Professor Rick Valenta

Professor Rick Valenta is Director of The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and the UQ lead for the Resources Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer. He has been with the Sustainable Minerals Institute for 8 years, following a 25 year career in the mining industry. Rick has held leadership roles in major research initiatives across Queensland’s Northwest Mineral Province, including the Strategic Resources Exploration Program, New Economy Minerals Initiative, and the Alliance for Critical Minerals and Circular Economy. He originated the Queensland Deposit Atlas program and co-founded a project that is developing a 3D Digital Twin of the state. Rick leads geoscience and exploration efforts that have supported new discoveries and regional development, and is co-leading a project scoping the possibility of establishing a Rare Earth and Critical Mineral Research Centre in Mount Isa to help drive economic prosperity in the region through innovative support of strategic and critical mineral development project

Initially training as a geologist, Rick worked for a short time in Petroleum exploration in Western Canada before coming to Australia to complete a PhD. He lectured for 5 years at Monash University before moving to industry where he held several senior roles including Chief Geologist, Chief Operating Officer, and multiple CEO roles. Companies and exploration teams under his direction have been involved in a significant number of mineral discoveries of copper, uranium and gold, as well as several transformative company transactions. In his career, Rick has held senior executive roles in teams which have raised over $150m in venture capital investment, leading to the creation of over $2b in shareholder value.

Rick is a Fellow of the AusIMM, a practising member of the Association of Professional Geologists of Ontario (APGO), a member of the Geological Society of Australia, the Society of Economic Geologists, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He is also the Chair of the Research Committee of the Queensland Exploration Council.