Programme

Luca Fiorini founded Tera Automation after collaborating with Italimpianti Orafi, designing a revolutionary tunnel furnace for ingot production. He later became a partner in Italimpianti Orafi and founded Maximeccanica, focusing on CNC precision machining and 3D printing. Tera Automation offers automated production lines for precious metal ingots and coins. In the last year, Tera Automation acquired Doma Automation to expand expertise in the jewellery industry.

Amanda’s current position is Senior Manager: Technical Assurance at Rand Refinery in South Africa. She reports directly to the Executive Head: SHEQ and Technical Assurance. This business unit is responsible for the swift, precise, and accurate sampling and analysis of low- and high-grade deposits received, ensuring governance requirements and providing a technical advisory and assurance function towards all departments within the company.

Amanda is a highly qualified Metallurgical Engineer with a BSc Honours degree in Applied Sciences – Metallurgy with over 20 years of experience in the processing and technical fields. She has a proven industry proficiency gained through her services to key organisations within the precious metals industry, including 11 years within the Anglo-American Corporation.

Striving to keep abreast of industry movements, Amanda works closely with her team and strives for alignment with new developments within the gold refining and metallurgical testing methods to assist the operational teams. Over the years, Amanda has helped to develop quality control standards and quality assurance systems, enhance mass metrology standards. Her proficiency for data has secured her performance in data science projects. She co-ordinates the technical forum which was established to enhance technical directions and imperatives for the operational teams.

Amanda is currently mentoring young engineers at Rand Refinery, which is a natural flow from her experience as an Advisory Committee member for Metallurgy at one of the local tertiary institutions. She is an active member of South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, South African Quality Institute and Microscopy Society of South Africa.

Mike enjoyed university so much that he stayed there for many years while obtaining: B. Education 1979 (University of Regina, Canada), B. Science - Chemistry 1983 and Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry 1988 (University of Saskatchewan, Canada). Between degrees, he was employed as a teacher, laboratory instructor, and held various summer research positions.

Mike joined the Royal Canadian Mint in 1988 and has been employed as the Assay Chemist for 31 years. The main functions of his work involve: developing and introducing new analytical methods to support all the Mint’s activities, making and certifying precious metal reference materials, and advising on sampling and mass metrology. Mike has written or contributed to 46 refereed publications and has given 43 invited conference presentations.

Since his retirement from the Mint in 2020, he has set up his own consulting company and continues to be involved with the LBMA to produce Reference Materials. He also continues on the teaching faculty of the XRF Short Course at Hamilton College in NY (formerly at Western University, London, ON, Canada) since 2005.

Nicolò Lo Presti is the Deputy Head of the Spectrometry Area at MKS PAMP. He joined MKS PAMP in February 2023 as chemist and recently assumed his current role. Nicolò obtained his Master’s degree magna cum laude in July 2022 in Chemistry at University of Milan, with studies focused on photochemistry.

He works with advanced analytical techniques, particularly in spectroscopic applications, and he is also LabWare LIMS Administrator with experience in managing laboratory information systems.

Barbara graduated in Earth Sciences at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and got her doctoral degree at the Universities of Lausanne and Fribourg in the field of archaeometry, a research topic which aims to use mineralogical, geochemical and geostatistical tools to solve historical questions. She then worked at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology and later on for the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, Consumer Protection Division. Barbara is founder of Geoforensic, a company active in traceability of mined materials, notably through the "Geoforensic Gold ID" tool. She is also Privat Docent in the field of natural resource management at University of Lausanne and lecturer at University of Geneva.

Alessia Sironi was nominated Head of Laboratory in October 2020. She joined the company in 2007 as Technical Officer of Metallurgy. From December 2009, she served as Deputy Head of Foundry and Production Planning. In 2015, she qualified as an official Sworn Assayer. She holds a Master degree in Materials Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Systems Engineering both from Politecnico di Milano.

Giovanni Faoro is the Chairman and Head of Strategic R&D of IKOI SpA Company. He has worked for decades on precious metals metallurgy, holding several patents over melting, casting, distillation, crystallization, mechatronics and mechanical volume reduction over the Precious Metals.

He is the head of the Flameless Tunnel®, ALS® Acid-Less Separation, FCC® Flameless Casting Chamber, Ultra Bite®, Density Booster® and HSR® High Surface Refining project development teams.

John Fairley has had experience in the following areas:

• Process Technology - smelting and refining low grade and high-grade materials – e.g. mining concentrates, Doré bullion, electronic scrap, refining process residues, autocatalysts, chemical catalysts, petroleum catalysts, high grade mine bullion, jewellery scrap

• Feasibility Studies – refinery new builds and process improvement projects.

• 2014 – Present - Technical Consultant to the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM)

• 1972 – 2001 - Johnson Matthey PLC, senior positions in precious metals refining, including:

• General Manager Johnson Matthey PLC - UK Gold, Silver and Platinum Group Metal refining.

• General Manager Johnson Matthey Canada - Gold and Silver refining and manufacturing business

• Johnson Matthey PLC – Marketing Director Platinum Group Metal Refining.

• 1992 – 1999 - Member of the Management Board and Chairman of the Public Affairs Committee of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)