Malik Nausherwan Ali Saggu is a third-year PhD student at the Centre for Advanced Materials and Industrial Chemistry (CAMIC), School of Science, RMIT University, Australia. His research focuses on the sustainable processing of nickel laterite ores. In collaboration with QPM Energy, he investigates hydrothermal iron removal in nitric acid–based metallurgical flowsheets to improve process efficiency and reduce waste. His work integrates advanced materials characterisation with reaction engineering to generate process-relevant insights, supporting the development of sustainable and industrially viable processing technologies for critical minerals processing.

Xuhui Zhu is a PhD candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne, supervised by Dr. Helena Wang in the Renewable Resources & Sustainability (R2S) group. She obtained her Master’s degree from Jiangsu Normal University in 2024, where she conducted research under the supervision of Prof. Shun Yang. Her current research focuses on the recycling and regeneration of cathode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries, including the application of deep eutectic solvents and rapid thermal processes.

George Franks is Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. His degrees are in Materials Science and Engineering (Bachelor MIT, 1985, PhD UCSB, 1997). His research includes minerals processing, ceramic powder processing and suspension rheology. His work in minerals processing relates to development and application of novel polymeric reagents in solid/liquid separation and froth flotation. His work in materials processing is related to processing of complex shaped ceramics with unique microstructures. He is co-Deputy Director of the ARC COE Minerals. He has 159 journal papers, 7 book chapters, four patents with 6690 citations and h-index = 47. https://chemical.eng.unimelb.edu.au/ceramics

Dr Wen Li is a Research Fellow in the Advanced Separations Group at University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on the recovery and purification of critical metals and bioactive compounds using advanced separation technologies, particularly solvent extraction. She received her Master’s degree in Materials Engineering from the University of British Columbia and completed her PhD at University of Melbourne, where she worked on pulse solvent extraction column design and modelling. Dr Li collaborates extensively with industry partners and worked on several ARC hubs and projects for developing industrial processes, process models and techno economic analysis and designing large scale reactors.

Jack Walsh is a PhD candidate at the University of Adelaide, where he is researching the recovery of ultrafine graphite for battery anode use. He has site experience at Sibanye Stillwater’s Century Operation and BHP Carrapateena. His area of interest is in critical mineral recovery, particulary in the energy- and cost-efficient recovery of textured ores.

Maksis Darzins is a post-graduate engineer with a passion for mechanical design and real-world problem solving. He has a desire to use his skills to create a positive social and environmental impact. He graduated from Monash University with a double degree in Mechanical Engineer and Industrial Design which provided him the skills to continue into the Industry Doctorate Program. His post-graduate work is within a research group investigating Direct Air Capture of Carbon Dioxide at pilot scale. Maksis believes that climate change can and will be mitigated through innovation, starting at pilot scale within research institutes around the world.