ESE MSc student attends leading metals and mining conference

Bank of Montreal supports Metals and Energy Finance MSc student on a trip to its annual Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference.

Financial support in the form of scholarships is a key factor in student success at Imperial. Bank of Montreal (BMO) took their support of Metals and Energy MSc student Freya Huang one step further with a trip to the 34^th annual BMO Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference in Florida.

Held in Hollywood, Florida, the conference was attended by more than 1,400 global industry leaders and institutional investors over four days from 23^rd to 26^th of February. Freya Huang, who is the recipient of the 2024/25 Bank of Montreal Scholarship for the MSc Metals and Energy Finance, offered by the Department of Earth Science and Engineering (ESE), attended with Bill Smith, Managing Director at BMO Capital Markets in London.

On the first day of the conference, there were rapid fire recap sessions for attendees working in finance on all things mining, commodities, and critical minerals. Freya found this useful for linking modules she has covered in her Master’s with industry examples.

Monday morning saw back-to-back presentations from CEOs of the world’s leading mining companies including BHP and Rio Tinto, followed by a Q&A. This covered areas such as the latest updates, challenges and opportunities in the sector.

The remainder of Freya’s time at the conference was spent networking and taking one-on-one meetings with a range of mining companies and capital providers such as private equity firms. Ahead of the keynote session, Bill introduced Freya as BMO’s scholarship recipient to the conference, providing a huge opportunity for Freya to connect with other attendees.

For Freya, the highlight was the exposure she gained to senior leadership at mining and finance companies from around the world. The networking opportunity presented by the conference cannot be overstated and provides a strong foundation for Freya’s career post-Imperial.

Freya was also able to meet three alumni from the MSc Metals and Energy Finance who have gone on to roles with both mining companies and capital providers.

BMO has been supporting women in the MSc Metals and Energy Finance since 2015, and we would like to thank them for their ongoing support.

To find out more about scholarships for the ESE MSc courses, including application forms and eligibility criteria, visit the ESE website: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/earth-science/prosp-students/pg-courses/studentships/