Innovation in mining doesn’t happen without fuel, and that fuel is capital.

This October at IMARC 2025, Unearthed and Founders Factory are partnering to deliver a powerful session that pulls back the curtain on where funding is really going in mining innovation, and how industry players can influence capital flow, even without their own venture funds.

Whether you're a startup, a miner, a scale-up, or an investor, this session is designed to bridge the gap between technology opportunity and funding reality.

Date: October 22, 2025
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
Location: ICC Sydney, as part of IMARC 2025
Free to attend with an EXPO Pass (use code SG9GYB)
Register for the session directly

What to Expect

Across three dynamic panel discussions, global experts will unpack:

• When and how to apply different capital models from VC and CVC to venture builders and hybrid approaches
• How mid-tier miners and innovation teams can influence investment even without big-ticket venture arms
• What lies beyond venture capital including emerging alternative funding models and ecosystem pathways 

This isn’t theory. These are the real stories, decisions, and models shaping the future of the resources sector.

Meet the Speakers

We’re bringing together a world-class lineup of leaders from across the mining, venture, and innovation landscape, including:
 

Mariel Renteria – Vice President, Innovation Portfolio & Performance Eramet 

Mariel brings over 15 years of international experience leading innovation across mining companies, startups, and investment ecosystems. At Eramet, she oversees a global portfolio of sustainable minerals exploration, extraction, and processing technologies, managing partnerships with over 50 startups, OEMs, VCs, and universities. With a background spanning the US, Australia, China, and France, she combines deep technical insight with strategic investment leadership — including roles as a venture investor and board member.

Jan Haak – Managing Director & Chief Revenue Officer Switch Technologies 

Jan is a commercial and technical leader at the helm of Switch Technologies, where he’s driving the development of cutting-edge battery and hybrid systems for the mining and rail sectors. With a background in advanced engineering, artificial intelligence, and commercial strategy, Jan specialises in transforming complex industrial challenges into scalable, deployable solutions that deliver real impact.

Katie Hulmes – Head of Innovation Ecosystem Think & Act Differently, Powered by BHP

With two decades of experience across engineering, environmental science, and mining operations, Katie now serves as Head of Innovation Ecosystem at Think & Act Differently (TAD), powered by BHP. She leads with a focus on collaboration and transparency, creating pathways for innovation that generate real impact — from traditional owners and community groups to startups, researchers, and conservation organisations. Katie brings a deep understanding of how partnerships can unlock value across the mining innovation landscape.

Zane Prickett – Director CORE Innovation Hub

Zane is a pioneer in building the innovation infrastructure that connects startups, suppliers, researchers, and miners across the resources sector. As co-founder of Unearthed and CORE Innovation Hub, he’s played a central role in shaping Australia’s innovation ecosystem for mining and energy. With a background in oil & gas engineering across Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia — and deep roots in the startup world — Zane bridges industry and tech with a global lens. He currently focuses on scaling collaborative platforms and autonomous robotics precincts to accelerate the sector’s most ambitious innovation goals.

Holly Bridgwater – Director Unearthed

Holly is a geologist-turned-innovation strategist and a founding force behind Unearthed, the global open innovation platform transforming how the mining industry solves its toughest challenges. With deep experience across mining operations and tech ecosystems, she connects major industry players with startups and scaleups to drive collaborative, cross-sector innovation. Holly works hands-on with both sides — helping industry frame the right problems and guiding innovators to shape and scale solutions that stick. Her mission: to unlock hidden potential and accelerate a more sustainable, tech-enabled resources sector.

Jack Kennedy – Mining Investor Founders Factory

Jack is an investor at Founders Factory, where he leads investments for the firm’s Mining Tech joint venture with Rio Tinto. With a background spanning deep tech, climate tech, and fintech, Jack brings a rare combination of founder insight and investment expertise to the mining space. He’s previously worked as a climate tech investor at Kintanna Ventures, founded a startup tackling climate challenges, and helped scale a fintech company from Pre-Seed to Series A. At Founders Factory, Jack is focused on backing the next generation of technologies shaping critical metals, mining, and energy.

Tamryn Barker – Sector Director, Mining & Nature Founders Factory

Tamryn leads Founders Factory’s Mining and Nature Tech programs in Australia, accelerating the growth of startups alongside partners like Rio Tinto and the WA Government. With a deep focus on scaling technologies that matter, she works closely with exceptional founders and industry leaders to unlock breakthrough solutions in resources and sustainability. Tamryn also serves on the Industry Growth Program evaluation committee, helping guide federal funding toward Australian innovation in national priority areas like energy and mining.

Liz Dennett, Ph.D. – Founder & CEO Endolith

Liz is the founder and CEO of Endolith, a biotech company redefining sustainable mining by harnessing the power of biotechnology and genomics. With past leadership roles at Wood Mackenzie and Amazon Web Services, she brings a rare blend of data science, cloud architecture, and biotech expertise to the resources sector. A recognized leader in energy innovation and one of Houston’s top women in tech, Liz is a passionate advocate for sustainability, the energy transition, and the untapped potential of biotech to transform mining.

Dr Michelle Carey – Chief Digital and Orebody Knowledge Officer IMDEX

Michelle brings over 25 years of mining expertise to her role at IMDEX, where she leads the company’s digital transformation and innovation in orebody knowledge. With a PhD in Geochemistry and a career spanning top-tier mining companies and technology leadership, she now oversees IMDEX’s Digital Business Unit, driving advancements in software, data science, and AI. Michelle also contributes to the broader innovation ecosystem as a board member of Krux Analytics and a member of the RFC Ambrian Decarbonisation Technology Fund investment committee.

Melissa Bergin – Head of Portfolio Strategy BHP Ventures

Melissa leads Portfolio Strategy at BHP Ventures, where she drives strategic alignment between BHP and its growing portfolio of venture-backed companies. With experience spanning mining, startups, and venture capital across Australia and the US, she brings a multidisciplinary approach to value creation. Prior to this role, she worked on commodity strategy for nickel and copper at BHP, led SMB Sales at Affirm through its IPO, and began her career in investment banking at Credit Suisse. Melissa holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Mark Frayman – Managing Partner Orion Industrial Ventures

Mark is Managing Partner at Orion Industrial Ventures (OIV), a venture capital platform backing technologies that enable sustainable and economically viable supplies of critical minerals, materials, and energy solutions. OIV is part of the Orion Resource Group, an $8B private markets fund manager focused on the materials driving global growth. Previously, Mark was the founding Head of BHP Ventures, where he led the creation and expansion of BHP’s corporate venture arm and its global portfolio of strategic investments.

Together, they represent the sharp edge of startup building, resource sector innovation, scale-up strategy, and investment. Each brings a different lens — corporate innovation, venture capital, founder experience, or ecosystem building — offering a unique opportunity for attendees to learn, connect, and act.

Why This Session Matters

Innovation is accelerating. The capital landscape is shifting. And the mining sector is at a tipping point.

If you want to be part of the conversation about how mining technology gets funded, who decides what moves forward, and what alternatives exist beyond traditional VC, this is the room to be in.

Register Now

Spots are limited — we recommend locking yours in early.

Register directly for the session here.

Secure your Free EXPO Pass with code SG9GYB here.