SMI HDR Conference Program 2026

The SMI Next Generation Student Conference 2026 offers a dynamic two-day program designed to showcase student research, promote knowledge exchange, and foster professional connections. The schedule features keynote addresses, technical sessions, poster presentations, and opportunities for networking with peers, academic mentors, and industry partners. Below is the detailed program for each day:

First day of the Program

Second day of the Program

Day 1

Time	Activity
08:00 – 09:00	Registration
09:00 – 09:15	Opening Remarks & Conference Overview
09:15 – 10:00	Keynote Speech Environmental Management and Rehabilitation Speaker: James Purtill
10:00 – 10:30	Morning Coffee Break
10:30 – 11:45	Technical Session 1: Environmental Management in Artisanal and Small-Scale Sand Mining: An Indonesian River Case Speaker: Hernandi Albeto Octaviano A Multivariate Geostatistical Framework for Environmental Risk Assessment in Mine Tailings Speaker: Collins Adoko Reduction and Immobilisation of Vanadium During Technosol Formation in Bauxite Residue Speaker: Sophie Rainbow From plots to Platforms: A Century of Soil Erosion Monitoring and the Future of Integrated Systems Speaker: Yasanga Suduweli Kondage
11:45 – 13:00	Lunch Break
13.00 – 13.45	Keynote Speech : Social Responsibility and Governance Speaker: Sandy Worden
13.45 – 15.00	Technical Session 2: Analysing tailings governance through a human rights lens. Speaker: Angelica Amanda da Silva Andrade Governing Coal Transitions: Exploring Justice and Institutional Dynamics Speaker: Shazia Imam Evaluating Mine Waste Impacts on Local Communities Using Publicly Available Data – An Ore-sand Case Study Speaker: Alliana Snead
15:00 - 15:30	Afternoon Coffee Break
15:30 - 16:00	Lessons from the journey from Academic to Industry, Business and Back Speaker: Nick Cook
16:00 - 17:00	Panel: From Thesis to Career: Lessons Learned Along the Way Panel: Pia Morales, Anna Skliar, Ziming Ye, Bob Boshrouyeh, Nurrasyl Battalgazy
17:00 - 18:00	Networking session

Day 2

Time	Activity
08:30 – 09:00	Registration
09:00 – 10.30	Panel: Research Commercialisation Speakers: Leigh Staines, Flavio Andre, Helen Smith
10.30 – 11.00	Morning Coffee Break
11.00 – 12.00	SMI 3 Minute Thesis competition
12:00 – 13.00	Lunch Break
13:00 - 13:45	Keynote Speech: “A Schrödinger’s World of Resources – What We Want and Need Can’t all Happen at the Same Time.” Speaker: David Lawie
13:45 - 14:15	Technical Session 3A: Maintaining the Mine: Linking Asset Productivity, ESG Outcomes, and Sustainable Mining Speaker: Girish, Hebbani Unlock the Secret of Pyrite: an Alternative Source for Critical Metals via Thermal Decomposition Speaker: Lexi Kng
14:15 - 14:45	Afternoon tea
14:45 - 15:30	Technical Session 3B: Hyperspectral Mapping of Alteration Zones in a Porphyry Copper System Using PRISMA Imagery Speaker: Maryam Esmaeili Effect of High Voltage Pulse Treatment on Mineral Speaker: Joy Maniaul Interfacial PropertiesElectrical Conductivity Measurement of Slags for Electric Smelting Ironmaking Speaker: Xuefan Zhou
15:30 - 16:00	Awarding and Closing Remarks