First name:

Last name:

Email:

Job title:

Company name:

Primary nature of business:

John Mern

Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

Terra AI

John Mern is the Co-founder and CEO of Terra AI. His career spans over six years building intelligent decision-making systems to critical natural resources in academia and industry. Previously, he led AI decision-making at Kobold Metals, founded a video compression startup, and designed autonomous systems at Boeing Phantom Works.

John completed his PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University as a member of the Stanford Intelligent Systems Lab (SISL). John is a Stanford Innovation Fellow and an AWS Startup CEO Fellow.

10 : 00 - Wed, 28 Oct

Wed, 28 Oct
/
10:00 - 12:00 AEDT
/
120 min

Funding the Future of Mining Tech

STREAM: WSP Technology & Innovation

Presented by Unearthed, in collaboration with Founders Factory. Across three panels moderated by Holly Bridgwater, Director at Unearthed, this session examines capital-market shifts, the players involved, the technologies that require investment, how risk should be allocated, and the commercialisation pathways needed to bring priority technologies to scale.

10:00 - 10:05
/
5 min

Welcoming

Holly Bridgwater MAusIMM, Director, Unearthed

10:05 - 10:40
/
35 min

Panel Discussion: Is there a Capital Gap in Mining Technology, and where to Crowd in?

10:40 - 11:15
/
35 min

Panel Discussion: What Technologies need Funding, and Who should Carry the Risk?

11:15 - 11:50
/
35 min

Panel Discussion: From Technology Development to Commercialisation: How does it Scale?

11:50 - 12:00
/
10 min

Closing Remarks and Key Takeaways

Holly Bridgwater MAusIMM, Director, Unearthed

15 : 15 - Wed, 28 Oct

Wed, 28 Oct
/
15:15 - 17:30 AEDT
/
135 min

Accelerating Exploration to Development

STREAM: Agnico Eagle Project Development & Delivery

15:15 - 15:20
/
5 min

Welcoming Remarks

John Mern, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Terra AI

15:20 - 15:35
/
15 min

Interview: OceanaGold’s Approach to the Fast Track Process

15:35 - 15:55
/
20 min

How Much will AI Transform How the Mining Industry does Exploration?

15:55 - 16:00
/
5 min

Core Scanning at Zonia: Real-Time Geological Decision Making at a U.S. Copper Asset

Adam MacInnis, Project Manager, GeologicAI

16:00 - 16:05
/
5 min

Taking Cleantech from the Lab to Commercialization 

Greg Hanna, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Destiny Copper

16:05 - 16:20
/
15 min

From Discovery to Delivery: Accelerating Major Resource Projects in Queensland

Gerard Coggan, Coordinator-General, Queensland Government

16:20 - 16:50
/
30 min

Panel Discussion: Spurring on new discoveries in the Macquarie Arc

16:50 - 17:30
/
40 min

Panel Discussion: Effective Strategies to Accelerate Project Development and Commodity Production

News, research and multimedia

Join us at one of our

Upcoming events

International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC)

12 - 14 October 2027

ICC Sydney

Australia's largest mining event connecting global mining leaders with technology, finance and the future.

Opening times:

Tue,Tuesday, 12 October: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Wed,Wednesday, 13 October: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Thu,Thursday, 14 October: 9:00am - 4:30pm

12 - 14 October 2027

ICC Sydney

Leveraging off the scale of Australia's largest mining event to bring an unrivalled network of thousands of investors to Sydney.

Opening times:

Tue,Tuesday, 12 October: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Wed,Wednesday, 13 October: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Thu,Thursday, 14 October: 9:00am - 4:30pm

13 - 14 July 2027

Investor meetings online

Opening times:

START: Tuesday, 13 July 2027, 08:00 BST (UTC+1)
END: Thursday, 15 July 2027, 08:00 BST (UTC+1)
Meetings run for 48 hours, so every participant gets two full business days in their own time zone. All meeting times show in your local time on the platform.