MMTA International Minor Metals Conference – Programme and Speakers

Welcome to Singapore! Here are this week’s conference schedule and speakers:

Conference Schedule

Wednesday 17 April 2024

07.30hrs – 15:30hrs Golf Tournament kindly sponsored by ICD Group will take place at the Seletar Country Club. The fee is £150 per person which includes transport, green fees, buggies, refreshments, packed lunch and prizes.
Separate booking required. Please email jill@metalevents.com for more information.

18:00hrs – 20:00hrs Registration and Welcome Reception kindly sponsored by CCMA LLC at the Poolside on Level 4

Thursday April 18 – Pacific 2 &3, Level 1

08:00hrs Registration and Barista Coffee Break sponsored by Exotech 
09:00hrs MMTA’s AGM

10:00hrs Coffee sponsored by Exotech

Session 1: Minor Metals Transforming Green Technology
10:30hrs Introduction by Rachel Carnac, Joint Managing Director, Metal Events Ltd, UK;
10:35hrs Welcome remarks by Stephen Hall, Chair, MMTA, UK;
10:40hrs “New green technology for IGT”, by Josh Hogue, Sourcing Manager, GE Vernova, USA; 11:10hrs “Developing critical supply chains for rare earths, zirconium, hafnium and niobium”, by Rowena Smith, CEO, Australian Strategic Materials, Australia;
11:40hrs “A presentation on the tantalum market”, by Lijue Wu, Founder & President, Ximei Resources Group, PR China;
12:10hrs “China’s economic outlook and policy development for selenium, tellurium and germanium”, by Li Chengchen, Minor Metals Analyst, Beijing Antaike Information Co., Ltd; PR China;

12:40hrs – 14:00hrs Luncheon sponsored by Titan International

14:15hrs – 15:15hrs Session 2: Panel discussion: Minor metals in the 2020s – innovation, geopolitics and supply chain issues – panellists – Melvin Hill, GE Chaplin; Rowena Smith, Australian Strategic Materials; Solomon Cefei, Fastmarkets; Dr Yuan Gao, Independent Industry Consultant; Michael Haw, AMG Chrome;

17:30hrs -18:30hrs Pre-Dinner drinks sponsored by Advanced Alloy Services Ltd

18:30hrs – 21:00hrs MMTA’s Gala Dinner for all delegates sponsored by ICD Group and Donald McArthy Trading (Dress Code: Lounge Suit)

Friday April 19 – Pacific 2&3, Level 1

09:00hrs Registration desk reopens – Coffee sponsored by Exotech

Session 3: Developments In China’s Minor Metals Markets
10:00hrs “Indium market outlook and developments in end-use sectors”, by Markus Roas, Business Unit Manager Metals, Indium Corp, PR China;
10:30hrs “Outlook and developments for the gallium market”, by Mandy Yin, Sales Deputy General Manager, Zhuzhou Keneng New Material Co, PR China;

11:00hrs -11:45hrs Coffee sponsored by Exotech

Session 4 – Transportation Supply Chain Developments
11:45hrs “A presentation on minor metals in aerospace”, by Nils Backeberg, Founder & Director, Project Blue, South Africa;
12:15hrs “Cobalt market developments and outlook”, by Adam Webb, Cathode Product Director, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, UK;
12:45hrs “Building A Sustainable Future of Battery Critical Metals by Advanced Recycling Solution” by Dr. Gangfeng Liu, CTO, Botree Recycling Technologies, PR China;
13:15 Closing remarks

13:30hrs – 14:30hrs Luncheon sponsored by Titan International

14:30 Conference close

Conference Speakers

Dr Nils Backeberg is the co-founder of Project Blue, providing market intelligence on critical raw materials and energy transition supply chains. Nils has combined his academic and industry experience as an economic geologist towards expert metal market analysis covering raw material value chains for the steel, new-energy and technology sectors at leading firms including Metals Focus, Roskill and Wood Mackenzie. Nils’ academic background spans three continents with a MSc from the University of Cape Town in South Africa, a PhD from McGill University in Canada, and a post-doctoral post at University College London in the UK. He is a Research Fellow at the University of Stellenbosch and Guest Researcher at University of Twente.

Dr Yuan Gao is a board director of Lithium Americas Corporation. A world renowned inventor, Dr Yuan Gao has 30 years of experience in the complete supply chain of lithium-ion battery industry, from lithium extraction to batteries. One of his inventions, the Ti/Mg technology, enables high voltage lithium-ion batteries and is being practiced today in a vast majority of lithium-ion batteries for small portable electronics such as smart phones and tablets.

Dr Yuan Gao joined Pulead Technology in May 2014 and had served as its President and CEO until September 2019. Currently he is serving on the Board of Directors of Lithium Americas Corporation, as well as the Boards of Advisors of Nano One, Mitra Chem and Pure Lithium while advising Cobco, a cathode precursor producer in Morocco. Previously Dr Gao served as a Corporate Vice President at Molycorp (USA), and a Global Marketing Director and Technology Manager, as well as in other management positions at FMC Corporation Lithium Division, the predecessor to Livent (USA) and today Acardium Lithium. Dr Gao received his BSc from the University of Science and Technology of China, and his PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia in Canada. He received his postdoc training from Professor Jeff Dahn’s lab at Simon Fraser University. He has also received Executive Education from The Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania in the USA.

Stephen Hall is managing director of Advanced Alloy Services Ltd., who supply pure metals, revert and toll-process services to the superalloy industry. In July 2019 Stephen completed an MBO to take over ownership of the business, and later that year set up Advanced Revert LLC, a Joint Venture US business based in Virginia. Stephen holds a BEng (Hons) in Materials Science & Engineering and started his career at TTI Group Ltd, where he became its youngest Plant Manager at the age of 26. He later spent 10 years with Precision Castparts Corporation starting at Special Metals Wiggin Ltd., leading the technical group as Manufacturing Improvement Group Manager before transitioning to the Metals Manager role responsible for metals buying. Stephen then moved over to sister company, Caledonian Alloys, holding positions of Commercial Director and then Director of Sales and Strategic Planning. Stephen Hall is the Chairman of the Minor Metals Trade Association.

Josh Hogue joined GE Vernova in 2022, as a Sourcing manager, spearheading the company’s strategic initiatives in Major and Minor Metals. Including his tenure at GE, he has accumulated two decades of experience in the Turbomachinery sector.

His multifaceted career includes diverse roles across Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Operations, and Quality, working with both OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in the Power Generation and Aerospace industries.

Gangfeng Liu, Chief technology Officer of Botree Recycling Technologies mainly engages in technical development and industrial application in spent Li-ion battery recycling, recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs) in catalyst, extraction of spodumene lithium, and comprehensive utilization of mineral residue. He has managed medium and large teams in two leading companies named Heraeus and Tianqi Lithium, responsible for the new technology development and production operations with a capital of more than 20 million RMB. He has won 4 provincial and municipal Talent Awards.

Markus Roas, Business Unit Manager, Metals, provides expertise and leadership of Indium Corporation’s global material sourcing strategy. He negotiates key supplier contracts and mitigates supply chain risks. Markus also serves as an internal metals subject matter expert and liaises with external supply chain counterparts. Markus brings over 10 years of management experience in the field of logistics and 7 years of sales experience to Indium Corporation. He previously worked as a Managing Director of Jahn GmbH. Markus earned his secondary degree from Municipal Business School and holds a bachelor’s degree in logistics management from Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Rowena Smith was appointed Managing Director of Australian Strategic Materials in March 2023 and had been Chief Executive Officer since July 2022. Rowena joined ASM in July 2021 as Chief Operating Officer. She has over 30 years experience in the mining and minerals processing sector, including in a range of senior roles in strategy, operations and commercial. Prior to joining ASM, Rowena was Chief Sustainability Officer at South32, accountable for sustainability strategy, risk management and HSE business processes. Other past roles include Vice President Supply at South32, General Manager BHP’s Kwinana Nickel Refinery, and operational leadership roles within Rio Tinto’s aluminium smelting business.

Adam Webb is Cathode Product Director at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, UK. Adam is responsible for Benchmark’s lithium, nickel and cobalt forecast reports. He has almost a decade of experience as an analyst in the metals and mining space covering battery metals, precious metals, base metals and bulk commodities.

Earlier in his career Adam worked as a geologist on mine sites and exploration tenements in Western Australia.

Mr. Lijue Wu, is Founder and President of Ximei Resources Group, China,. A graduate of Central South University with a bachelor degree in Powder Metallurgy, he also holds an EMBA from the School of Management, Sun Yat-Sen University. Mr. Lijue has 40 years of experience in the smelting and processing of tantalum-niobium, cobalt, nickel and manganese and is currently the Vice Chairman of Tantalum-Niobium Branch of China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association and Rotating Chairman of Cobalt Branch.

Mr. Lijue Wu founded both Ximei Resources and Guangdong Jiana Energy Technology Co., Ltd, the latter one has now become the core subsidiary of Guangdong Dow Technology (publicly listed in China).

Mandy Yin has been engaged in the sales of Minor & Rare metals industry for 17 years, and is now the sales deputy general manager of Zhuzhou Keneng New Material Co., Ltd.

Zhuzhou Keneng New Material Co., Ltd. known a national new hi-tech enterprise located at Jinshan Sci-tech industrial park Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, China, has been engaged in the production of minor and rare metals, especially indium, gallium, bismuth, tellurium, tin and all their related products since Jan 2001.

Li Chengchen, an assistant engineer, graduated from  University of California, San Diego in 2019. In September 2022, joined Beijing Antaike Information Co., Ltd. as a market research consultant for minor metals such as indium, bismuth, selenium, tellurium, and rhenium. Li Chengchen is also the current Secretary of the Minor Metals Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association.