Sabina Strmic Palinkas received her PhD (2009) degrees from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. In 2013, she moved to the University of Auckland, New Zealand, for a two-year research fellowship, studying ore-forming processes in low-sulfidation epithermal gold systems. Since 2015, she has been affiliated with UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø as an associate professor in ore deposit geology and geochemistry. In 2019, she joined K.G. Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research at University of Bergen, Norway, where she holds an adjunct position in ore geology.

Her principal area of research is geochemistry of hydrothermal ore deposits, including mineral chemistry, fluid inclusion studies, stable isotope geochemistry, and thermodynamic modelling. During the past 20 years, she has been involved in studies of a wide spectrum of ore deposits, including epithermal, Carlin-type, hydrothermal-metasomatic, skarn, SEDEX, MVT and pegmatite deposits, as well as in several environmental studies. Recently she is mostly working on submarine hydrothermal systems along the Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridges and volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, orogenic gold deposits and sediment hosted Cu deposits in Norway.

Tobias E. Bauer is Associate Professor in Ore Geology at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. His research includes structural controls on ore deposits and the regional structural and tectonic evolution of mineralized belts. In addition, he is active in the field of 3-D and 4-D modeling applied to mineral belts, mineral deposits, and related structures.

He received a M.Sc. degree in geology from Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, in 2008 and a Ph.D. degree in ore geology from Luleå University of Technology, Sweden, in 2013.

Jani Lösönen joined Agnico Eagle as Vice-President, Europe, and Managing Director of Agnico Eagle Finland Oy, which is a subsidiary of Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, in May 2017. He worked previously as the CEO of Ekokem. He graduated from the Lappeenranta University of Technology with a Master’s degree in industrial engineering and management, and he has also held several senior management positions at Kemira.

Elsi Malkki joined Agnico Eagle Finland in January 2021, where she is responsible for communications and community relations. Elsi holds a Master´s degree in education from the University of Lapland. Prior to the current position, she worked in the Lapland Chamber of Commerce as a Vice President. She has worked in several positions in the field of business services, regional development and development of the business environment.

Jason Tolland (BA Hons [Economics], Queen’s University, (1990); LLB, University of British Columbia, 1995) was called to the bar of British Columbia in 1996. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 1998 following work as a management consultant in the United Kingdom and as a labour and employment lawyer in British Columbia.

In Ottawa, he has worked principally in trade and economic law and policy. He has served as policy officer for culture and intellectual property trade policy and in the Government of Canada’s Trade Law Bureau as counsel, deputy director and, most recently, as executive director.

Overseas, he has served in Buenos Aires (second secretary, economic affairs), Washington, D.C., (counsellor, energy, environment and fisheries) and Berlin (minister-counsellor, commercial-economic).

Mark Rachovides is the President of Euromines, Chairman of Venus Minerals, A Director of GreenRoc Mining and  a Consultant to Dundee Precious Metals. He previously acted as a Consultant to Eldorado Gold and has held numerous board positions in Natural Resources Companies in companies active in Europe and elsewhere over the last twenty five years. He also spent 11 years at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD. and holds an MA from Oxford University.

Kimmo Collander has held the position of the Secretary General of the Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining since 2020. His professional background includes a 10-year career in the administration of European Parliament, and a Public Affairs entrepreneur. He holds three degrees in political science, agricultural development and business administration

M.Sc. Riikka Aaltonen has experience from Mining Authority both at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and at The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes).

Prior to that she has a background in mining industry in Finland and Sweden.

Randi Skirstad Grini holds a master of science in Engineering Geology and Rock Mechanics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, specialized in environmental geology.

She has been Director of DMF since 2013. Her main tasks and priorities has been implementation of the Minerals act of 2010, and the necessary reorganization and modernization of the agency. Digitalization and user orientated streamlining of application and reporting processes are major focus areas.

Prior to her position as Director of DMF she has broad experience from consulting, research and management.

Henrik Schiellerup is Director for Resources and Environment at the Geological Survey of Norway. He has a PhD from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and an MSc from the University of Aarhus in Denmark. His primary background is in igneous petrology and mineral resources. Since 2001 he has been working at the Geological Survey of Norway both as a researcher and in various managerial roles. He has been Division Director at the survey since 2019.

Mika Riipi is the County Governor of the Regional Council of Lapland. He started in this position on March 1, 2013. Previously he has been the Municipality Director in Posio (2006-2013), town secretary in Haapavesi (2004-2006), and senior adviser in the Municipality department at the Ministry of the Interior (2002-2004).

Mr. Riipi holds a Master´s degree in Administrative Sciences, majoring in municipality jurisdiction. He graduated from the University of Tampere in 2002. Mr. Riipi is the Chair of the FEM Steering committee.