IMARC award winner on life lessons, impacting mining and future leaders

IMARC’s NextGen Program continues to go from strength to strength and its promotion of new leaders is a highlight of the program. Beacon editorial director Richard Roberts caught up with 2025 IMARC NextGen Leaders Award winner Renzo Ocampo, who was enjoying a short “recharge” after more than four years in exploration, mainly working remotely as a field geologist.

To say a lot has happened in his life since stepping onto the stage at ICC Sydney to collect the IMARC award would be an understatement.

“One of the most significant outcomes of the IMARC NextGen Leaders Program was the opportunity to connect with government representatives. Through conversations and relationships built during the event, people took the time to understand my unique circumstances and provide guidance on my visa pathway,” Ocampo says.

“That support ultimately helped me secure South Australian state nomination and I have recently been granted Australian permanent residency (May 2026).

“IMARC created an environment where meaningful connections could be made across industry, government and the broader resources sector. In my case those connections not only opened professional doors but also helped resolve a major personal and professional challenge.”

Richard Roberts: In the broad scheme of things – with many different people recognised for many different contributions – why do you think awards such as the IMARC NextGen Leaders Award are important?

Renzo Ocampo: Awards matter when they do more than recognise an individual. For an emerging professional that visibility can open doors to mentors, conversations and opportunities that might otherwise take years to access.

Just as importantly, it shows students and young professionals that meaningful contribution to geoscience and mining can take many forms and extend well beyond a job title.

I was fortunate to share the inaugural IMARC NextGen Leaders Award experience with the other two finalists, Celine Gironda and Nahomi Caururo. We came from different backgrounds and had different experiences but the common thread was a genuine drive to contribute positively to the industry, inspire others and help address some of its challenges. That made the recognition feel much bigger than any one individual.

What was particularly meaningful about an inaugural award dedicated to young professionals was the message it sent to our generation: our perspectives are valued, we belong in important industry conversations and we should have opportunities to contribute.

As I said on stage, this award is for all of the NextGen and we are the future of mining.

Since then, I have tried to use that platform by continuing to contribute to initiatives focused on the next generation of geoscientists and industry professionals and on ensuring that students and professionals early in their careers can are part of the conversation. This includes the 10th International Conference on Geoscience Education in Adelaide, where I am contributing to communications and stakeholder engagement as part of the organising committee, and the 38th International Geological Congress in Canada, where I will be chairing a scientific theme on professional development and careers while also working closely with the Young Earth Scientists Network to develop a program for early-career delegates in 2028 in Calgary.

Through these initiatives I have an opportunity to bring early-career insights into global conversations, contribute an Australian perspective within the international geoscience community, and show that meaningful leadership is not defined by how long you have been in the industry.

Personally, that is where recognition has its greatest value: when visibility becomes a platform for contribution and brings more people into the conversation. Visibility can open a door but reputation is built more slowly – through the quality of your work and how you treat people, the values you carry and whether you keep contributing when there is no award or title attached.

Richard Roberts: What do you see as the best mining development and mentoring pathways available for young people at the moment/why?

Renzo Ocampo: For me the strongest development pathway is a combination of practical experience, good mentoring, professional networks and exposure to different parts of the industry.

Fieldwork and operational experience teach you things that are difficult to fully learn at university. You start taking responsibility for decisions, develop a much more practical understanding of health and safety, learn how to work effectively with different people and become comfortable adapting when plans change. A good technical mentor then helps you understand not just what you are doing but why you are doing it and how you can improve.

Networking has also been a major part of my own development, although I do not see networking as collecting business cards or reaching out only when you need something. The most valuable relationships I have built came from genuine conversations over time through volunteering with professional organisations, attending technical events, contributing to industry initiatives, asking questions and simply staying connected.

Those relationships have exposed me to commodities, disciplines, career paths and perspectives that I would never have encountered through my day-to-day work alone.

Richard Roberts: You are providing input into several conferences. Why do you see this as important and a good use of your time?

Renzo Ocampo: If students and young professionals are only invited to attend conferences but not given opportunities to help shape the program an important perspective is missing. We are the people entering the workforce while new technologies, skills requirements and expectations are changing quickly and we will live with the long-term consequences of many of the decisions being made today.

My involvement has gradually shifted from primarily attending events to contributing through communications, mentoring, stakeholder engagement and programme development. Conferences across Australia and internationally have also shown me that challenges such as skills shortages, declining interest in geoscience and mining-related disciplines and changing workforce expectations are not uniquely Australian.

Industry events have played a major role in my own development as well. The technical sessions matter, but some of the most valuable learning has come from conversations outside the formal event – hearing how experienced professionals built their careers, asking questions and exchanging ideas.

Many opportunities I have had started with a conversation or an introduction at an industry event. That experience is one reason I think it is important that young professionals are not simply in the audience but increasingly part of shaping the conversation.

Richard Roberts: After your recharge, where do you want your career to go? Do all geologists ultimately want to run an exploration company or the industry's most challenging exploration programs?

Renzo Ocampo: I do not think there is one final destination for geologists and I certainly do not think everyone ultimately wants to run an exploration company or lead the biggest exploration program.

Some people want to remain deeply technical while others move into different parts of the sector. One of the things I like about geology is that your career can evolve as your interests and experience change.

For me, the next step is becoming clearer but I am deliberately not rushing it.

I have spent more than four years in mineral exploration across copper, lithium, gold and silver, from generative and regional exploration through to resource drilling. That has given me a strong foundation but it has also made me curious about what happens further along the mining value chain.

I would like my next role to bring me closer to a known deposit – potentially mine geology, production, resource development, geological modelling or another role where geological interpretation has a more direct influence on resource confidence, planning and operational decisions. I want to better understand how something progresses from an exploration target into a resource and ultimately into an operating mine.

I hope to find a company where I can continue developing technically and contribute to something meaningful – somewhere who’s values are respected in how it treats people, with a reputation for developing them and where I can grow with the company rather than simply move from one job to the next.

“I am only several years into my career so I do not expect to have the next 20 years mapped out. I know that I want to keep learning”

One reason I chose to take a break was that I did not want to finish one demanding chapter and immediately jump into the first opportunity available. I have spent years chasing opportunities and saying yes to experiences that helped me grow. This time I want to be more deliberate about understanding which opportunities are actually worth chasing next.

This break is not a step away from geology or mining. Later this year I will travel to New Mexico for the Society of Economic Geologists’ Geology Mapping Program at the Copper Flat Porphyry-Breccia System. Only 16 participants were selected internationally and I am grateful to be among them. It will give me an opportunity to sharpen my field mapping and interpretation alongside geologists from different parts of the world and learn from experienced geologists in a geological setting that is new to me.

Beyond the program I am looking forward to simply being curious again – travelling across Australia, exploring parts of the United States and Canada and seeing geological places I wanted to explore for years, from the Grand Canyon to the Canadian Rockies and Banff. I will also spend some time in Canada reconnecting with good mates and with members of the International Geological Congress 2028 and Young Earth Scientists teams I have been working with remotely.

I have also learnt that a sustainable career matters. Several years of study, fieldwork and demanding remote rosters taught me a lot, but they also showed me the importance of making space to recover, reflect, spend time with family and gain perspective.

I am only several years into my career so I do not expect to have the next 20 years mapped out. I know that I want to keep learning, challenge myself in different ways and work with people who care about doing the job properly.

That is also the advice I would give to young professionals: do not assume every career decision has to look like a straight line. Sometimes the most useful move is to pause, change direction or choose the experience that gives you a better foundation for what comes next.

Richard Roberts: As a young geologist, does the commodity or commodities you are looking for matter?

Renzo Ocampo: It matters, but probably not in the simplest sense. I have worked on exploration projects targeting copper, lithium, gold and silver. Each commodity brings a different geological setting, exploration strategy, data mix, development pathway and market context. Moving between them has helped me understand which skills are transferable and where a much deeper understanding of the particular mineral system and value chain is required.

I am interested in commodities that are important to modern society and in projects where there is an opportunity to learn across the technical and operational chain. But I would not choose my next role on commodity alone.

I would look at whether the geology is interesting, whether I will continue developing technically, whether the company’s values are reflected in how it treats and develops people and whether the project gives me opportunities to understand how geological information translates into real decisions.

Richard Roberts: You have spent more than four years in exploration, including considerable time in the field. What abiding memories and learnings will you take from this period of your career?

Renzo Ocampo: Over the past four years, geology and technical skills have obviously been important – geodatabase development, drilling supervision, logging, sampling, QA/QC, geological data management and interpretation. But some of the most valuable skills I developed sit outside the traditional definition of being a geologist.

Remote fieldwork teaches you health and safety in a very practical way. You learn to manage contractors, troubleshoot equipment and vehicles, organise logistics, communicate with very different personalities and take responsibility for decisions that can affect the whole team.

I also learnt that good exploration is very much a people business. A technically sound geological plan still depends on geologists, drillers, field technicians, contractors and supervisors working together. Managing drill crews taught me that when something goes wrong, blaming someone rarely fixes the immediate problem. You need to understand what happened, listen to the people closest to the issue, protect safety and data quality and work out the most practical way forward together.

The other lasting lesson is that resilience has limits. Long remote rosters, extensive travel and continuously solving operational problems can be rewarding. But they can also be physically and mentally demanding. I have learnt that being resilient does not mean pushing yourself indefinitely. Good judgement depends on being rested and sustaining a long career requires knowing when to recover as well as when to push through.

I will remember the geology, the drilling rigs and the picturesque remote landscapes, but I think the lessons around people, safety, adaptability and responsibility will stay with me the longest.

Richard Roberts: What impressions do you take away of what the industry does well and what it can do better? How realistic is the idea that technology will significantly change remote exploration and drilling, and how do people influence what happens on the ground in ways technology cannot?

Renzo Ocampo: One thing industry does extremely well is bringing together people, equipment and technical expertise to deliver complex projects in difficult environments. I have seen how quickly teams can adapt when drilling conditions change, equipment fails or new geological information shifts priorities. I have also benefited enormously from experienced geologists, drillers and other professionals who were willing to share what they knew.

Where I think the industry can improve is in making careers more sustainable, strengthening knowledge transfer and treating both people and data as long-term assets. Better roster design, realistic expectations around fatigue and stronger retention of early-career professionals matter alongside improvements in technology and productivity.

“I do not see technology replacing the people on the ground”

Technology will continue changing exploration, particularly in how we manage and interpret data. We already work with huge volumes of drilling, geochemistry, geophysics, hyperspectral data, imagery and historical exploration records. Used responsibly, AI and machine learning can help process those datasets, identify patterns and discrepancies, and automate repetitive work so geoscientists have more time to interpret what the information actually means.

I am particularly interested in the geological knowledge contained in decades of historical exploration reports and datasets. Much of that information already exists but it can be scattered across old reports, databases and different formats. Properly digitising and integrating it with modern datasets could add significant value instead of repeatedly starting from scratch.

But I do not see technology replacing the people on the ground. Its value depends on the quality of the data, the assumptions behind the analysis and the judgement of the person using it. An algorithm might identify a pattern, but a geologist still needs to decide whether that pattern makes geological sense. Technology also cannot fully replace seeing the rocks, recognising when the data do not match what is happening in the field, responding to a safety issue or working through an unexpected operational problem with the people involved.

The future in my view belongs to geoscientists who are comfortable with both worlds – able to use AI, automation and large datasets effectively while remaining grounded in geology and knowing when human judgement needs to take over.

Richard Roberts: Should young people be helping to make bigger changes in an industry that has often been slow to change? Is it already happening, and what could better facilitate it?

Renzo Ocampo: Young professionals should absolutely help shape change in mining, but I do not think we should approach it on the assumption that newer automatically means better.

I have benefited hugely from experienced people who were willing to explain not only what worked but what had failed before and why. That kind of knowledge is difficult to acquire quickly. At the same time, younger professionals often bring different perspectives, digital skills and a willingness to question why things have traditionally been done a certain way.

The opportunity is to bring those strengths together rather than treating generations as competing groups. The same applies across disciplines. Geologists, engineers, data specialists, environmental professionals and operational teams increasingly need to solve problems together.

I also think adaptability will become one of the most important capabilities in the industry. Technology, commodities, workplaces and expectations will continue changing. Young professionals need strong technical foundations but they also need to be comfortable learning, unlearning and relearning.

Companies can help by giving early career professionals meaningful problems to solve, exposure to different parts of the business and enough support to test ideas while learning from experienced people.

Richard Roberts: How can the long-term pattern of geology and mining engineering courses or departments being closed in Western countries be changed? Is it inevitable that Australia and Canada will increasingly import geologists and engineers from major mining schools elsewhere?

Renzo Ocampo: I don’t think it’s inevitable that Australia or Canada become increasingly dependent on importing geologists and mining engineers, but we do have a genuine capability problem if education pathways continue disappearing while demand for those skills grows.

“That disconnect is difficult to ignore – we are talking about expanding critical minerals and building the industries needed for the future while the pipeline of people capable of delivering them is becoming less secure”

The Australian Academy of Science’s Science 2035 report makes the disconnect particularly clear. Geoscience is important not only for mining and critical minerals, but also for groundwater, environmental change, carbon management, geothermal energy and other areas of national importance.

Yet Australia’s geoscience capability pipeline is weakening. In 2023 there were only 4444 Year 12 Earth science enrolments compared with 36,516 in chemical sciences and 25,984 in physics and astronomy, while university completions have also been falling. National shortages in geology and geophysics have been pretty obvious. To me, that disconnect is difficult to ignore – we are talking about expanding critical minerals and building the industries needed for the future while the pipeline of people capable of delivering them is becoming less secure.

As geologist who graduated in South Australia I do not think simply telling students that mining offers good salaries will solve the problem. Many young people still have limited exposure to what geoscience actually is or how broad the profession has become.

My university education gave me the geological fundamentals I needed but much of my professional development happened once I entered the workforce and had to connect geology with drilling operations, health and safety, geological field data, technology and other disciplines.

The future workforce will need strong geological and engineering fundamentals but students would also benefit from greater exposure to field experience, industry placements, data science, technology and interdisciplinary problem-solving.

I also think this is partly a visibility problem. At the 37th International Geological Congress in South Korea in 2024 discussions around Earth science education made me realise that declining enrolments were not uniquely Australian. Geoscience Canada reported a similar trend in Canada, with undergraduate geology-major enrolments declining by more than 40% between 2015 and 2022.

Through school outreach, mentoring and professional organisations I have learnt that students cannot choose a profession they rarely see or understand. Universities, governments, industry and professional societies need a sustained effort to make geoscience visible before students reach the point of choosing a degree. The AAS report is also quite sobering in noting that recent closures of Earth science departments occurred after the data used in the report were collected, therefore the observed decline may actually understate the loss of capability.

I also see skilled migration from a personal perspective. I came through Australia’s education system as an international student, my family has a migrant background, and my father has built a skilled career in Australia’s mining industry as a heavy-equipment mechanic.

I know first-hand how much international talent can contribute and I think Australia and Canada should continue attracting geoscientists and engineers with different technical, cultural and geological experiences. The AAS report also notes Australia is already heavily reliant on overseas sources to address geoscience skill shortages.

But skilled migration should complement a strong domestic pipeline not become a substitute for one. The strongest future workforce will be both local and international, supported by strong education systems, meaningful industry experience and the ability to work across disciplines.

Richard Roberts: You waited a long time for permanent residency and may pursue citizenship. You already seem Australian. What does being Australian mean to you?

Renzo Ocampo: To me being Australian is less about a passport or an accent and more about belonging, contributing and being invested in the country’s future.

I was born in the Philippines but I have spent more than 13 years growing up, studying and building my life in Australia. South Australia has been particularly important to me. I completed my senior high school and university education there, moved to Adelaide independently to pursue geology, built my career and professional community, and learnt to make a life for myself while my family established their home in Queensland.

The permanent residency process was long and at times uncertain, particularly when changes in my employment affected a pathway that had a major influence on where I would be able to build my future. Receiving Australian permanent residency has therefore been deeply meaningful.

What I am most grateful for, though, are the people who supported me along the way – my family, friends, mentors, colleagues and people across industry and government who believed I had something to contribute.

I do not see my Filipino and Australian identities as competing. One is where I came from, while the other is where I have grown, found my independence, been given opportunities and chosen to give back.

If I pursue citizenship when I become eligible it will formalise something that, for me, has already been built over many years through study, work, friendships, setbacks, community involvement and contribution. Belonging is something that you keep earning through how you engage in and contribute to the community around you.