Event Archive
Past Events & Recordings
Revisit Our Past Talks
Catch up on what you missed. Browse a record of MinSouth’s past talks and site visits, or watch recordings of recent presentations below.
Past Events
MinSouth has been hosting talks, site visits, and technical meetings for the region’s mining and minerals community for decades. For a full, up-to-date archive of previous events, visit our events calendar.
Recordings
A selection of recent talks and presentations, recorded for those who couldn’t attend.
Women in Mining UK & MinSouth Fireside Chat
9th April 2026
Dr Sarah Gordon (Women in Mining UK; Founder, Satarla) and Dr Frances Wall (Professor of Applied Mineralogy, Camborne School of Mines) in a special joint hybrid fireside discussion.
Towards Zero Waste Mining: Optimising Ore-sand By-products in Copper Processing Circuits
12th March 2026
The winner of YPLC 26: Bioantika, Camborne School of Mines. We face two major environmental crises: the destructive extraction of natural sand and the massive buildup of hazardous mine waste (tailings) driven by the energy transition. “Ore-sand” offers a single solution to both.
The Application of Zircon Geochemistry on the Hishikari Low-sulphidation Epithermal Deposit, Japan
12th March 2026
YPLC 26: Thurston Blount, Imperial College London. Using new zircon dating and trace element data, the talk demonstrates how direct magmatic contributions—specifically shifts in magma temperature and oxidation—play a crucial role in gold mineralisation and metal fertility.
Implementing an Innovative Approach to Tailings Dewatering
8th January 2026
Phil Newman (Anglo American), Mark Bruton (KCB) and James Purrington (WSP) on how tighter scrutiny, water stewardship and closure planning are driving tailings innovation. Covers Anglo American’s six years of work on hydraulic dewatered stacking, from laboratory to a 250,000 ton field trial.
Mining and Mineral Exploration in Oman
10th December 2025
Brian Spratley (CEO, Knights Bay Minerals) updates the Oman nickel-laterite project (Concession 21) as it moves from exploration towards development. Covers the geology, geometallurgy and a planned low-carbon alternative to HPAL, plus the support being sought to reach a production decision.
The Klondike Gold Rush (1896 to 1899)
19th November 2025
Matt Cook CGeol (Mott MacDonald) gives a ‘potted history’ of North America’s last great gold rush, a bridge between old traditions and the age of electricity. Covers the Yukon’s geology, the mining methods used, and why the region still draws prospectors.
A Brief History of Lithium: From the Big Bang to Gigafactories
8th May 2025
Roland Chavasse (Secretary General, International Lithium Association) traces the geological, industrial and market history of lithium, from the Big Bang to today’s gigafactories.
Redefining the World of Mining Exploration: Crafting Blueprints for Change
10th April 2025
A joint Women in Mining UK fireside chat between Alex Buck (Endeavour Mining; former MD, Women in Mining UK) and Sonia Scarselli (Executive Vice President Exploration, Endeavour Mining) on strategies for sustained growth in exploration.
Integrating Prospectivity: Advanced Exploration Strategies
9th January 2025
Niall Tomlinson (Principal Geologist, SRK Exploration) explains how machine learning can make mineral discovery more efficient and cheaper, and walks through the methodology.
Membership & Chartership Evening: Explaining the Process
12th December 2024
Paul Skerry, IOM3 Director of Membership, explains the routes to membership of IOM3 in a virtual meeting.
CRIRSCO Codes and the UNFC: Do We Need Separate Codes for Minerals Reporting by Governments and Industry?
13th June 2024
Prestige Lecture by Ed Sides (Chairperson, PERC) on the strengths and weaknesses of two minerals reporting systems and the updated 2024 Bridging Document that links them.
The Beauty of Interconnected Natural Resource Ecosystems
9th May 2024
A joint Women in Mining UK lecture. Dr Sarah Gordon (CEO, Satarla) looks at what changes when an ecosystem is considered as a whole, including the people in it.
The Past, Present and Future of Kaolin Exploitation in Cornwall
14th December 2023
Bill Cooper (exploration and resource geologist, Imerys Minerals) on the history and future of kaolin extraction in Cornwall.
The Advancement of UK’s REE Self-sustenance
8th June 2023
Prestige Lecture by Paul Atherley, chairman of Pensana, which is developing one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits and plans a separation facility at Saltend Chemical Park.
Indigenous Women in the Mining Industry: From Challenges to Opportunities
18th May 2023
A joint Women in Mining UK panel of Indigenous women leaders on the challenges they still face in mining and the opportunities ahead, moderated by Dr Stacy Hope (WIM UK).
Sourcing Critical Metals Te, Bi and W as By-products from Björkdal Gold Mine, Sweden
9th March 2023
Winner of YPLC 2023. Lara Tritton (University of Leicester) shows how low-cost Deep Eutectic Solvents could recover critical metals from gold mining waste without opening new mines.
Iron Oxide Impurities in Ore Concentrates from the Moma Titanium Mine, Mozambique
9th March 2023
Joint second place, YPLC 2023. Marek Zastapilo (Imperial College) traces the source of iron oxide impurities in ilmenite concentrates and proposes an improved separation method.
Tailings Storage Dam Break Assessment: Triple Cascade Failure
9th March 2023
Joint second place, YPLC 2023. Oscar Ryans (WSP) models how one tailings breach could trigger two more downstream.
Worker Health Considerations in Rare Earth Element (REE) Mining
12th January 2023
Courtney Gendron (Senior Occupational Hygienist, WSP Golder, Canada) on occupational hygiene and risk assessment in rare earth mining.
Trends and Best Practices in ESG in Mining
10th November 2022
Katie Fedosenko (Director, ESG Engagement, Teck Resources) on ESG trends and practice in mining, in a virtual lecture.
Application of Micro Reactors in Mining Operations
18th October 2022
Ken Darlington (Vice-President of Business Development, Ultra Safe Nuclear Corporation) introduces micro nuclear reactors as clean power for mines.
Lithium in Cornwall: The Foundation for a Responsible UK Battery Supply Chain
9th June 2022
Prestige Lecture by Lucy Crane (ESG and Sustainability Manager, Cornish Lithium), the first woman to give one, who won a MinSouth grant as a student at Camborne School of Mines.
Microbial-based Technologies for Extraction and Recovery of Metals from Mine Wastes
19th May 2022
A joint Women in Mining UK meeting. Dr Ana Santos (Research Fellow in Geomicrobiology, Natural History Museum) presents bioleaching and bioremediation strategies for mine waste.
Fibre Optic Monitoring of Tailings Dams
27th April 2022
Snap meeting. Glynn Williams (CEO, Silixa) introduces fibre optic monitoring of tailings dams, a technology that grew out of the oil industry.
Past, Present and Future of the Milldam Mine
14th April 2022
Peter Robinson (Chairman, British Fluorspar) on running the Milldam fluorspar operation sustainably within a UK National Park.
Crash Course to LCA in Mining
22nd March 2022
Snap meeting. Dr Robert Pell (Founder and CEO, Minviro) explains how life cycle assessment helps mining companies spot environmental impacts and improvements early in a project.
Reducing the Risk of Legacy Tailings Facilities
10th March 2022
Heat winner, YPLC 2022. Martha Needs sets out the key hazards of legacy tailings facilities and a remediation framework for closure, tested on a Central Asian case study.
How Does Lithium Mining Contribute to Domestic Water Shortages in Northern Chile?
10th March 2022
YPLC 2022 heat. Menvir Dhillon examines the effect of lithium brine extraction on groundwater and communities in the Atacama Desert, with a projection to 2040.
Increasing Demand for Minerals and Metals for the Green Energy Transition: A Wicked Problem?
10th March 2022
YPLC 2022 heat. John Morley asks how the minerals the green transition needs, from battery metals to concrete aggregates, can be supplied sustainably.
Backfill Design: Engineering Waste for Sustainable Mining
10th March 2022
YPLC 2022 heat. David Coulton shows how well-designed backfill can cut surface waste storage and cement use while improving a mine’s resource.
Present Day Opportunities and the Future of Mining in Afghanistan
10th February 2022
Online lecture by Ismail Amin, former leader of the Mineral and Energy sector portfolio at the Afghanistan President’s Office.
Mining Our Way Towards a Green Future
13th January 2022
Professor Richard Herrington (Head of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum) asks what a circular economy will look like and how it will affect the extractive industries.
Diversity in Mining: An Indigenous Female’s Perspective
23rd November 2021
A snap meeting arranged with Women in Mining UK. Kari Lentowicz (Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, Saskatchewan) draws on 20 years in the industry.
Welsh Gold and the Sarn Helen Gold Exploration Company
14th October 2021
Mike Armitage covers the history of gold mining in Wales and the company he is using to explore for gold there.
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Vision for Safety in Operations
13th July 2021
Snap meeting. Joe Carr (Mining Innovation Director, Axora) on how AI can improve mine maintenance and safety.
Powerful Mini Mining Tools
22nd June 2021
Snap meeting. Gareth Thomas (MD, Metal Innovations) introduces compact mining tools that have raised coal mine production and can follow veins, leaving waste underground.
Tin: The Essential Technology Metal
10th June 2021
Prestige Lecture by Owen Mihalop (Chief Operating Officer, Cornish Metals) on tin’s uses and market and the new mines coming on stream, including South Crofty.
Blockchain Technology in Mining
13th May 2021
A joint Women in Mining UK talk by Tanya Matveeva on what blockchain is and where it already works for mining stakeholders.
Challenging the Orthodoxy of Traditional InSAR Ground Motion Surveys
27th April 2021
Snap meeting. Dr Andrew Sowter (Chief Technical Officer, Terra Motion) shows how new satellite InSAR methods can monitor ground motion over rural and vegetated terrain.
Cononish Mine Update: Scotland’s First Commercial Gold Mine
8th April 2021
Richard Gray (Non-Executive Director, Scotgold Resources) returns after seven years with an online update on Scotland’s first commercial gold mine.
All the World in a Grain of Sand? Geochemical Surveying by Unmixing of Large-River Sediments
11th March 2021
MinSouth heat winner, YPLC 2021. Alex Lipp (Royal School of Mines) shows how samples from large rivers can be unmixed to map the geochemistry of their source region.
The Tin Bearing Pegmatites of Uis, Namibia
11th March 2021
YPLC 2021 heat. Finlay Goodwin (Camborne School of Mines) proposes that the Uis pegmatite swarms evolved from a single granitic parent magma.
Exploration for LCT Pegmatites in Leinster, Ireland
11th March 2021
YPLC 2021 heat. Alexander Moss (Camborne School of Mines) builds a fuzzy logic model of lithium prospectivity along the Leinster Granite.
Greener Mining: Is It Achievable and How?
23rd February 2021
Snap meeting. Tim Patterson (CEO, Fuel Economy Solution) outlines routes to greener mining.
Modifying Your Modifying Factors with the Use of Sensors
12th November 2020
Part of a virtual Sensors and Mining meeting. Andrew Bamber (BARA Consulting) reviews sensor types and cases where sensors avoided ore dilution or loss.
Low-carbon, Low-cost, Low-risk, High Value-adding Technology for Mineral Exploration
12th November 2020
Part of the same meeting. Gordon Stove (Adrok) presents a low-carbon, low-cost, low-risk approach to mineral exploration.
Intelligent Robotic Mining Systems
8th October 2020
Dr Steve Henley presents results of underwater robot trials at Ecton Mine for the EU-funded UNEXMIN project, and the follow-on UNEXUP and Robominers projects.
The Relevance of Mining in a Climate Change World
11th June 2020
Virtual Prestige Lecture by Neil Kermode (Managing Director, European Marine Energy Centre) on harvesting energy and mining materials, chaired by Sue Struthers, then MinSouth President.
Dry Mineral Processing for the Moon and Earth
13th May 2020
A joint Women in Mining UK meeting. Kathryn Hadler, a minerals processing engineer at Imperial College, on dry mineral processing.
2019 Exploration Forum
14th November 2019
Antony Benham (SRK Exploration) updates the geology and prospects of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, and Simon Large (Natural History Museum) presents the FAMOS project and the Los Bronces porphyry copper district in Chile.
Feasibility and Review: Lessons Learnt
14th October 2019
Pat Willis (BARA Consulting) shares lessons from a decade of studies and reviews, in a deliberately light-hearted talk.
Monitoring of Tailings Facilities and Discussion
9th September 2019
Philip Shaw (SureWave Technology) presents new tailings dam monitoring technology, followed by a panel with Hans Otto (Golder Associates) and Brett Garland (Knight Piésold).
International Reporting of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves
June 2019
A talk on how mineral resources and mineral reserves are reported internationally.
A History of MinSouth, and Impact Assessment and Feasibility Studies: Amalgamate or Separate?
13th May 2019
A joint Women in Mining UK event marking 150 years since the Iron and Steel Institute, IOM3’s earliest predecessor. Council member Gavin Bowyer gives a brief history of MinSouth, followed by Fiona Cessford (SRK Consulting).
150 Years of Steel
8th April 2019
Roger Emmott, a recent MinSouth past president and consultant to the iron and steel industry, looks back over 150 years of steel.
Risk-based Maintenance of Mining Equipment
7th March 2019
MinSouth heat winner, YPLC 2019. Sidharth Talan (Imperial College).
The Operational Running of a Remote Junior Open Pit Gold Mining Operation
7th March 2019
YPLC 2019 MinSouth heat. Luc Phillips (Camborne School of Mines).
Mining on the Moon: The Future of Space Exploration
7th March 2019
YPLC 2019 MinSouth heat. Joshua Rasera (Imperial College).
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