Ernie Thrasher has over forty (40) years’ experience in the coal industry. His coal experience began in 1974 working for a family owned mining company with operations in Maryland. He held various positions in mine operations and mine management through 1981. Prior to forming Xcoal Energy & Resources in 2003, He spent twenty-two (22) years in various global marketing positions at Primary Coal and AMCI. Xcoal is the largest exporter of U.S.. origin coal. In addition to marketing U.S. origin coal to customers throughout the world, Xcoal activities include the financing and development of mining projects and related infrastructure projects. He founded XLNG Energy & Resources in 2015, which plans to market LNG originating from natural gas reserves in the Marcellus and Utica Shale basins in the U.S., to customers in South America, Europe, and Asia. He serves on the Board of Directors of Barrick Gold Corporation, the President’s Leadership Council-Boy Scouts of America, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves as a Director on the National Committee on U.S. China Relations, and serves as a Director of the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum.
Ng Jing Zhi joined Argus Media in 2022 and is currently a deputy editor for the Asia ferrous scrap and coal markets. Jing Zhi has over ten years of experience in market analytics and price reporting, specializing in the ferrous sector and oil markets. Found in 1970, Argus Media is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets.
Dylan is a coking coal and coke trader, as well as a market intelligence analyst at JSW International, specializing in the Asia-Pacific region. He played a pivotal role in establishing the company’s metallurgical coke trade flow and expanding its presence beyond the Indian market.
Before joining JSW, Dylan spent two years at Argus Media as a price reporter, covering coking coal and coke price benchmarks while analyzing key supply and demand trends. His career began in Malaysia as a mine geologist and site engineer before transitioning to Singapore, where he spent eight years in upstream oil and gas research.
Dr. Bristow has been actively involved in the steel and steelmaking raw materials industries for over 22 years. During this time, he has led numerous investigations in coal and iron ore technical and market research, minerals strategy development, and market planning for BHP’s coal business, and was Chief Analyst for BHP Billiton’s Carbon Steel Materials Group, leading the Market Intelligence Group in Singapore.
His key expertise in steel, metallurgical coal, iron ore, and manganese ore and ferroalloys, coupled with strategic vision and long term analysis on future directions in emerging markets, saw him as an early proponent of the rebirth of the global steel industry, the rise of China and of coal’s growth story, together with a strong belief in China’s emergence as a major seaborne metallurgical coal importer. He has been a strong advocate for India’s growing coal demand.
In April 2009, he formed H&W Worldwide Consulting, putting his strong market analysis and strategy skills to good use across bulk commodities, including iron ore and coal –for both coking and thermal.
As an internationally recognized expert in areas of steel and steelmaking raw materials, long term trends and scenarios, he has written and presented numerous publications at highly respected international conferences and meetings.
I'm Melvin Chan, a metallurgical coke and coal analyst in CRU’s Steelmaking raw materials team, based in Singapore.
At CRU, I cover global coke capacity expansions and emerging market trends among others. Recently, I published an insight on India’s coke import quota and its impact on trade flows. Prior to CRU, I worked in S&P Global and IHS Markit covering the dry bulk freight market.
In 1986 he graduated Faculty of Technology and Chemical Engineering of the Silesian Technical University - Gliwice (Poland) and obtained Ph. D. at the same University in 1993. The main interest of his research works include coke making technology and thermal processing of solid fuels and wastes.
At present he is Director of the Institute of Chemical Processing of Coal in Zabrze. He is a member of Polish Standardisation Commission, expert of Polish Ecological Chamber and member of European Coke Committee.
He is the author of more than 100 scientific and technical papers and 10 patents.
Mr. Dipankar Banerjee is heading the coke business unit of Fosbel in India along with new business development responsibilities for cement & non-ferrous markets. He is a Ceramic Engineer with more than 30 years of professional experience in leading refractory & ceramic companies (Saint Gobain, ACC Refractories, Vesuvius & now Fosbel) in P&L management, technical sales & marketing, business development, product management & refractory application technology in Iron & Steel, Non-Ferrous, Power Generation, Cement & Ceramics market segments.
Dr. Yukihiro Kubota has over 20 years of cokemaking research and operation experience in Nippon Steel Corporation. He obtained his PhD from Tohoku University in 2012. He made significant contributions to the construction and initial operation of the SCOPE21-type coke oven at Nippon Steel Oita Works, which began operation in 2008. He served as the manager of the cokemaking plant at Yawata Works until 2014. His current role in NSC is the General Manager, Head of Coal & Coke Research Department, Ironmaking research Laboratory. He specializes in coal blending theory, coal preparation techniques, coke quality estimation, strength, size, and reactivity. His Keynote address at ICSCI 2025 focuses on Development of Technology for Improvement of Coke Strength for Low Carbonization in Blast Furnaces and/or Cost Reduction of Coke Production.
Dr Arash Tahmasebi is the Co-Director of the Centre for Ironmaking Materials Research (CIMR). The focus of his research is on cokemaking, bio-coke production, sustainable and low-carbon ironmaking technologies, biomass utilisation, hydrogen production, and thermochemical conversion of solid fuels. Arash leads an energetic team of postdoctoral researchers, PhD students, and research professionals. He is actively engaged with the Australian and international resources, steel, and power sectors, developing solutions to industry challenges in addressing greenhouse gas emissions.
G.S.Venkata Subramanian has 37years of operational experience in Recovery type Coke Oven Operations.
• Educational qualification: B.Tech(Metallurgy) from Karnataka Regional Engineering College, presently NIT, Surathkal, India
• Joined Bhilai Steel plant (a flagship unit of Steel authority of India) in May 1982 as Management Trainee(Technical)
• Worked in various sections of Coke Oven and Coal Chemical department (1983-2018)
• Became Head of the Department (General Manager) in 2017
• 4 months prior to retirement, joined as Head of Energy management Department (Feb-May 2019)
• Superannuated from Bhilai Steel plant in May 2019
• Implemented e-log systems, Web based Delay Analysis for Wagon Tippler unloading and Battery production operations, numerous modifications in Coal, Coke Handling plants and Battery proper
• Championed the cause for initiating and purchasing high valued items for the department
• Initiated 5-S based housekeeping in Coke Plant and secured awards for improving work ambience with greenery and compliance to environmental norms
• Got the coveted ‘Jawahar Award’ twice for outstanding performance in 1999 and 2016
• Secured ‘Engineering Achievement Award’ from The Institution of Engineers (INDIA) in 2013
• Secured plant based ‘APEX’ Award in 2009 for improving Coke Handling Logistics
• Presented 20 technical papers during seminars and Operating Committee Meetings on Coke Making Technology, Environment Control of Coke Plant etc.
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Alessio Ferraris is currently serving as Technical Sales Manager and Head of Technical Service for Coke Making industry at Paul Wurth Italia S.p.A., part of SMS group.
Alessio Ferraris has 12-year experience in providing state-of-the-art solutions for Coke Making industry. He gained his expertise in design, engineering, commissioning, production of coke oven working as Senior Process Engineer.
He holds Bachelor and Master Degrees in Mechanical Engineering and a Postgraduate Master Course in Industrial Plant, Engineering and Technologies (MIPET) at University of Genoa (Italy).
Toshio Suzuki graduated from the National University of Samoa in the Independent State of Samoa with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2009 and served as the National head coach and Technical director of the Judo Association of Samoa (JAS) until 2013. He then served as a Consul at the Japanese Embassy in Samoa for five years, and then moved to Japan in 2018 and served at Honda Motor Co., Ltd. for five years, where he devoted himself to facilitating communication between engineers at bases in Japan and engineers at bases around the world. In 2023, he supported the construction of the coke oven battery in Japan by acting as an intermediary between a Japanese customer and German Supervisors from thyssenkrupp Uhde GmbH. He has been appointed by thyssenkrupp Uhde Japan in April 2025 as their Coke Plant Sales representative for Japanese and South Asian market. He holds a 3rd Dan black belt in judo.
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Min Li is a senior research analyst with over eighteen years of experience in the international coal mining industry. She joined Wood Mackenzie in 2016 and is currently based in Singapore with responsibility for Asia Pacific metallurgical coal and global coke market research.
Prior to joining Wood Mackenzie, Min worked with Peabody in business development and investment analysis for ten years.
Min also has over several years of experience in sales and marketing in FedEx.
Min Li is a CFA Level III candidate with an MBA from the University of Missouri in St. Louis.
Dr. Ahmed Shah Firoz served as Chief Economist at the Economic Research Unit of the Ministry of Steel till recently, studied Economics in India’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, to acquire is his Masters (MA) ,M.Phil. and Doctorate (Ph.D.) degrees. He worked on the problems of disequilibrium states of the market specifically involving consumer behavior in shortage economies of the erstwhile USSR, Hungary and Poland. He also worked on the concepts of soft budget constraints in investment decisions in both centrally planned and market economies.
Firoz is currently a member of the Expert Group in the government project Mining 2035 undertaken under the auspices of Niti Aayog, the government’s most important think tank and policy driver. He is a Member of the Governing Body of Thought Arbitrage Research Institute ( TARI), a professional research body. He is also member of the Advisory and Governing Body of Steel User Federation of India ( SUFI). He continues to advise the government on various policy and strategic matters related to the iron and steel and coal and other related sectors. He is also seen as the architect of India’s new steel policy.
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Mr. Shi Yanfeng, senior engineer, graduated from the Coal Chemical Engineering Department of Dalian University of Technology in 1991.
From 1991 to 2005 , he worked at Beijing Coking Chemical Works, engaged in coking technology, environmental protection, trade and strategic development.
From 2006 to 2012, he worked at Sinochem Internation Corporation, engaged in coke trade, project investment management, strategic development, safety and environmental protection. In December 2007, he was hired as a member of the Expert Advisory Committee by the China Coking Industry Association.
From 2012 to the present, he has worked in the China Coking Industry Association, serving as Deputy Secretary-General, Secretary-General, and President. He presided over the revision of the "Access Conditions for the Coking Industry" (2014 edition ) and the "Standardized Conditions for the Coking Industry" (2020 edition ); participated in the revision of standards and specifications such as the "Guidelines for Industrial Structure Adjustment", "Emission Standard of Pollutants for Coking Chemical Industry ", "The norm of Energy Consumption per Unit Product of Coke", and "National List of Hazardous Wastes"; presided over the promotion of full-process system optimization services for coking; and organized the compilation of the public welfare series of group standards "Coking Process Technical Regulations".
Meet Tammy Yang, a seasoned Coal & Coke Analyst at Mysteel Global, boasting an impressive decade-long track record of expertise in China's thermal coal, coking coal, met coke, and power sectors.
With her finger on the pulse of global market dynamics, Tammy has established herself as an industry expert, providing invaluable insights that drive business decisions. Her exceptional knowledge and analytical prowess make her a sought-after specialist in the industry.
Founded in 2000, Mysteel is the leading commodity service provider in China – www.mysteel.net
Mr. Li Can, who joined Shanghai Delong Group (ranked 452 in "Fortune Global 500" in 2024) since 2007, Director General of Procurment of Dexin Group, Director General of Sales of Detian Coking ,also General manager of PT. DEZE TRADING INDONESIA.
Mr. Li Can has 20 years experiences of International business, he has put the whole career on bulk procurement (Raw Materials and fuels) since he graduated from University. Also he is very experienced with Coke Market of the world.
Dr. Arvind is an experienced ESG, CSR & Risk Management professional with more than 3 decades of experience in Fertilizers, Petrochemicals, Steel, Cement, Shipping, Glass, FMCG, Pharma and Automobile sectors in National and Multinational environments.
Arvind currently works as a Chief Sustainability Officer with Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel. Before joining AMNS, Arvind was working as an Executive Director-ESG and Chief Risk Officer with Dalmia Bharat Group..
Besides Risk & Sustainability Arvind has also worked in the area of Operations, Business excellence, Marketing and HR.
Arvind holds a Doctorate in Climate Science and Marketing. He is also a certified Independent Director from the Institute of Directors.
Bio is coming soon.....
Andrew has 20 years of experience in
executive and senior management
roles, including with P&L responsibility
in the steel industry in South East Asia.
In his last role, Andrew was President of
BlueScope Lysaght Singapore. Andrew
has also worked in a number of
commercial and project management
roles with responsibility for setting up
effective organizations and processes.
Andrew holds a MBA and a degree in
economics.
