX) at the National University of Colombia to conduct my Master's in research Mineral Resources into Alternative methods to gold cyanidation using amino acids. During this time, I worked as a Professor at the National University of Colombia; after completing my Master's degree, I became part of the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia as a Professor in the mining school in fields such as mine design, mineral processing and drilling and blasting. Currently, I'm finishing my PhD in Mining Engineering at The University of Chile into copper leaching using monosodium glutamate, developed in collaboration between the Advance Mining Technology Center (AMTC) of the University of Chile and the Western Australian School of Mines of Curtin University, with the financial support from the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID) and the National Copper Corporation of Chile (CODELCO). These led to my current position as a senior research officer in the Cathode Precursor Production Pilot Plant and Chalise Project with WASM at Curtin University in September 2023.
Amir Razmjou, PhD, Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University
Amir Razmjou is an Associate Professor at Edith Cowan University, Board Director of the Membrane Society of Australasia, and founder and leader of ECU's Mineral Recovery Research Centre (MRRC). With a diverse, multi-industry background spanning surface engineering, critical mineral extraction (e.g., lithium, rubidium, high-purity alumina), membranes, and sensors, he has published over 210 articles (h-index 54, Citations: 11,134 on Google Scholar) and secured significant research funding exceeding $15.4 million ($7.95 million as lead CI). Recognized with awards including the 2023 WA FHRI Fund Innovation Fellowship, 2023 MSA Industry Innovation Award, 2024 ECU Vice-Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award for Excellence in Research and the 2021 UTS Chancellor Research Fellowship, he has supervised over 40 HDR students and holds editorial board roles in prominent journals such as Desalination, DWT, and JWPE.
Colin Seaborn, PhD, Chief Metallurgist, Ocean Minerals LLC, Australia
Dr. Colin Seaborn is Chief Metallurgist for Ocean Minerals and its subsidiary, Moana Minerals, which has an exploration licence for polymetallic nodules within the Cook Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). He has qualifications in both Metallurgy and Mineral Economics. Formerly, he was a General Manager and Metallurgist at CRA Ltd. (now Rio Tinto). He has been involved in various operations and developments, including for base metals, gold and coal projects in Australia, Africa and the Pacific. He is currently managing for Moana Minerals its metallurgical testing and evaluation of processing options for the seabed polymetallic nodules from the Cook Islands EEZ. He is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.
Nipen Shah, PhD, Head of Sales, JordProxa
Nipen Shah is Head of Sales at JordProxa. He looks after global sales of crystallisation and evaporation plants. He has over fifteen years of experience in designing and selling modular process plant and equipment to leading global companies. He is a Chemical Engineer and has a PhD from Monash University, Australia.
Milton Simukoko, Head Metallurgical Projects, Konkola Mineral Resources
A Chemical Engineering professional with a record spanning 18 years in the mining in Southern Africa-Zambia. Having vast experience in Base Metals (Copper, Cobalt) Mining/Metallurgical Projects from conceptual to actualization and Process Design. Worked in Copper Smelter, Copper Electro-Refinery, Copper Hydro-Metallurgical Plants, Projects and Strategic Planning. A Fellow of the Engineering Institution of Zambia.
Steve Sloop, PhD, President, OnTo Technology LLC
Steve Sloop has pioneered comprehensive methods to improve safety and efficiency in recycling lithium-ion batteries and materials. These include deactivation of lithium-ion batteries to eliminate hazards in transportation and storage; electrolyte extraction; electrode harvesting and separation; and cathode-healing™, which is a direct method to reintroduce lithium, structure, and performance to scrap electrodes.
Pavel Spiridonov, PhD, Research Fellow, InnovEco
Pavel is the R&D Director at InnovEco Australia and a Research Fellow / Industry Partner at the University of South Australia. He has over 30 years of experience working in government organisations and private companies and has been involved in various aspects of research, development, commercialisation and implementation of innovative technologies and cutting edge materials. Currently Pavel is a leading specialist in the development of metal recovery technologies, such as the resin in moist mix (RIMM) technology. He is a Technical Leader in several research projects, related to strategic and critical minerals. He holds a PhD in Chemistry.
Dirk Steinhilber, PhD, Technical Marketing Manager, LANXESS Deutschland GmbH
In his role as Application Technology Manager with LANXESS, Dirk develops new applications for ion exchange resins in the field of battery metals, waste- and drinking water. Prior to joining LANXESS in 2016 Dirk pursued a Post-Doc at Harvard University, with a main focus on ion exchange resin for pharmaceutical applications. Dirk obtained his PhD in 2013 in polymer chemistry. He is the author of 25 peer reviewed articles and 10 patents. His work was awarded by the Konrad Adenauer and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
Mervyn Stevens, Vice President, Battery Minerals & Materials, Worley
A Technical Executive who has been active worldwide in Engineering, Projects, Consulting and Operations for 30 years. During this time, he developed practical skills through global operations and project expertise in areas that include design, commissioning, process optimisation, mine production management and consulting in technology, business, and process engineering. He has specialist expertise in Battery Mineral and Materials specifically in Anode, Cathode Active Material and Recycling of Lithium and Sodium ion batteries. Valuable experience in Mining, Environmental Management, Energy Savings & Recovery and Recycling & Waste Management. Developed key skills in Mine to Mill modelling, Process Optimisation and a broad understanding of Mine Planning, Pit Optimisation, Drill & Blast and Load & Haul Methodologies.
Tatiana Tagieva, MIEAust, Senior Application Specialist, NOVA Hydromet
Tatiana has over a decade of hands-on experience in industrial valves and automation and is a specialist in control valve sizing and specification. She holds a Master of Engineering degree in Automation and Control Engineering, with her research focusing on flow measurement for multiphase fluids. Passionate about innovative solutions for the mining and minerals processing industry, Tatiana joined NOVA Hydromet, a company providing science-based guidance and technology to optimize the world’s hydrometallurgical facilities, and currently serves as its Senior Application Specialist. As a part of NOVA Tatiana works with HPAL (High-Pressure Acid Leaching) and POX (Pressure Oxidation) clients across the globe, helping clients solve complex problems at autoclave production sites. Tatiana has previously worked at CGIS, Flowserve, and Weir Minerals; she holds a bachelor’s degree in process and automation control and a master’s degree in automation and control engineering.
Niels Verbaan, Director, Technical Services (Hydrometallurgy), Metallurgy & Consulting, SGS, Canada
Niels Verbaan has over 20 years’ experience in the Minerals Industry. Having earned Masters degrees in Raw Materials Processing (Delft University, The Netherlands) and Hydrometallurgy (McGill University), Niels started his career at Lakefield Research (now SGS) in 2000 as a Project Metallurgist. In 2003-2004 he moved to Belgium and worked as an R&D Manager at Hydrometal, where he was responsible for evaluating new raw materials into the hydrometallurgical recycling facility. He returned to Canada and re-joined SGS in 2004, and via various roles (Senior Metallurgist, Group Leader Hydrometallurgy, Principal Metallurgist, Technical & BD manager) settled into his current role as Director, Technical Services (Hydrometallurgy), Metallurgy & Consulting. In this role, he provides leadership and advice to SGS customers, SGS management, SGS global network of operations and sales teams on the technical aspects of SGS services involving hydrometallurgy of ores, concentrates and secondary feed streams for new and existing markets and commodities. Niels has authored or co-authored well over 40 technical publications and two patents related to the processing of critical materials. He has chaired biannual symposia on Processing of Critical Materials since 2014, including the “Joe Ferron Memorial Symposium – Processing of Critical Materials” as part of COM2024 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Niels’ areas of expertise include general metallurgical process development, management of complex hydrometallurgical pilot plants, and data analyses and presentation to clients. He offers expertise in a wide range of commodities, with a strong focus on rare earth elements, scandium, nickel, cobalt, vanadium, niobium and minor metals. Another area of expertise includes metal recovery from alternative feed materials such as polymetallic seabed nodules and black mass.
Jamie Weaver, PhD, Research Chemist, Material Measurement Lab, NIST
Dr. Jamie Weaver is a Research Chemist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). She has conducted original research in the areas of lithium-ion batteries, nuclear energy, and glass science. Dr. Weaver is skilled in measuring challenging elements, such as lithium, and she evaluates the longevity of materials through collaborations with industry partners, other government organizations, and various universities. She frequently publishes her findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Craig Wohlers, General Manager, Cambridge EnerTech
Since 2014, Craig has served as Executive Director of Conferences for Cambridge Enertech, with primary responsibilities for scientific conference organization and program development within energy market sectors with conferences based in the United States, Asia, and Europe. Previously to joining CII, from its inception in 1998, Craig was the Founder and President of the Knowledge Foundation, a scientific conference and publishing company until it was acquired by CII in 2014. Additionally, Craig was a Director at IBC USA (now Informa), and has previous experience in conference development, publishing and techincal marketing.
Shuyuan Xu, APAC Mixing Tech & Proposal Manager, Engineering, SPX Flow
Shuyuan is currently the technology leader for fluid mixing in Asia Pacific and China region. He has 10 years’ Industrial experience of process design, optimization, and validation for industrial mixing in a variety of markets including mineral processing, chemical, pharmaceuticals/fermentation, biotech, and waste/water treatment. He has hands-on experience in both physical mixing experimentation as well as scale up and downs techniques. He is an expert in performing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies using multiple software packages.
Shuyuan compiled our Mixing Innovation Center in Shanghai to support The SPX FLOW business in APAC and now leads both the Application Engineering and Research and Development teams which have more than one hundred years combined mixing experience.
Olga Yahorava, PhD, Principal Chemist, Clean TeQ Water
Dr. Olga Yahorava is a Principal Scientist specializing in Ion Exchange at Clean TeQ Water in Australia. With 12 years of experience in the Hydrometallurgical division of Mintek in South Africa, Dr. Yahorava brings a wealth of knowledge to her current position. She has a strong background in hydrometallurgical flowsheet development and optimization and focuses on utilizing ion exchange technology to tackle complex challenges in the water and mining industries. Throughout her career, Dr Yahorava has participated in numerous projects centred on the processing and refining of various commodity metals, including lithium, uranium, and base metals.
Fernando Zeballos, Director, Metallurgical Projects, Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA Peru
With over 26 years of experience in the mining and oil and gas industries, Fernando has held various positions and responsibilities, primarily focusing on leading projects and disciplines. Throughout his career, he has contributed to project development both from the engineering company side and the owner side, participating in all stages, including detailed engineering for EPCM contracts. Over the last 19 years, Fernando has specialized in mining project development in Peru and other countries, working across multiple project stages, including conceptual, PFS, FS, basic and detailed engineering, pre-commissioning, and start-up. His expertise spans a broad range of plant capacities, from 75 tpd (silver and gold concentrate leaching) to 170 ktpd (Cu/Mo ore), and covers various processes such as copper, gold, silver, zinc, indium, and molybdenum hydrometallurgy, as well as concentrators for copper, molybdenum, iron, zinc, lead, tin, and phosphate. Fernando holds an MSc. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and a B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Nacional San Agustín, Peru.
Tian Zhang, Specialist, Hydrometallurgy, Metso
Born in China, raised in Japan, and now based in Finland, Tian brings a global perspective to the mining industry, with a decade of experience spanning research, development, and industrial implementation. In the first eight years of his career, Tian led the development of an innovative anode for metal electrowinning, which was successfully commercialized in copper electrowinning plants worldwide. In the past two years, as a specialist in hydrometallurgy, Tian has focused on lithium processing, contributing to high-profile projects and advancing new lithium process technologies that support the evolving needs of the industry. Tian holds a PhD in Engineering from Doshisha University.
