SPEAKERS

Alan R Butcher BSc PhD FGS is a geologist with a specialization in rocks of commercial importance. He started off as an igneous petrologist but his experience quickly grew to include geochronology, applied mineralogy, ore deposit geology, forensic geoscience, and reservoir characterization. Alan has also worked on lunar and Martian rocks with NASA.
Alan is best known for his visionary development and enthusiastic evangelism of new and emerging capabilities and business opportunities within the field of Automated Mineralogy & Petrology (particularly in the areas of process mineralogy, reservoir petrography, and environmental mineralogy), as well as Digital Rock Analysis (involving the integration of 2D, 3D and 4D imaging and analysis of rocks).
He is currently Professor of Geomaterials & Applied Mineralogy at the Geological Survey of Finland.

Bruno Poirier has been working in the mining industries for the past 13 years, most of them, in one of the harshest environments on earth, the Canadian arctic.

Throughout his career in the mining industries, he managed multiple large-scale telecommunication projects, such as: Deployment of underground monitoring and communication systems, implementation of different fleet monitoring systems for heavy mining equipment, multiple satellite system installations, numerous microwave links across the Canadian arctic and design and deployment of VHF & UHF systems.

Since 2010, when he joined Agnico Eagle, his role has evolved from networking and telecommunication to take on the challenge of establishing a Data Management group and building a “Data as a Service” global platform.

After being appointed Enterprise Data Manager, leveraging data to create and deliver value for the business has been his main focus for the past 4 years.

Chris Calam has spent the last 25 years implementing analytical tools with particular emphasis on XRF used in Geochemistry.
Chris speaks and writes articles on geochemistry and has had the opportunity to assist exploration and mineral processing companies, large and small, to develop, calibrate and implement portable XRF into their decision making protocols in the field.
Global mining is on the upturn with companies investing in technology and data analytics to improve decision making in the field. Chris continues his passion to ensure correct implementation of portable XRF in the field to drive return on investment.
chris.calam@thermo.com

Dan Gleeson, Editor of International Mining and former Editor of Mining Journal, has been reporting on the industry for more than a decade. During this time, he has covered everything from mining equipment, metals pricing, futures markets, project finance, exploration strategies and corporate and social responsibility programmes. Gleeson regularly takes in mine and exploration sites in Europe and elsewhere, and has also attended and spoken at mining conferences at home and abroad, presenting on trends in project development and mine finance.

Dave Lawie is a graduate of the University of New England and has held global positions in Exploration Geochemistry and R&D with both Pasminco and Anglo American before joining ioGlobal as Managing Director in 2004. ioGlobal provided geochemistry and geometallurgical consulting services, cloud based data management and the ioGAS desktop analytics.  In late 2012 ioGlobal was sold to Imdex.   As Chief Geoscientist for Imdex and Chief Technologist for Imdex Mining Solutions, Dave’s role now involves rolling out these services through a global network and moving Imdex into real-time, at rig technologies, from exploration through to production.

Dirk was originally a mining engineer with experience in underground and opencast mining production before moving across to the Oil & Energy sector. Beginning in front-line sales Dirk has held numerous commercial management roles in West Africa, East Africa and Asia, before joining Total’s Strategy Marketing and Research Division in Europe overseeing Total’s global portfolio of industrial customers.

 

Dr. Ali Soofastaei is a Research Developer at the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence at Vale and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia. Vale is a multinational corporation engaged in metals and mining. It is one of the world’s foremost producers of iron ore and the largest producer of nickel. UQ has been ranked in the world’s top 50 universities and is one of Australia’s leading research and teaching institutions.

Dr. Soofastaei uses innovative models based on artificial intelligence (AI) methods to improve safety, productivity, and energy efficiency, and to reduce maintenance costs. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering and has an in-depth understanding of energy management (EM) and equipment maintenance solutions (EMS). The extensive research he conducted on AI and value engineering (VE) methods while completing his Master of Engineering also provided him with expertise in the application of advanced analytics in EM and EMS.

Dr. Soofastaei completed his Ph.D. at UQ in the field of AI applications in mining engineering where he led a revolution in the use of deep learning (DL) and AI methods to increase energy efficiency, reduce operation and maintenance costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in surface mines. As a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Assistant Professor, he has provided practical guidance to undergraduate and postgraduate students in mechanical and mining engineering and information technology.

In the past 15 years, Dr. Soofastaei has conducted a variety of research studies in academic and industrial environments. He has acquired in-depth knowledge of energy efficiency opportunities (EEO), VE and advanced analytics. He is an expert in the use of DL and AI methods in data analysis to develop predictive and optimization models of complex systems.
Dr. Soofastaei has been involved in industrial research and development projects in several industries including oil and gas (Royal Dutch Shell); steel (Danieli); and mining (BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, and Vale). His extensive practical experience in the industry has equipped him to work with complex industrial problems in highly technical and multi-disciplinary teams.
As a member of research and development teams, Dr. Soofastaei has been actively involved in site inspections, business problem identification, and root cause analysis. He has experience in managing brainstorming sessions with operators, supervisors, managers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the areas of automation (e.g., with electrical and computer systems engineers), maintenance (e.g., with mechanical engineers and maintenance supervisors) and production (e.g., process engineers, metallurgists).

Dr. Soofastaei has more than 10 years of academic experience as an Assistant Professor and leader of global research activities. Results from his research and development projects have been published in international journals and keynote presentations; He has presented his practical achievements at conferences in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Dr. Soofastaei has published three chapter books and is on contract to write two new handbooks that will be published by Springer and CRC Press. He has also been granted three patents and has developed three software products.

More information is available at www.soofastaei.net

Elen is responsible for managing the Automine for underground product portfolio including strategic planning and continuous management of the product to meet business objectives and industry needs.

Felix is responsible for international operations at Global EcoProcess Services. He has a 25 year successful track record of performance in international business operations with multinational industry and engineering companies. He has served in various leadership roles spanning over general management, global sales and marketing, strategic planning and business development and over the past five years has made substantial know-how, funding and business leadership contributions to innovative start-up technology companies in the Baltic countries, UK, Poland, Russia, other CIS countries and launched manufacturing and subcontracting operations in South Korea and China.

Mr. Rogers is a experienced mining professional who’s been active in both the mineral exploration, processing and production industries for the past 10 years. This experience has allowed him to be a key consultant to many mining and industrial projects within the traditional mining industry as well as working with key investment groups and family offices for investment analysis and research. During this period, Mr. Rogers has also owned and operated Longford Exploration Services Ltd., an international exploration services company that performs exploration services for companies all over the world. Through this experience, Mr. Rogers has also become a capable business operator, public company director and investor. Mr. Rogers is currently a director of Global UAV Technology Ltd., Navis Resources Corp. and a number of private companies in related sectors.

Working with Operations, Technology & Innovation and Asset Health, Jason Nitz's role is to provide timely, expert and strategic advice regarding the ongoing development, implementation and embedding of Newmont’s global technology model across North America.

Joe Cucuzza is the Managing Director of AMIRA International. Experienced Managing Director with a demonstrated history of working in the mining & metals industry. Skilled in facilitating collaboration, and delivering results. Joe Cucuzza is successful in building local and global multi-company, multi-institution collaborative programs that address complex problems. Joe Cucuzza has deep knowledge in innovation and collaboration. Joe Cucuzza is sensitive to cultural differences and with an extensive global network in minerals industry and research community. Also, Joe Cucuzza has strong business development professional with a Master of Business (Enterprise Innovation) focused in Business & Entrepreneurship from Swinburne University of Technology. Graduate of the AICD.

Joseph is an engineering geologist who holds a Ph.D. from the University of Leeds in England. His academic background involved research into the stability of coastal soil slopes. This research involved seepage analysis, traditional slope stability analysis and advanced numerical modelling. His professional project experience includes design and monitoring of tailings embankments/dykes, design of mining dams and stability reviews for water retention dams, as well as slope stability assessment, advanced 2D and 3D numerical modelling, seismic hazard analysis, seepage analysis, site investigation, foundation design and mine site remediation.

Kalev Ruberg has been active in the information systems arena for more than 40 years.  As a BSc and Masters graduate from MIT, he studied at the Architecture Machine Lab (now the Media Lab).  He continued his digital simulation research; first at the National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) in Washington DC and University of California Berkeley Labs, then at Georgia Tech as an assistant professor.  In 1982 he joined Canada’s National Research Council in Ottawa as a Senior Research Scientist where he developed a number of machine learning algorithms in the artificial intelligence field.  Joining IBM Global Services, he designed large machine learning and control systems for IBM Manufacturing and for clients worldwide.  In 1998 he was appointed the CIO and Deputy Minister to the Finance Minister at the Government of Manitoba where he was responsible for the government’s Information Services.  Subsequently, he led development at a B2B e-commerce company. and then as a VP at TELUS, he was responsible for Application Development and Business Development and for developing the IT strategy and offerings for TELUS’ Healthcare vertical.

As the CIO and Executive General Manager for Information Services at Placer Dome, formerly the largest gold mining enterprise in the world, he led the restructuring of technology services worldwide. Since 2006, he has been the CIO at Teck Resources, and most recently, he was also appointed Vice President, Teck Digital Systems, where he is responsible for the overall digital systems services and projects for this global mining company.

Kalev has published more than 30 papers in proceedings and journals. In 2018, he was named to CIM Magazine’s 2018 Names to Know.

Dr. Karen Hanghøj is the CEO at EIT RawMaterials. Karen holds a PhD in Geology from University of Copenhagen, and has worked extensively with research on geological processes in the lower crust and mantle and their associated mineral deposits. She has spent more than ten years working in the US as a Research Associate at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and as a Research Scientist at Columbia University and has furthermore worked as a consultant to the minerals exploration industry for more than 20 years. Before joining EIT RawMaterials Karen was head of Department of Petrology and Economic Geology at the Geological Survey for Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and involved in several EU – funded mineral raw materials projects and networks.

 

Leonardo Feltrin, Mineral Exploration Research Centre

Dr. Feltrin has recently joined HES at Laurentian University (January 2018) as Associate Professor of Earth Systems Modelling. His research considers the use of computational geoscience, AI and modern data analytics to increase the chance of discovery of ore deposits and improve the understanding of factors controlling mineral resources location in the Earth’s crust. Applied research focuses on GIS-based mineral prospectivity mapping, data analytics, robotics and Earth systems 3D reconstructions and simulations. Starting in Winter 2018, he will be teaching the course GEOL 3056 titled Computer Applications in the Earth Sciences.

Mohsen is an Associate Professor at the Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) at the University of Queensland, Australia. He joined JKMRC in 2011 after receiving his PhD in IRAN. Mohsen has successfully finished several industrial based projects in Copper, Gold, Iron and Coal processing plants. His area of interest and research is in modelling, control and optimisation of comminution process. In his current role in JKMRC, he is leading a research program in Advanced Process Prediction and Control, and he is the research leader of AMIRA P9Q project which is the latest in a long line of P9 projects focused on translating the previous P9 research projects to industry process improvement tools.

Nestor Aleman Esteban is a PMP® and PRINCE2® Certified Project Manager who holds an MSc in Telecommunications Engineering.

He has work experience on world leader companies, such as Philips Semiconductors (Eindhoven, The Netherlands); Dolomite Microfluidics (Cambridge, UK) world leader in microfluidic applications and Kinross Gold Corporation, the world’s fourth largest gold mining company. The last six years Nestor has been working at Kinross Gold as Project Manager for IT and currently is responsible of IT Projects for West Africa Operations covering Las Palmas Office (Spain), Mauritania and Ghana.

Within Mining Industry, Nestor Aleman Esteban has managed several Projects related with Technology such as Digital (DMR) and Analogic Radio Systems, WLAN infrastructure (WiFi), Fiber Optic and OPGW Infrastructure, RF Communication, Data Centers and Telecomunication towers construction and also Projects directly related with Mining Operations such as Fuel Management system and Barcoding system for warehouse operations, Wireless network infrastructure for mining systems (fleet management, Dispatch, etc) and ICS/Scada Network integration with Business Network.

Nick graduated from the Camborne School of Mines in 1980 with a BSc in Mineral Processing. He then went on to graduate with an MSc from Queens University, Kinston, Ontario, and is currently Vice Chairman of the CSM Trust as well as being a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Nick has been involved in the mineral processing industry since graduating. In his early career he worked for English China Clays, where he was involved with most aspects of Kaolin and Calcium Carbonate processing. Initially working in R&D roles followed by senior roles in product development and marketing of novel products in non-paper applications.

In 2000 Nick started his own consultancy business focusing on industrial minerals and processing. In 2003 he started Grinding Solutions Ltd incorporating consultancy in the industrial & metalliferous mineral processing with a laboratory facility to allow for mineral evaluation. Grinding Solutions has a worldwide client base and carries out a full range of mineral testing for project evaluation, variability testing and plant optimisation. The business now considers itself to be a world leader in fine grinding focusing on reducing comminution energy and optimising media selection and use in stirred media mills. Grinding Solutions ultimate goal is to develop energy efficient solutions for its clients.

 

At Nordgold Oleg is responsible for implementation of Business System Program, efficiency improvement and cost reduction initiatives.

Otto is a Mining Specialist with McKinsey & Company MineLens in the Brussels office

Before joining McKinsey, he has worked across the Mining sector in operations in the United States, Europe and Australia.

Prior to joining MineLens Otto worked on studies which focused on:

• Improving maintenance wrench time of contractors for a mining client
• Improving drilling and blasting practices in a large open pit mine
• Implementing the roll out of operational standards and coaching management on auditing against these standards in an open pit truck and shovel operation
• Creation of a roadmap which should lead to implementation of an unlocked and automatic dispatch system
• Identification and prioritization of improvement opportunities and subsequent creation of executional plans of these opportunities during a transformation study for a mining client

Currently fully involved in the MineLens Solution proposing to mining companies a set of operational benchmarking products and services.

Dr Patrick Foster is the Director of Education and Associate Professor in Mine Safety at the Camborne School of Mines where he lectures and undertakes research into the health, safety and working environment aspects of mining and quarrying. His particular research interests are in safety management systems, human factors, risk management, surveying and underground communications.

He graduated in Mining Engineering from the University of Nottingham and continued there to undertake a PhD looking into safety risk assessment in the mining industry supported by British Coal. He then joined International Mining Consultants Ltd as a Mine Safety Consultant where he was involved in health & safety management system audits, risk assessment training and research in the UK, India and South Africa.

 

Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO

Phillips S. Baker, Jr., a director since 2001, has been our Chief Executive Officer since May 2003 and has served as our President since November 2001. He served as Hecla’s Chief Financial Officer from May 2001 to June 2003; Chief Operating Officer from November 2001 to May 2003; and Vice President from May 2001 to November 2001. He has also served as a Director of QEP Resources, Inc. (a leading independent natural gas and oil exploration and production company), since May 2010, as well as serving as a Director for Questar Corporation (a Western U.S. natural gas-focused exploration and production, interstate pipeline and local distribution company) from February 2004 through June 2010.

One of Australia’s leading metallurgists and an authority on graphite project development, Mr Hearse is an engineer with more than 40 years’ experience in diverse and challenging projects around the world. His extensive career has taken him from operational and technical roles at Broken Hill, Bougainville Copper, Queensland Nickel (QNI) and Gove Alumina to senior executive and managerial positions in engineering and operating companies. Mr Hearse is currently Chairman of the Australian publicly listed graphite explorer BlackEarth Minerals NL which is developing the Maniry graphite project in Madagascar. His private company, BatteryLimits, is a key international process engineering company currently undertaking graphite study and project development work for ASX and AIM listed companies in Tanzania, Madegascar and Australia. Mr Hearse specialises in the challenging space, where engineering technology meets resource economics, for a range of commodities including gold, base metals, rare earths and graphite.

Phillips S. Baker, Jr., a director since 2001, has been our Chief Executive Officer since May 2003 and has served as our President since November 2001. He served as Hecla’s Chief Financial Officer from May 2001 to June 2003; Chief Operating Officer from November 2001 to May 2003; and Vice President from May 2001 to November 2001. He has also served as a Director of QEP Resources, Inc. (a leading independent natural gas and oil exploration and production company), since May 2010, as well as serving as a Director for Questar Corporation (a Western U.S. natural gas-focused exploration and production, interstate pipeline and local distribution company) from February 2004 through June 2010.

Raffi is an experienced Innovation Project Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the mining & metals industry. Skilled in Digital Transformation, Digital Strategy, Negotiation, Budgeting, and Operations Management.

Dr Rob Hough is the Science Director for CSIRO Mineral Resources based in Australia. The research entity has over 270 researchers, across a range of disciplines, working to support the minerals exploration and mining industry. The Discovery program alone is working with juniors, mid-tiers and major mining companies as well as in the commercialisation of technology with the METS sector. He is a geologist with over 20 years’ experience in research with industry and a passionate advocate for innovation that can support industry to explore for our future mines. He is also the lead for Minerals engagement with the large Data Science capability in CSIRO called Data61, providing for new data science driven technologies and approaches to support the minerals industry.

 

After graduating in Metallurgy & Materials Science from the
University of Wales in 1982, I worked for 5 years as a research
scientist in a corrosion section. I then turned to the industrial
insurance market & have in the last 30 years worked for Factory
Mutual, Commercial Union, Wellington 2020 Syndicate at Lloyds, as
a consultant, as Engineer Construction & Mining at Chubb
Technical Risks in London and and now work again as a
consultant, Bacon Risk Engineering.
My work takes me all over the world looking at a wide variety of
construction and mining projects providing practical advise to clients
to reduce their property and business interruption risk profile to
support the underwriting of these risks in the London market.
I am a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Institute of Fire Engineers and Fellow of the Institute of
Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3) and joined the MinSouth Council in 2011 becoming
President in the 2015/16 year & then joined the MTD board in 2014.

Rob Mueller is a senior technologist for Advanced Products Development in the Exploration Research and Technology Programs Directorate at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He is the co-founder of the NASA Swamp Works innovation labs and the Kennedy Granular Mechanics & Regolith Operations (GMRO) Lab. He is also Kennedy’s lead for Autonomous-Robotic Systems involved with In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU).

Mueller is a former chairman of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Committee for Regolith Operations, Mobility and Robotics, and former chairman of the ASCE Aerospace Division Executive Committee. He is a member of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Space Resources Technical Committee. In 2010, Rob Mueller was the co-founder of the annual NASA Robotic Mining Competition for Universities and continues as the head judge for this competition to this day.

Technical expertise includes robotics, mechanical systems design, composite materials, in-situ resource utilization (ISRU), planetary outpost construction, surface and ground operations, conceptual systems design and mission architecture design. He has worked on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, X-33, Atlas V, Orbital Space Plane, Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicles, Mars Exploration Studies and Lunar Exploration programs. More recently, Mueller has been leading the development of technologies required for planetary surface systems, including developing the specifics of lunar, asteroid and Mars regolith excavation, mining and other robotic surface support equipment.

Rob Mueller has worked for NASA at Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was awarded a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the University of Miami in 1988 and a Master (MSSE) of International Space Systems Engineering from the Technical University of Delft in the Netherlands in 2006, as well as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Florida Institute of Technology in 1994. Mueller has 28 years of engineering and management experience in the space industry and has been the recipient of numerous NASA awards, including the astronaut’s personal achievement “Silver Snoopy” award, a NASA Silver Achievement Medal and the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal. He has been awarded four U.S. patents for new technology inventions.

Stephen is currently the CEO and Director of Orefinders Resources Inc. and Power Ore Inc.. With over fifteen years of experience in finance and in the mining and metal industries, his interests lie in acquiring and developing natural resource assets. Previously he has held roles with RTO Capital and OMERS Pension Plan where he focused on acquisitions and asset management. He also the Chairman of the Young Mining Professionals not for profit group and lectures at the University of Toronto’s Lassonde Institute of Mining.

Stephen holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Ontario, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and a Master of Science from the University of Florida.

Thomas Gaisecker finished his studies with master degree in geography with focus on geoinformatics at the University of Salzburg. From 1995 to 2003 he was CEO of ICRA and from 2000 to 2003 also partner of NextGIS.

Since 2003 he is with RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems, now as Senior Manager International Sales (responsible for sales, training and support working with RIEGL distribution partners worldwide) and as Mining & Monitoring Business Division Manager.

He is an expert for Terrestrial Laser Scanning / UAS-based laser scanning and applications in mining.

With over 35 years of experience, Thomas has become a worldwide expert in geometallurgy. He has a Master of Science degree in mineralogy and is a Doctor of Science in geology. Thomas joined ERAMET Research in 2009 after 25 years in South Africa where he worked in various fields related to mining and metallurgy. He contributed to the development of automated mineralogy (Qemscan software) to model potential improvements of physical beneficiation. Thomas has specific expertise in heavy minerals, precious metals, iron and Pb/Zn/Cu ores.