With over 30 years of experience across the African mining sector, Nuhu Salifu brings a rare and highly relevant perspective to MiningTech Africa — one grounded in the realities of deploying, scaling, and operating advanced mining systems across complex environments.

Nuhu leads operations across 15 countries, working at the intersection of technology, operations, and executive decision-making. His role is not simply to introduce innovation, but to ensure that it is implemented effectively, adopted by operators, and delivers measurable performance in live mining environments.

Nuhu is uniquely positioned within the agenda through his alignment with the session: Managing Hybrid Mining Fleets: Autonomous and Human-Operated Equipment

This discussion reflects the day-to-day operational reality across African mining operations, where autonomous and human-operated systems must coexist safely and efficiently.
His expertise sits at the critical intersection of:

Through his work at Sandvik — a global leader in autonomous mining systems, digital technologies, and equipment integration — Nuhu brings both OEM insight and operator-level understanding, enabling him to bridge the gap between what technology can do and what operations can realistically deliver.

What distinguishes Nuhu’s perspective is his focus on the human and organisational dimension of mining transformation.

“The bottleneck isn’t the machine — it’s the mindset.”

Nuhu’s contribution goes beyond explaining how hybrid fleets function. Instead, he addresses the deeper challenges that define successful deployment:

Nuhu’s role in this year’s programme reinforces the core positioning of MiningTech Africa as an operator-led, deployment-focused event, where the emphasis is not on concepts, but on what it actually takes to implement and scale mining innovation in practice.

With over two decades of experience spanning operational mining, mine management, and long-term strategic planning, Martin Pretorius brings a deeply practical and systems-level perspective to MiningTech Africa — one rooted in the realities of extracting value from complex, mature, and often constrained mining environments.

As Program Manager for the Longevity of Current Mines Programme at the Mandela Mining Precinct, Martin is at the forefront of South Africa’s mining innovation agenda, focused on extending the life of existing assets through technology, system redesign, and new operating models. His work sits directly within the challenge that defines much of African mining: how to introduce mechanisation, automation, and advanced systems into operations that were never originally designed for them.

Martin’s session: AI-Optimised Mine Planning: Bridging Strategy and Execution in Complex Operations — reflects the core of his work, where long-term mine planning must translate into executable, safe, and economically viable operations across a wide range of mining methods and geological conditions.

His expertise sits at the critical intersection of:

Prior to his current role, Martin spent over 15 years at Lonmin Platinum, where he operated across both production and strategic planning. As Mine Manager at Baobab Shaft, he led the transition from conventional mining to a fully mechanised long-hole open stoping method in a steep, narrow orebody — a transformation that required not only technical redesign, but operational discipline and execution under real production pressures.

What distinguishes Martin’s perspective is his focus on the system as a whole. His work consistently addresses the disconnect that exists in many mining operations between high-level planning models and what can realistically be delivered on the ground.

Martin addresses the deeper, often overlooked challenges that define successful mining transformation:

Martin’s role in the programme reinforces the core positioning of MiningTech Africa as an operator-led, deployment-focused event — where the discussion is not about future concepts, but about how mining systems are actually redesigned, implemented, and scaled in practice.

With over 25 years of experience spanning enterprise architecture, digital transformation, and complex system integration across mining, utilities, government, and large-scale industrial environments, Marius Auret brings a uniquely structured and systems-driven perspective to MiningTech Africa — one focused on how digital mining actually functions at scale.

As Interim Program Manager for the Real-Time Information Management Systems (RTIMS) programme at the Mandela Mining Precinct, alongside his role as Principal Enterprise Architect at the CSIR,

Marius is leading one of the most critical initiatives shaping the future of underground mining: the development of integrated, real-time digital ecosystems that connect data, systems, and decision-making across the entire operation.
Marius is uniquely positioned within the agenda through his alignment with the session: Real-Time Mining: From Data Capture to Operational Decision-Making

This is not a conceptual discussion — it reflects the core of his work, where multiple data streams from underground operations must be structured, integrated, and translated into actionable insights that directly impact safety, productivity, and cost.

His expertise sits at the critical intersection of:

Through the RTIMS programme, Marius is working directly on solving one of the most persistent challenges in mining: the fragmentation of data across systems, teams, and processes — and the resulting inability to make timely, informed decisions in live production environments.

What distinguishes Marius’ perspective is his focus on architecture and structure as the foundation of digital mining success. His work consistently addresses the gap between deploying individual technologies and building a fully integrated system that delivers measurable operational value.

As he emphasises:

“Technology only creates value when it is connected — to systems, to processes, and ultimately to decisions.”

Marius’ contribution goes beyond discussing digital tools or analytics. Instead, he addresses the deeper challenges that define successful digital transformation in mining:

His work through RTIMS — including applications in safety monitoring, advanced analytics, wearable technology, and operational optimisation — provides a real-world blueprint for how digital mining systems can be implemented in the harsh, complex conditions of underground operations.

Marius’ role in the programme reinforces the core positioning of MiningTech Africa as a deployment-focused, engineering-led event — where the emphasis is not on digital ambition, but on how integrated systems are actually designed, implemented, and scaled in practice.

With more than two decades of experience across some of Southern Africa’s most operationally demanding mining environments, Wilhemina Ngcobo brings a rare executive perspective — one grounded in live operational responsibility, business performance, and the practical realities of leading large, complex mining systems through change.

As Chief Operating Officer at Richards Bay Minerals, part of Rio Tinto, Wilhemina holds responsibility across multiple open-pit mining operations, engineering departments, processing plant activities, load-out facilities, and business improvement functions. Her role is not limited to operational oversight — it is fundamentally about aligning the entire operation to strategy, maintaining profitability in a volatile environment, and ensuring that performance improvement is achieved without compromising safety, discipline, or long-term value.

Wilhemina’s session: Operational Excellence in the Age of Automation: Leading Safer, Smarter, Higher-Performance Mining Systems — reflects the daily reality of managing large-scale mining operations where safety, productivity, cost control, engineering performance, and organisational alignment must all work together under constant operational and economic pressure.

Her expertise sits at the critical intersection of:

What makes Wilhemina particularly relevant to MiningTech Africa is that her perspective is shaped not by abstract transformation language, but by direct accountability for results. She understands that modernisation is only meaningful if it improves the performance of the operation as a whole — not as a pilot, not as a technology showcase, but as a durable operating model.

Through leadership roles across Rio Tinto, Harmony Gold, consulting, and previously at Assmang’s Black Rock Mine Operations, Wilhemina has built a track record of leading large and often challenging operations while maintaining a strong focus on safety, operational effectiveness, and business sustainability. Her experience spans underground and surface operations, expansion support, engineering leadership, mineral resource management, and the implementation of improvement and technology-led initiatives in active mining environments.

Wilhemina’s contribution goes beyond discussing mining leadership at a high level. she brings direct insight into the deeper questions that define successful transformation in mining:

Her role in the programme also reinforces one of the most important themes of MiningTech Africa: that the future of mining will not be shaped by technology alone, but by the quality of leadership, operational discipline, and execution behind it.