About Priscilla
Dr. Priscilla Provost Nelson is a distinguished academic and professional in mining, geotechnical engineering, and underground construction. Since 2014, she has been a Professor and Departnent Head in the Department of Mining Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines. She is the founder of the Tailings Center (since 2020) and has been a Fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy since 2022.
Dr. Nelson’s research continues to shape the fields of tailings management, underground urban infrastructure, and sustainable mining practices. Her Muir Wood Lecture 2024 for the International Tunnelling Association, titled “Underground Resources for a Sustainable Global Future”, presents a critical vision of how underground spaces can be leveraged for global sustainability. Her recent publications include works on byproduct recovery from active domestic mines and on reprocessing mine tailings to recover metals.
In addition to academic research, Dr. Nelson plays an active role in shaping mining policy and best practices. She is involved in DOE Workshops on Future Innovation Needs for Mining of Critical Minerals (2024) and she chaired a session on Innovations in Tailings Management at the SME 2023 Conference. Her Ernst & Young Americas Mining Forum panel discussion in 2021 addressed the future of mining workforce development. She is a key advocate for the integration of sustainability into underground urban planning and mining, and she co-organized the NSF US-UK Workshop on Transformation in Urban Underground Infrastructure (2023).
Dr. Priscilla Nelson’s recent work continues to push boundaries in tailings management, underground construction, mining education, and policy advocacy. Her leadership in academic, industry, and policy discussions on mining sustainability and underground infrastructure development is widely recognized. She remains at the forefront of shaping the future of sustainable mining and underground engineering.
About Monica
Mónica Ospina is a recognized expert in Social Performance and Socio-Economic Development, specializing in stakeholder engagement, including Indigenous communities, at all stages of mineral projects. She is the Principal Advisor of Communities and Social Performance for the Americas at Rio Tinto and founder of O Trade, a socio-economic development firm.
With deep expertise in ESG strategies, social risk mitigation, and FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent), Mónica helps mining companies strategically plan for social license to operate, fostering socio-economic development, long-term value creation, and trust-building.
She authored the Local Community Procurement Program (LCPP), recognized by the IFC-World Bank in 2012 for advancing socio-economic inclusion in local supply chains, and contributed to the IFC-World Bank’s Guide for Early Stakeholder Engagement (2014). Her expertise has been acknowledged as a CIM Distinguished Lecturer (2020) and in the WIM100 – Women in Mining list (2022). She also collaborates with the OECD on best practices in the mineral and energy sectors across the Americas.
She holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Universidad del Rosario, Colombia, and a Master’s in Diplomatic Studies from the University of Westminster, UK. She has also completed post-graduate programs in Sustainability Management at Harvard University, USA, and International Business Strategy at the London School of Economics, UK
