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EIS Final Event: Shaping the Future of Sustainable Mineral Exploration

Registration

JOIN THE EIS FINAL EVENT

Tuesday, October 7, 2025
9am - 3pm CEST
Comet Louise, Place Stéphanie 20, Brussels

ABOUT

Join us in Brussels for the EIS Final Event and be the first to discover the project’s key results, insights, and innovations shaping the future of sustainable mineral exploration!

AGENDA

  • 8:30 – 9:00 Registration
  • 9:00 – 9:40 Welcome by EIS, HaDEA & DG GROW
    • EIS Welcome Message – Hafsa Munia GTK
    • EIS Project Officer Welcome Message – Dimitrios Biliouris HaDEA
    • CRM Overview & Strategic Projects – Daniel Cios DG GROW
    • Keynote – Rolf Kuby (Director General, Euromines)
  • 9:40 – 10:40 EIS Overview & Results
    • EIS Overview – Vesa Nykänen GTK
    • EIS Mineral Systems – Tobias Bauer LTU
    • EIS Wizard – Andreas Knobloch Beak
    • EIS Selected Test Case Studies – Guillaume Bertrand BRGM
    • Q&A
  • 10:40 – 11:00 Break
  • 11:00 – 12:15 Cluster Session: Advancing mineral exploration through innovative technologies

    Moderator: Imad Audi (LGI)
  • 12:15 – 13:15 Lunch
  • 13:30 – 14:30 Panel: Encouraging exploration across mining regions in Europe

    Moderator: Vesa Nykänen (GTK)
  • 14:30 – 15:00 Break
  • 15:00 – 16:00 Panel: Industry

    Moderator: Percy Clark (Quest Critical Metals)
  • 16:00 – 16:15 Closure and summary
    • Vesa Nykänen ( GTK) & Hafsa Munia ( GTK)
  • Post-event discussions

SPEAKERS

Guillaume Bertrand

Guillaume Bertrand holds a Ph.D. in tectonics and geodynamics from the University of Paris. He started working at BRGM, the French Geological Survey, in 2003. Since 2008, he works at BRGM’s Mineral Resources where he is senior geologist, project manager and mineral resources expert. He was head of the BRGM team dedicated to geology and economy of mineral resources and is now chairing an international group of experts on mineral resources for EuroGeoSurveys, an organization that brings together European geological surveys. In the EIS project, Guillaume Bertrand leads the work package dedicated to testing the EIS tools in “real life” case studies.

Lucija Dujmović

Environmental geoscientist studying the Critical Zone to model plant responses (element compositions) to their environment, with a focus on isolating geological signals from physiological and other background noise for anomaly detection in mineral exploration. My responsibilities within EU-funded projects (SEMACRET, DEEPBEAT) include fieldwork, sample management, data analysis, and advanced statistical modeling to evaluate and optimize biogeochemical techniques across diverse geological and environmental settings in Europe, supporting socially and environmentally responsible exploration for critical raw materials.

Hafsa Ahmed Munia

Hafsa Munia is a Senior Specialist at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) with expertise in geoscientific data analysis, machine learning, modelling and project management. She has led wide range of national and international projects.

Julie Hollis

Julie is Secretary General of EuroGeoSurveys, a not-for-profit association representing 37 European geologic survey organizations. She has a background in regional geologic mapping and more than 20 years of experience in leadership roles in government geoscience for geologic survey organizations in Australia, Denmark, Greenland, and Belgium. Julie has a Ph.D. in Geology and a Master of Science Communication and Public Engagement from the University of Edinburgh. Julie's primary focus is delivering EuroGeoSurvey's vision of a Geological Service for Europe—a permanent, central, and sustainable service that provides foundational geoscientific data, information, and knowledge at a continental scale.

Iana Bacquet

Iana holds an MSc in Engineering-Geology from the National School of Geology of France (ENSG) and is an early-career geologist (5y+) based in northern Sweden. She started at the LKAB exploration and mine planning departments (i.a. Kiruna and Per Geijer IOA deposits) before joining Talga in 2023. Iana is currently overseeing multiple greenfield to advanced exploration projects over several commodities, including the Vittangi graphite deposit.

Imad Audi

Imad holds an engineering diploma and a master’s degree in Energy and Environment from École Polytechnique in Paris. Since 2021, he has been working at LGI Sustainable Innovation, where he has been actively involved in Horizon Europe projects such as EIS and Ion4raw, strengthening his expertise in the mining and critical raw materials sector, particularly in the Scandinavian region. His contributions span mineral exploration, innovative bioprocesses for metal extraction, and sustainable cobalt supply chain management. Beyond EU-funded projects, he has also led B2B initiatives on responsible cobalt mining, gaining practical experience in ethical sourcing practices and sustainability standards within the mining industry.

Juha Kaija

Juha Kaija, M.Sc. (Geology), is a senior specialist at GTK’s Energy and Construction Solutions unit. He joined the Geological Survey of Finland in 1995 as a research scientist in the Nuclear Waste Disposal Research unit, contributing to groundwater research and uranium migration studies in GTK’s first EU project, Palmottu. Since 2005, he has managed several EU-funded projects in areas such as soil remediation, groundwater management, CRM exploration, mineral policy, and mining regions. A key initiative was the ProMine project (Nano-particle products from new mineral resources in Europe). With a 60% success rate in EU proposals, he has helped secure €95 million in research funding through collaborations with European and international research teams. He currently coordinates the Horizon Europe project UNDERCOVER (Unified Novel Deep Exploration for Critical Ore Discovery), leads stakeholder engagement in EIS (Exploration Information System), and heads GTK’s team in the EGT-TWINN project (Enhancing research capacity at the Geological Survey of Estonia to accelerate the country's transition to green energy).

Andreas Knobloch

Andreas studied Geology at the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology from 1998 to 2004. He joined Beak Consultants GmbH in 2005 and has been a project manager in various mineral exploration projects, among others in Kosovo, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, DR Congo and Nigeria. Since 2007, his research is focusing on application of artificial intelligence for mineral predictive mapping. Since January 2023, he is Managing Director of Beak Consultants GmbH. In EIS project, he has been leading the Work Package 3 for Development of the EIS software tools.

Katarina Nilsson

Katarina Nilsson is Director of Research & Innovation at the Swedish Association of Mines, Minerals and Metal Producers (Svemin). Since 2022 she is also President of ETP SMR. She previously served as Senior Adviser on mineral policy at the Government Offices of Sweden and as State Geologist at SGU. She holds a PhD in Geodynamics from Uppsala University and has worked in mineral exploration with a focus on structural interpretations of mineral deposits.

Percy Clark

Percy Clark is a Senior Geologist and Director with Quest Critical Metals. He also works as a Project Geologist with Clark Exploration and Consulting Inc in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Percy has worked on a wide range of precious metals and critical minerals projects in the grassroots and advanced exploration stages across Canada.

Rolf Kuby

Rolf Kuby has extensive experience in EU public affairs and advocacy. Next to engaging with EU policymakers on behalf of the industry and his active involvement in sustainability strategies, he is also a senior expert in EU Environment, Climate and Energy policies. Before joining Euromines as Director General in 2021, Mr. Kuby’s most recent roles were Head of the EU Brussels Office of Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl and previously Director External Affairs and Head of the EU office at Aurubis.

Tobias E. Bauer

Tobias E. Bauer received an 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. Since that time, he has taught and conducted research at Luleå University of Technol¬ogy, where he is currently Professor in Ore Geology. His research includes structural controls on ore deposits, regional structural and tectonic evolution of mineralized belts and mineral systems analysis. In addition, he is active in the field of 3-D and 4-D modeling applied to mineral belts, mineral deposits, and related structures.

Vesa Nykänen

Vesa Nykänen is a Research Professor in Geoinformatics at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), where he has worked since 1998. He specializes in geology, mineral exploration, GIS, and spatial data analysis. He holds an M.Sc. and Lic.Phil. in igneous petrology and earned his Ph.D. in 2008 from the University of Oulu, focusing on spatial methods for mineral exploration. Since 2015, he has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki. He has published peer-reviewed papers and led several research projects funded by Business Finland and the EU.

Thomas Dittrich

Dr. Thomas Dittrich studied geology at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, where he specialized in economic geology and mineralogy. His doctoral research focused on lithium–caesium–tantalum (LCT) pegmatites, with fieldwork in Western Australia and Zimbabwe, and contributed to a better understanding of rare-metal mineral systems, including pollucite. Following this he joined Zinnwald Lithium GmbH in Saxony, where he has worked since 2017. As Chief Geologist, he is responsible for the geological and hydrogeological aspects of the Zinnwald Lithium Project, including resource estimation, exploration drilling, monitoring networks, and permitting processes. He is an active member of professional networks such as the BDG (Professional Association of German Geoscientists, contributing to the advancement of sustainable raw material supply in Europe.

Tony Hand

Managing projects related to the raw materials sector at TalTech. Projects include those funded at a national level and those funded at the European level e,g, Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, EIT RawMaterials.

Former Senior Advisor EIT RawMaterials. Former Mine Engineer at Europe’s largest zinc mine, Boliden Tara Mines Ltd, Navan, Ireland.

Saku Vuori

Dr. Saku Vuori has over 20 years of experience in geoscientific and managerial roles at the Geological Survey of Finland. During his leave of absence from Q3 2023 to Q3 2025, he served as CEO of the Finnish Steel and Metal Producers, one of the key associations within the Technology Industries of Finland (TIF). Over the years, he has carried out a wide range of expert assignments for Finnish ministries related to the mineral sector.

Luis Martins

Luis Martins is a geologist with 40 years of experience in the exploration and mining sector. He graduated from the Faculty of Sciences of Lisbon (1973) and has a MsC in Economic Geology from the same faculty (1995). He was a former Director of the Mineral Resources Department at the Geology and Mining Institute (the Geological Survey) and a former Director of the Mines and Quarries Department at the Directorate-General of Energy and Geology (the Mining Authority). He has coordinated several national and international technical and research projects and involved in several EC working groups. Currently is President of the Cluster Portugal Mineral Resources (from November 2016 on), President and CEO of Fairchild Gold Corp. and Director of the companies CAT Strategic Metals Corp. and General European Strategic Investments Inc. He has published 118 papers in peer review publications and presenting oral communications in about 500 national and international events.

Malcolm Aranha

Malcolm is a geologist with experience in GIS-based predictive exploration targeting and quantitative mineral resource assessment. He has worked on mineral systems-based exploration targeting of REEs associated with carbonatite-alkaline complexes, surficial and unconformity-related uranium systems in the past and most recently worked on the targeting of ultramafic-mafic intrusion-hosted critical metals in parts of Europe as part of the SEMACRET project. He now joins the DeepBEAT team at HiF to apply predictive techniques to developing sampling strategies.

Laura Quijano Gaudes

Laura Quijano Gaudes holds a Ph.D. in Geology and is a former Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, with expertise in structural geology and regional geological mapping. She is currently the Technical Project Coordinator at ISMC (Iberian Sustainable Mining Cluster), where she manages national and European projects focused on sustainable mining and circular economy. Laura has over 15 years of experience in applied geoscience, including previous roles at the Spanish National Research Council - CSIC) and as Scientific Officer at EuroGeoSurveys, the association of European Geological Surveys. Her work emphasizes the integration of geoscientific knowledge into policy and industry, promoting responsible innovation and sustainable resource management. She is committed to fostering collaboration across science, government, and industry to support the green and digital transitions in Europe.

Dimitrios Biliouris

Dimitrios Biliouris is a Project Adviser for the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) working on the management of various Raw Materials projects funded by the Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation. His main role is to offer high quality support to project beneficiaries, turning EU policy into action, while ensuring that funded actions deliver results and provide the Commission with valuable input for its policy tasks. His diverse portfolio focuses mainly on the Mining Exploration, Extraction, Critical Raw Materials, Earth Observation/GNSS, Construction and Forest Based Projects. He has a Degree in Forestry from Aristotle University Thessaloniki, Greece, an MSc in Remote Sensing from UCL, U.K and a PhD on Bioscience Engineering from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. Before entering the world of Raw Materials, he worked on numerous projects on Earth Observation and GIS both as a project manager and coordinator in areas of innovation technologies, space applications, waste and environmental monitoring services.