Introducing the dedicated minds that champion our pursuit of excellence

Meet The Team

Julian Ortiz, PhD, PEng, QP

Principal Mining Consultant

Dr. Ortiz is a Mining Engineer from Universidad de Chile and Ph.D. from University of Alberta. Currently, he is Professor and Mark Cutifani / Anglo American Chair in Mining Innovation at University of Exeter - Camborne School of Mines, in the United Kingdom, where he conducts research related to geostatistical ore body estimation and simulation, and geometallurgical modeling using statistical learning. Dr. Ortiz previous roles include Head of Department at Queen’s University and Universidad de Chile. He has over 25 years of consulting experience in sampling, ore body modeling, predictive geometallurgy, and technology adoption.

Sebastian Avalos, PhD

Principal Mining Consultant

Dr. Avalos is a Mining engineer and Master in Mining from Universidad de Chile and Ph.D. in Mining from Queen’s University. He focuses on the application of conventional and advanced predictive modeling techniques in geometallurgical modeling. With more than twelve years of experience and working on the frontier between advanced geostatistics, mine planning, and deep learning, Sebastian has led and contributed to the realization of more than thirty-seven mining-related projects, published peer-reviewed articles, conference proceedings, and training programs.

Nelson Morales, PhD

Principal Mining Consultant

Nelson Morales Varela is a Mathematical Engineer from University of Chile and a Ph.D. in Science from Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis. He has over 20 years of experience in developing mathematical models and tools for mine planning and design optimization. Throughout his carrier, he worked for CODELCO-IM2, and for 12 years he was a researcher at the Advanced Mining Technology Center, where he led the Mine Planning and Design group and DELPHOS mine planning laboratory. Currently, he is an associate professor at Polytechnique Montréal. Nelson Morales has authored more than 100 publications in international conferences and journals in mine planning and is the author of several planning software applications for optimization and simulation of mining operations.

Paula Larrondo, PhD-c

Senior Geological Consultant

Paula is a Geologist and M.Sc. from Universidad de Chile (Chile) and an M.Sc. in Mining Engineering (Geostatistics) from the University of Alberta (Canada). She worked for 15 years as a geostatistician in various international consulting companies. Paula also founded the geology program at Universidad Mayor (Chile), where she taught geology and geostatistics for seven years. She is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering of Queen’s University, where she is working towards a deep learning model to provide automated feedback to open-ended student work in the context of complex problem-solving in Engineering Education.

Nicolas Avalos, MSc

Project Geologist

Nicolas Avalos is a Geologist and holds a Master’s degree in Geology from the University of Chile (Chile). He has two years of experience in prospecting and exploration of natural resources (Au, Ag, Cu, and Mo) at TriMetals Mining Inc and Guanaco Outdoors SpA, and three years of experience in research and development of projects in economic geology. Nicolas specializes in geological modeling, from drillhole description, QA/QC analysis, and database management to generating reports and leading team working.