6 Track 8: Safety, Social Performance and Talent Management This track addresses the human dimensions of mining: the safety of those who work underground and in processing plants, the relationships between mining operations and the communities in which they operate, and the development of the workforce that will carry the industry into the next generation. Three sessions cover safety leadership and critical controls, social performance and indigenous partnerships, and future workforce development. Health and Safety Leadership, Risks and Critical Controls: The Quantum Potential Index for measuring potential severity, the rehumanization of safety leadership in smart mining environments, critical control management systems, situational awareness in automated systems, and the who-pays-for-justice question for mining-affected communities are presented. The session reflects a safety culture community that is increasingly integrating human factors science, systems thinking, and AI into its practice. Social Performance and Indigenous Partnerships: From consultation to co-ownership, the operationalization of partnership frameworks with indigenous communities, the integration of indigenous values into project development, territorial governance as a tool for rebuilding trust, and responsible mining frameworks for the Indian context are presented. The consistent emphasis on genuine partnership — not merely procedural consultation — reflects a hard-won understanding that social license cannot be engineered from above. Future Workforce and Education Innovation: Bridging the double talent gap through AI and education, virtual and augmented reality in mining education, and a sustainable industry-academia collaboration model are presented. As automation and digitalization reshape the skills required of mining professionals, these presentations address the educational systems that will need to evolve alongside the technology. Track 9: Critical Minerals, Strategic Materials and Mineral Policy The Critical Minerals track addresses the policy, governance, and supply chain dimensions of the minerals that are central to the energy transition. Three sessions examine institutional pathways for responsible mining, the practical challenges of delivering critical mineral supply, and the broader strategic and geopolitical landscape. Institutional Pathways for Responsible Mining: Mining knowledge governance for the green transition, integrated management models for mining cluster viability, governance risks from informal and illegal mining operations, and economic-environmental-cultural transformation frameworks are presented. The session reflects a global policy community grappling with the institutional conditions under which responsible mineral supply can be reliably achieved. Delivering Critical Minerals: Ion-exchange resins for lithium hydroxide purification, lithium mineral processing in Brazil, the art of implementation in the critical minerals era, and a 25-year review of copper in Peru are presented. These technically and historically grounded contributions bridge the gap between policy aspiration and production reality. Strategic Materials and Mineral Policy: Europe's global playbook for critical raw materials, the Nordic mining cluster in the EU-China-Global South triangle, geochemical exploration for critical raw materials in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, guarantee schemes for financing critical mining projects, and the methodological challenges of voluntary sustainability standards in midstream supply chains are presented. The geopolitical dimension of critical mineral supply — increasingly shaping national industrial policies and international trade negotiations — is given the serious analytical treatment it deserves.
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