Simon Richards is a senior exploration geoscientist and minerals industry specialist with more than 30 years of experience spanning mineral exploration, structural geology, mineral systems, geodynamics, government geoscience, academia, consulting, technology development and executive leadership.

His career has focused on understanding the geological processes that control the formation and location of mineral deposits and translating that understanding into practical exploration strategies and high-quality targets. He has worked across a wide range of commodities, geological environments and stages of exploration, from regional-scale mineral systems analysis and greenfields targeting through to advanced exploration, project assessment and technical due diligence.

A particular strength is the integration of complex and often disconnected datasets—including geology, structure, geochemistry, geophysics, drilling and regional tectonic context—to identify relationships, alternative interpretations and exploration opportunities that may not be apparent when individual datasets are considered in isolation.

Simon brings a combination of deep technical knowledge and commercial exploration experience, allowing him to assess not only whether a geological concept is technically credible, but whether further expenditure is likely to materially improve the value of a project.

His independent reviews are designed to challenge established assumptions constructively, identify overlooked or underdeveloped opportunities, prioritise the targets most capable of creating value and help exploration teams maximise the effectiveness of the next exploration dollar spent.

He has also been closely involved in the development and application of new exploration technologies and data-driven targeting approaches, providing a perspective that combines established geological principles with emerging exploration methodologies.