Natural Resources Forum

This panel discusses a number of the practical steps to help mining companies manage their ESG risks, and how they develop a positive and meaningful impact on the mining industry. Panellists provide an insight into the catalysts and the trends redefining the mining environment, especially during a time of crisis and great change, and the ways to bring this awareness and these responsible practises to the sector.

Moderator: Adrian Rimmer

Senior Advisor, Green Finance, London Stock Exchange

Having spent the last decade at the forefront of sustainable investment, Adrian is currently leading a programme to scale-up sustainable finance and ESG disclosure across London Stock Exchange Group’s capital markets, which to date has resulted in the launch of: a Green Economy classification across its markets; a new Sustainable Bond Market; an ESG Disclosure benchmarking tool for companies; and the publication of a guide to green finance.

Adrian established ABN AMRO’s Environmental Markets business in 2006 and later supported renewable energy and clean-tech clients as a Director in RBS’ corporate finance team. As CEO of international certification body the Gold Standard, Adrian oversaw the development of result-based finance tools that have enabled hundreds of clean technology and sustainable land-use projects to attract millions of dollars in investment. He also supported Fairtrade International’s creation of the Fairtrade Climate Standard.

Adrian is a Non-Executive Director of Evora, a leading sustainable real-estate advisor and software business.

John van Eeghen

CEO, Reality Check Systems

We provide turn-key solutions for the creation and distribution of Virtual Reality site visits.

Before founding Reality Check, John was a partner at a major Canadian Investment Bank and broking house as a Natural Resources Sector Specialist. He has been funding mining companies for a decade. He has also held leadership roles in a major media & technology firm.

Dr Robert Pell

CEO, Minviro

We’re Minviro, and we offer innovative solutions for the mining industry to reduce their environmental impact. We believe in pragmatic, evidence based solutions to ensure that we access raw materials in a responsible way and reduce the risk for mining companies. I started this business on the back of my PhD work because I believe that substantial improvements can be made for mines all over the world. We’re looking forward to working with customers in different regions, solving complex problems with innovative data driven solutions. We’d like mining projects to be proud of their environmental performance and we want to help them on this journey.

Robert Pell PhD is Director of Minviro, a spin-out company from University of Exeter. Robert completed his PhD at Camborne School of Mines (University of Exeter) as part of the NERC funded SoSRare project on the topic ‘responsible sourcing of rare earth elements’. During this project novel life cycle assessment approaches were developed and applied to rare earth projects in the prefeasibility stage of development. A unique method to apply life cycle assessment to mine planning was also developed and these technologies have been further refined and applied in commercial settings. Prior to this Robert worked as Assistant Editor at International Mining, a globally distribution magazine covering technical innovations and project case studies for the mining industry.

Xavier Richard

COO, Mina Verde

Our group is made up of women and men with recognized skills and competences into complementary fields required to the success of its mission, especially in forestry, pedology, agroforestry, biology, geology, sociology, ethnography, marketing and finance.

Graduated from EDHEC Business School, pioneering entrepreneur, former partner at Idea Marketing in Lausanne, Switzerland, leader at promoting luxurious brands in sports and culture. Co-founder of Amazon Caribbean Guyana Ltd, the largest company in agroforestry in the Caribbean . He received a prize from the United Nation for the Millennium Development Goals for his contribution to indigenous communities and was an international ambassador for the UN Global Compact. He held the position of Honorary French Consul in Guyana for 20 years.

He is currently a partner at Bcomp SA Switzerland which produces natural fibers, COO of Athys Resources Services Paris, which promotes global re-forestry programmes including the Minaverde Initiative for Responsible Mining.