keynote speakers

Anna Littleboy

The keynote lecture "Why mine closure should not be considered just an environmental issue" will be presented by Prof. Anna Littleboy, of the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformations in Mining Economies, Australia.

Anna is an experienced research director, specialising in resource sustainability and multidisciplinary integration. Her program develops systems and processes to share value from resource endowment through new business models, technological and environmental innovation and enhanced social performance from the minerals sector.

Anna works towards a minerals sector that uses less energy and water, produces fewer wastes and delivers shared value to communities.

With a background in earth and environmental science, her focus is on multidisciplinary integration to address the long term risks of disruptive technologies.

Anna has secured several multi-million dollar funding investments from Government and industry for minerals related research. She has worked on influential initiatives at the interface where science informs policy for a globally connected world and is experienced at working directly with industry, State and Federal Governments and International Institutions to mitigate environmental impact from the resources sector and develop trusting relationships between mining operations and their communities.

Luis Marcelo Tavares

The keynote lecture "A Life Cycle-Based, Sustainability-Driven Innovation Approach in the Minerals Industry" will be presented by Prof. Luis Marcelo Tavares, of the University of Rio de Janeiro.

Luis leads the group on mineral processing at the University of Rio de Janeiro and is head of the Laboratory of Mineral Processing.

His research is focused on modelling and simulation of comminution and mineral concentration processes, fundamentals of particle breakage as well as sustainability in the minerals industry.

He has developed mathematical models of comminution and separation devices that are available in several mineral processing plant simulators, as well as a breakage model that is now available in the two leading Discrete Element Method packages.

He also has been recently involved in the topics of sustainability and life cycle assessment in the minerals industry. He has delivered keynote/invited lectures in events in more than 15 countries and is a founding member of the Global Comminution Collaborative (GCC).

Anita Parbhakar-Fox

The keynote lecture "The war on waste: How could the mining industry respond?" will be presented by Dr. Anita Parbhakar-Fox, of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Anita recently joined the W.H. Bryan Research Centre part of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland as a Senior Research Fellow in Geometallurgy and Applied Geochemistry.

Her research is focussed on mine waste characterisation to facilitate environmental conscientious mine planning and improved waste management practices. She has developed new tests and protocols in this area, particularly for acid rock drainage (ARD) prediction.

She is also involved in identifying remediation options for legacy/ historical mine sites working with state government and mining industry partners. Most recently, she has been characterising a range of mine waste materials to re-evaluate their economic potential, as well as blending different waste streams and examining if this can reduce long-term environmental risks.

Anita is committed to improving mine closure practices and in 2018 became a member of the Victorian Government’s Technical Review Board for Mine Rehabilitation.

keynote speakers

MEI Conferences