Vidal Félix Navarro Torres holds a PhD in Mining Engineering from the University of Lisbon (IST-UL), with two postdoctoral degrees in Geotechnics and Underground Mining. He also earned a doctorate from the University of São Paulo (USP) and has worked as a university professor at institutions in Portugal, Peru, Australia, England, and Brazil, including the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), and the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP). Since 2015, he has been a full researcher at ITV MI, where he also coordinates specialization courses in Mining and Advanced Geotechnics.

He has extensive experience as an engineer and consultant in underground and open-pit mining, geotechnics, and tunneling across several countries. He has coordinated international projects such as MASyS (CYTED) and UCGCO2 STORAGE (EU). He has published 10 books, dozens of scientific articles, and participated in more than 30 academic boards. He has also organized 40 technical and scientific events and prepared over 50 consultancy reports.

Juan Manuel Girao Sotomayor holds a PhD in Civil Engineering with an emphasis on Geotechnics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), working in the field of iron and gold mining tailings. As a researcher in the Mining area at ITV MI, he has 15 years of professional experience in geotechnics applied to mining. His projects focus on tailings containment dams, blasting piles, leaching dumps, laboratory testing of soils and mining tailings, and the use of 2D and 3D numerical modeling software. He has published in international journals.

Suelen Silva Rocha is a mining and environmental engineer from the Federal University of South and Southeast Pará (UNIFESSPA), with a master’s degree in Mineral Engineering from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE). She is currently pursuing a PhD in the Graduate Program in Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (PPGE3M) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She has experience in mining, with an emphasis on mining methods, planning, mineral economics, sustainability, and process optimization.

Rocha worked as a substitute lecturer at UFPE, teaching various technical subjects in the mining field. She interned at Mineração Vale do Araguaia and completed her undergraduate thesis at Mineração Paragominas S/A. She is currently a collaborating researcher at the Mining Planning Laboratory (LAPLA/UFPE).

Eduardo da Rosa Aquino is an assistant researcher at ITV MI in the mining area. He holds a master’s degree in engineering with an emphasis on mine planning from the Graduate Program in Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (PPGE3M) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He also holds a degree in Mining Engineering from the same university.

Pedro Henrique Lopes de Carvalho is a mining engineer from the Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP), with an MBA in People Management and Leadership from the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV). He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Mineral Engineering (PPGEM), with a focus on rock blasting and vibration control. He worked as a junior mining engineer at DNA Blast, gaining experience in blasting modeling (I-Blast), planning, and seismographic monitoring. He was a research fellow at ITV MI, working on projects involving blasting, vibrations, and mine-to-crusher integration.

He worked at Orica Mining Services as a Blasting Engineer and Site Lead, with technical and commercial experience in underground mines. He also contributed to the Rodoanel Norte (SP) tunnel project, where he was responsible for production, safety, and the fire plan. He has experience in fleet maintenance and team management at UM Mineração e Construção.

During his undergraduate studies, he completed four internships (two international), participated in scientific research, and was active in the SEMINAS academic center at UFOP.