Musa Manzi completed his PhD degree in geophysics in 2013 at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He is a Reader and a Founding Director of the Wits Seismic Research Centre. Manzi's contributions to geosciences focus on developing innovative, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable tools and solutions for geophysical exploration. These advancements aim to enhance our understanding of Earth processes, with a particular emphasis on the efficient and responsible exploration of natural resources. He applies cutting-edge seismic technologies, including Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), landstreamer, and wireless sensors, to accelerate deep mineral exploration, while his curiosity-driven studies of phenomena such as methane gas origin, migration and explosions, mine water ingress, sinkhole formations, earthquakes, and rockbursts empower both mining companies and government bodies to build safer, data-driven mitigation strategies. He has innovated prototype instruments for seismic data acquisition and developed seismic techniques to interpret large legacy seismic data to explore for gold deposits, support safe and efficient mining, and assess and mitigate geohazards. His work is recognized globally within the scientific community, with methodologies widely adopted by both industry leaders and government institutions. He holds key national and international leadership positions, notably serving as both the Scientific Coordinator for the EU-funded ERA-MIN3 FUTURE Project and Chair of the EAGE NSG Mineral Exploration and Mining Conference. He has authored and co-authored over 100 scientific publications while supervising over 50 postgraduate students (15+ PhDs, 35+ MSc) to successful graduation.

Title: Preliminary title: Towards a new Witwatersrand in Southern Africa

Neil Phillips graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geoscience from the University of Melbourne and a Bachelor of Science with Honours, as well as a PhD from Monash University. His thesis focused on metamorphism and geochemistry in Broken Hill, Australia. Throughout his career, Neil has worked across academia, government, and industry in both Australia and South Africa. He possesses extensive knowledge of gold mineralization in various rock types, as well as the processes of alteration, metamorphism, and the structural controls within goldfields. Neil applies this knowledge to enhance our understanding of gold geology and genesis. He has also pioneered many geological principles that are currently used in gold exploration. Additionally, Neil has maintained a long-term involvement with Witwatersrand gold and has collaborated with South African mining companies, universities, global exploration groups, geological surveys, and postgraduate students. He is affiliated with Stellenbosch University.