Conference programme

Lev is an experienced transactional lawyer with a specialisation in renewable energy projects, the broader energy transition and sectoral decarbonisation. Having worked in Ireland, the UK, Singapore and Australia, Lev has a broad range of experience in local and cross-jurisdictional clean energy development, M&A and financing transactions for both greenfield and brownfield projects. Lev has worked alongside project developers, IPPs, corporate offtakers, traditional financiers and institutional investors, advising them on bespoke transaction structuring, corporate, finance and project-level documentation and partnering with them throughout the project lifecycle from development or investment to financial close and beyond. Lev also has extensive experience in documenting and negotiating Corporate PPAs on both the generator and offtaker sides as well as in bespoke and ISDA formats. 

Ben is a supervising associate in the Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure team at Simmons and Simmons. Ben has broad corporate experience in M&A, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and private equity. The focus of Ben’s work is on the infrastructure and power sectors, particularly with regard to renewables where he has advised on the likes of acquisitions of large scale wind farms in the UK and internationally. Ben also has experience in the mining sector, advising on acquisitions and disposals of mining companies and investments.

Elena Haykin Sapozhnikova is a partner of Digital Horizon Investment Group, Independent Director of Inter RAO, active speaker and participant in discussions on the development of the investment climate in Russia, ESG’s international practices, current investment and private capital management strategies. A leader and expert in the venture capital and private equity investment industry.

Elena has 20+ years of working in the largest Russian and Western investment and consulting companies. Since 2016, she has been investing in technology startups in Europe, the United States and Russia.

An Engineer by training, I have spent the last 15 years applying my technical skills and curiosity to model, optimise and evaluate large projects. From the inception and early funding stages all the way through the start-up of new facilities, I have hands-on experience of the technical, regulatory, market, and external factors that impact the long-term viability of multi-million investments in the natural resources industry. Currently, I am using my expertise at EBRD to help decarbonise this industry.

Mr. Rob Simmons is a Head-Corporate Development at Ferrexpo Plc.

Mr. Simmons was previously employed as a Head-Business Development & Investor Relations by Avocet Mining Plc.

He received his graduate degree from the University of Oxford.

At Severstal since 2010. For 5 years was running the IR function at Severstal before promotion to the role of the Head of the communications and IR department in January 2016, once all three communications departments were united in one. Prior to Severstal for four years was IR & PR Director at Mint Capital, a Scandinavian private equity fund in Moscow. From 2003 to 2006, held the position of Deputy Head of the Communications Department at Mechel, an NYSE-listed Russian mining company, were focused on both IR and PR. From 2001 to 2003, was head of the PR Department at Business League, a leading Russian PR agency at the time, working mostly with international clients. Graduate of the Moscow Linguistic University and the Russian Finance Academy. In 2013, completed the Strategic Investment Management program at the London Business School. Holds a CIR certificate from the UK IR Society since 2015. Member of the Moscow Stock Exchange’s Committee of Issuers. Fluent in English and Portuguese. Severstal is a multiple winner of the international IR Magazine Awards.

Daria Grigoreva is Director of Sustainable Development at Polyus, the largest gold producer in Russia and a top five global gold major. Daria is responsible for driving sustainability progress at the company through setting progressive goals, launching sustainability projects and managing ESG sustainability reporting and disclosure. Her work covers sustainability risks, environment, climate change, health and safety, community development, human rights and stakeholder relations, as well as incorporating international standards and improving management processes at the business.

Daria has 17 years of experience in sustainability roles in Russia, Kazakhstan, Burkina Faso and Guinea, and has worked in the mining industry for the last 8 years. Prior to joining Polyus in 2016, Daria worked at Nordgold, where she was in charge of internal communications, community relations and social investments. Before this, she worked at Holcim and the All-Russian Energy Company, supervising social investment programmes and sustainability reporting. She also has experience working at non-profit organisations, such as NGOs tackling gender issues and problems in urban areas. She graduated from Moscow State University and has an MSc in Cultural Management from Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen. Daria also holds a PhD in Philosophy from the Russian Academy of Science. In 2020, she completed the Sustainable Business Strategy course at Harvard Business School.

BSc, MSc MAusIMM, MAIG

A Competent Person (CP) according to JORC code (2012) to produce Independent Reports (CPR, MRE, PEA) and Valuations of mineral resources for Au, Fe, Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn

Founded SMG in 2017

35 years experience as a geologist in the international mining industry, including 25 years in Central Asia & Western China.

Extensive corporate experience at consultancy and management on a board level from start-up to IPO’s on AIM, HK & TSX, to exploration and production, from negotiating Purchasing Agreements to JV’s, with a detailed understanding of the legal framework in various countries for exploration and mining and managing country risk etc.

Strong leadership qualities, reflected in success in various countries.

Strong record on environment and health and safety in the workplace.

Antony is a Principal Exploration Geologist with SRK ES with more than 23 years of experience as a professional geologist including more than 16 years in the minerals and mining industry.

He has wide ranging experience in the management and implementation of geological survey and mineral exploration technical assistance programmes, commissioned assignments, and training and technology transfer projects. He has extensive experience on government-funded projects in the UK as well as in overseas locations including Afghanistan, Republic of the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and UAE. He has also worked for private clients on commissioned projects throughout the world including in Kazakhstan, Russia, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Armenia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone.

In recent years, Antony has led major development aid-funded and national government-funded work in central Asia and east Africa, in particular Afghanistan and Sudan. In Afghanistan, Antony was the Project Manager for 3 projects building capacity at the Afghanistan Geological Survey and Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.

Antony previously worked as an Exploration and Mining Geologist in South Africa where he worked on a variety of gold mines on the West Witwatersrand before moving to precious metal exploration in the Bushveld Complex.

He has a particular interest in PGE mineralisation and data driven prospectivity analysis.

Tengiz Bolturuk serves as Temporary External Manager of the Kumtor Gold Company CJSC. Licenced Canadian professional engineer. He has over 30 years of experience in engineering and operations in the mining industry, with worldwide experience including in Canada, USA, Kazakhstan, Australia, and South Africa. Strong technical knowledge due to mineral processing and hydrometallurgy background and experience with a wide variety of projects ranging from $ US 140 Mln. to $US 4 Bln. Mr. Bolturuk received degrees in mineral processing and metallurgy from the National University of Science and Technology (ex-MISIS) in Moscow, Russia, and from the Clausthal University of Technology in Germany, respectively. He is a member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Excellent knowledge of International and Former Soviet Union countries mining & environment standards and legislations, mentality and tradition of FSU nationalities and local business culture.

Iain is the head of our Energy, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Group in the UK. He acts for Investment Funds and Corporates and is a leading practitioner in relation to mining & metals and power transactions.

He advises on M&A, projects, joint ventures and finance matters (including prepays, streams and royalties). Clients note “he is very focused, experienced and practical and has a very collaborative approach” (Chambers 2020), “I have great faith in his advice and judgement” (Chambers 2019), he is “diligent and experienced and a lawyer who listens well and understands” (Chambers 2017) and “really driven, works night and day on deals and is great on the documents” (Chambers 2016).

Iain spent six months on secondment at an Energy/Resources major.

He regularly speaks at international conferences in the Energy and Natural Resources sectors and sits on the Council of the London-based Society for the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Recent deals include advising: Orion Resource Partners on its joint venture with Fusion Capital, on the acquisition and financing of the SASA lead and zinc mine in Macedonia and its subsequent sale (by way of reverse takeover) to Central Asia Metals; and Mainstream Renewable Power on its pan-African and Chilean joint ventures with numerous funds including IFC, Rockefeller Brothers and Actis.

David has twenty-seven years’ experience of working on environmental and social issues in the extractives sector in Central Asia. He works with inward investors and local SMEs in developing and implementing environmental and social risk management frameworks that aim at international best practice. A hydrogeologist by background, he works across a range of EHS risks.

Jamie Strauss is the founder and CEO of Digbee, a data and research platform for the mining industry.  Having raised over a $1bn for development stage mining companies over the last 20 years, he wanted to find a solution to the complex and longwinded economic studies that contain the capability to mitigate risk but are so often misunderstood or worse, misused. The demand for quality, independent analysis of technical considerations is rapidly increasing with the dominance of private equity and strategic investors, Digbee provides the only efficient and cost effective solution for the industry.

Jamie is also a Non Executive Director of Altius Minerals, Bacanora Lithium and Gold Standard Ventures. He is also a trustee of The Julian Baring Scholarship which has funded, alongside its co-funding partners, over 100 scholarships to deserving students wanting to study mining related degrees at Southern African Universities.

Dmitry joined VEB.RF in 2019 and is leading VEB.RF’s efforts in developing ESG banking in Russia within the Business Unit. Prior to joining VEB.RF, he was working as an investment banker, focused on working with private equity funds and technology clients, with UBS in New York and with Deutsche Bank in London and Moscow. Dmitry graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Higher School of Economics, Masters's from University of Oxford and MBA from Yale University.

Kay Hope is a director and corporate credit analyst, focusing on corporates mainly in Russia, the CIS, Sub-Saharan Africa and Israel. She leads the BofA Global Research efforts on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues across global fixed income. She is also a corporate credit analyst focusing on corporates mainly in Russia, the CIS, Sub-Saharan Africa and Israel. Her team was ranked #1 in EEMEA Corporate Debt in the 2016-2019 Institutional Investor Research Team surveys, she was ranked #1 individually in the 2020 survey. Prior to joining the firm in 2010, Hope held emerging markets roles at Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse First Boston. She also spent several years at McKinsey & Company in Moscow, and a year in Almaty, Kazakhstan, working for an international aid organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Slavic literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, a master’s degree in Soviet foreign policy from Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. She is based in London.

Katya Gorbatiouk works at the London Stock Exchange in Primary Capital Markets, leading the coverage of Russia, CIS and Central Asia. She is also Chair of the Board Effectiveness & Stakeholder Governance working group at the Institute of Directors’ recently launched Centre for Corporate Governance. Katya has co-authored an IoD publication on best practices of enacting a stakeholder-centric approach by corporate boards.

Katya serves on its judging panel for the Investor Relations Society 2021 Best Practice Awards in ESG Communications. She is a regular speaker on stakeholder governance, crisis governance, corporate social responsibility, green finance and green tech and other topics related to sustainability and emerging markets. Over 2020-21 she spoke at events by the Institute of Directors, COP-26 Cryosphere Pavilion, London Stock Exchange, Barclays, Natural Resources Forum, Washington DC-based Global Leaders Program, World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative, and Russo-British Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to joining London Stock Exchange, Katya led a Eurasia joint venture for a Green Economy Mark issuer, Plexus Holdings Plc, that is championing environmentally sustainable technologies in the oil and gas industry. She continues to serve as Strategic Adviser to Plexus. Her early career includes 14 years in investment banking at Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse and Barclays, in New York and London.

Katya has been a long-standing member of advisory boards of organisations with high social impact, such as the Global Leaders Program (Washington DC), London Music Fund, London Symphony Orchestra, and others.

Dr. Yulia Cherepanova has 10+ years of experience in international mining consulting, project management and scientific research. She holds a PhD in Geoscience from the Copenhagen University, Department of Geoscience and Natural Resources Management, CFA ESG investment certificate and has substantial knowledge in sustainable development requirements, ESG reporting and ratings.

Tanya started her career as a keen young geologist, roaming the mosquito-infested forests on Kola peninsula in Russia exploring for nickel, and snow-covered steppes of Northern Kazakhstan, in search for gold. 5 years with BHP Exploration working in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Australia. Then followed 11 years in Canada, working on diamond and gold exploration in Nunavut, base metals in British Columbia, and uranium, coal, and shale gas in Alberta. After moving to the Netherlands Tanya worked in Africa, evaluating opportunities for rutile in Cameron, tin in Rwanda, bauxite in Guinea and iron ore in Tasmania. Until 2019 Tanya worked for Behre Dolbear Minerals Industry Advisors based in Kent, UK. Working with large datasets taught her respect for good data management, so when she heard about blockchain she realized the great potential this technology holds for mining. Tanya now runs independent consultancy focussed on introducing blockchain technology into the mining business.

Hugo is Vice President for Sustainability at the London Metal Exchange. Prior to this he was driving the launch of new metal products undertaken by the Exchange. Hugo joined the LME in September 2015, having previously worked in Integrated Supply & Trading at BP in both trading and risk roles.

Michelle Ash, CEO of Dassault Systèmes GEOVIA, has made significant contributions to the mining sector with a focus on Innovation Strategy, Technology and Digital Transformation.

Highly passionate about Mining and the Natural Resources industry, Michelle remains focused on helping mining to evolve through digital transformation and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, to help deliver sustainable solutions to the sector.

As Chair of the Global Mining Guidelines Group (GMG), Michelle has contributed to develop best practices and guidelines for the implementation of technology and socially enabled changes in the mining industry.  She is also on the board or advisory board of several start-ups such as Railveyor, OffWorld, Behault and MineSpider, and part of industry boards in Canada and Australia such as CMIC, AUSIMM International and Mirarco.

Previously she was Chief Innovation Officer at Barrick Gold Corporation where she oversaw the company’s innovation program, looking both at how innovation can drive productivity in the existing business as well as how it can be harnessed to deliver alternative business models.

Michelle was named to the 2016 list of “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” by Women in Mining UK and won the Technology Innovator of the Year Award by Mines and Technology in 2019.  She holds a degree in Civil Engineering and an Executive MBA from the Melbourne Business School; as well as a degree in Psychology from Deakin University.

Anna is a strategic and innovation expert with a focus on the impact business, Sustainable Development, blockchain and green finance. Founder of Smart4tech – the key focus of the project to address water efficiency and security through the merge of the circular economy, innovation, and finance. The project is closely interconnected with Waste, Energy, & Carbon sectors. Author of the Water Trade Finance chapter in the book Transforming Climate Finance and Green Investment with Blockchains. Contributor to the UN COP24, Bloomberg Environment, Global Water Intelligence, The Water Report UK and EBRD publications and discussions.

Johan joined Open Mineral during its recent, highly successful Series-C round of funding. He leads ESG business and product development initiatives for the company. Johan started his career as a geological engineer in Zambia's gemstone mining industry, moving on to China to create two software companies with a team of talented Chinese and Western individuals before returning to London as a mining equities analyst prior to joining Open Mineral. Johan graduated from the University of Cape Town's School of Environmental Science and holds an MSc in Engineering Geology. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Nathan Williams is the Founder & CEO of Minespider, a public-permissioned blockchain for supply chain due diligence, with ongoing projects with Fortune 100 companies including Google, Volkswagen, and Minsur. Nathan has facilitated blockchain workshops as a visiting expert for the UNECE and the World Economic Forum. He has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Huffington Post, and Wired Germany.

Heike is Chief Commercial Officer for Minehub Technologies, a TSX-V listed company engaged in digitising the mining & metals supply chain via blockchain technologies. Heike has been involved with MineHub since mid-2020 (initially on the Advisory Board) and her mandate includes commercial strategy and execution, including ecosystem strategy and governance, business development, marketing, sales and communications.

Until April 2020 Heike was an Executive at Anglo American plc for 11 years, first as Group Head of Strategy, setting and implementing Board level strategy and most recently as a member of the Executive Leadership Team of the Marketing Business Unit, where she oversaw strategy and projects, coordinated all logistics and market analytics, was responsible for offices in China and India and drove the digital transformation of Anglo American’s global Marketing/Trading business.

Previously, Heike was a Management Consultant, advising on strategic and operational issues across multiple industries in Europe and Australasia. Her early career was in the Tourism & Leisure sector in operations and general management.

Heike holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) in Sydney and a Bachelor of Business equivalent in Tourism Management from Switzerland and has also studied at INSEAD and recently completed the Business Sustainability Management Certificate from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership.

Heike is also a Non-Executive Director of global shipping company Clarkson plc.

Head of the expert group, Blockchain Competence Center “Ideas”, formerly Blockchain Offering Leader for Central and Eastern Europe, IBM.

Key blockchain expertise: designing enterprise blockchain systems based on Hyperledger Fabric / IBM Blockchain Platform in the following areas:

- Digital identification,
- CBDC (digital currencies of central banks),
- Tokenization of industrial assets,
- Proof of food origin,
- Supply chain management in the oil and gas sector/mining companies,
- Carbon footprint,
- Fundraising management.