Michael Ansah
Former Chief Executive Officer
Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC)

Michael Ansah served as the first Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation, from 2019 till 2025. He led the development of Ghana’s Integrated Aluminium Industry plan. This has culminated in a strategy and master-plan to exploit the country’s near 1 billion metric tonnes of bauxite, development of alumina refineries, and the mordenisation and retrofitting of the country’s aluminium smelter, in a multi-billion-dollar plan, under implementation in partnership with strategic investors. Michael works in association with Ghana Bauxite Company (GBC), the only production mine in Ghana which has been in operation since the 1940s. With a recent programme of new investments, production of high-grade bauxite ore (typically containing AL2O3 51% min., and SiO2 2% max.) is earmarked increase significantly 2025.

Ron Knapp
Adviser
Office of the Chairman
China Hongqiao Group Limited (HK)

Ron joined China Hongqiao Group in January 2020, following 11 years as Secretary General of the International Aluminium Institute (London). Previous roles include Executive Director of the Australian Aluminium Council (2002 to 2008), Chief Executive of the World Coal Institute London (1997 to 2001) and senior positions with the Minerals Council of Australia (1987 to 1996). Prior to these appointments, Ron was an economist with the Australian Government (1976 to 1987). Ron is an Australian with a small beef cattle farm in Australia.

China Hongqiao Group is one of the largest fully integrated aluminum company in the world with extensive activities along the whole production chain, based on major direct investments and long-term strategic partnerships. Production is dominated by operations in China, combined with key resource developments in Indonesia and Guinea.

China Hongqiao attaches great importance to environmental protection, energy conservation and sustainable development, with clean green production and higher value products as core business goals.

Romain Girbal
CEO
IB2 Bauxite

IB2, which stands for Improved Bauxite and Improved Bayer, offers a revolutionary solution to significantly enhance the production of alumina from low-grade bauxite. The IB2 technology is designed to be more efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly.

Otavio Carvalheira
Former President
Alcoa Brazil

Otavio Carvalheira is a seasoned global executive, board member, and strategic advisor with over 35 years of leadership experience across the metals, mining, and industrial sectors. Otavio built his career leading complex, multi-national operations, with early experience at the Gerdau Group, followed by more than three decades at Alcoa, where he held senior leadership roles across Brazil, the United States, and China. From 2016 to 2023, he served as President of Alcoa Brazil, overseeing three industrial operations and a workforce of approximately 13,000 employees and contractors. Today, Otavio serves as a Senior Advisor to Al Circle and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Aboubacar Kagbe Toure
General Manager
SOGUIPAMI Guinea

SOGUIPAMI is a public limited company, created by the State of the Republic of Guinea. On behalf of the State, the company is involved in mining research, exploitation, and infrastructure development, etc.

Pu Guo
Deputy General Manager
Guiyang Aluminum Magnesium Design & Research Institute Co.

Master of Project Management from the University of Quebec, Canada; Deputy Chairman of the Design and Consulting Branch of the China Nonferrous Metals Construction Association.

Anquan Zhang
Deputy Chairman
Guizhou Anshun Zhongtai Xinbo Aluminum Co.

Guizhou Anshun Zhongtai Xinbo Aluminum Co. is an electrolytic aluminum producer, founded in October 2023 with a registered capital of RMB100 million and over 400 employees. The company is located in the industrial park of Caiguan Town, Anshun City, Guizhou Province with beautiful scenery and convenient transportation. The company's electrolytic aluminum project with the production capacity of 100,000tpy launched operation in September 2024 after a successful energy-saving, and the project now runs at the rate of 50%.

Jason Gibson
Principal Commercial
Metro Mining Limited

Metro Mining is an Australian exploration and mining company based in Queensland, Australia. Its flagship project, the Bauxite Hills Mine, located 95km north of Weipa, has a capacity of 7 million tonnes per annum and is one of the largest independent bauxite mines within the internationally acclaimed Weipa Bauxite Region.

Zhugong Ning
Deputy General Manager
Guangxi Qiangqiang Carbon Co.

Guangxi Qiangqiang Carbon Co. was established in March 2001, with an annual production capacity of 905,000t. It is the largest enterprise specializing in the production of prebaked anode for aluminum smelters in Guangxi, and ranks among the top ten enterprises in China's carbon industry. The company's latest prebaked anode investment in Qinzhou of Guangxi has an annual production capacity of 600,000tpy, with a total investment of about RMB1.988 billion, which schedules to launch operation in 2026. Since 2004, the company has been maintaining the status of high-tech enterprises and has been listed as "National Torch Plan Key New High-Tech Enterprise" by the Ministry of Science and Technology, securing various honors such as "National Intellectual Property Advanced Enterprise", "Guangxi Technology Innovation Demonstration Enterprise" and "Guangxi Gazelle Enterprise".

Zhongjian Hou
Operation Deputy General Manager
Do-Fluoride New Materials Co.

Do-Fluoride New Materials Co. is an industrialized high-tech enterprise, specialized in research and production of new materials and energy system like fluoride, lithium and silicon, leading the inorganic fluoride new materials producers worldwide in terms of scales and technical innovation. The company focuses on businesses of new fluoro-based materials, advanced energy materials, electronic information materials and lithium battery, which are widely used in aluminum, semiconductor integrated circuit, photovoltaic, TFT LCD screen, electrolyte additive and electric vehicle, etc.

Lu Jiang
Chief Researcher
China Futures Co.

Mr. Lu Jiang is specialized in commodity prices risk management by in-depth research of supply-demand fundamentals. He was awarded as one of the outstanding analysts by SHFE and best industrial commodity analyst by Futures Daily during 2016-2019. His team was awarded as the outstanding Investment & Research team in 2015 and 2016 respectively in Dalian Commodity Exchange.