Diego Villagómez Díaz, PhD

Lead and coordinate activities for the Young Mining Professionals (YMP) Switzerland chapter, fostering professional development, networking, and advocacy within the mining industry. Oversee strategic initiatives, support member engagement, and promote diversity and sustainability in mining. Collaborate with the Executive Committee to expand the organization’s reach and impact.

YMP connects people to advance our industry. We are advocates for change, positive relationships, and mining the materials our world needs for a sustainable future. YMP was established to assist members in obtaining the skills, support and knowledge to successfully advance their careers, develop a network of contacts within the industry, and identify career and mining-related investment opportunities.

https://genevaresources.com

Oil and gas exploration geologist in Central and South America in an industry-funded research programme. My work focuses on oil and gas-rich basins, such as the Mexican Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean basins.

- Establishing contacts with national institutions and private companies interested in having thermochronological data as part of their natural resource exploration programs. - Thermal history modelling of the Swiss Molasse Basin for deep geothermal exploration, Geological risk analysis of key areas. - In charge of the optimization of the fission track laboratory at the University of Geneva. Setting up the new protocols for LA-ICP-MS based fission track dating.

- Published hundreds of high-level reports on oil and gas E&P activity in Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. Africa reports annual sales reached USD 20 MM). - Advised major international oil companies (IOCs including all super majors: Shell, Eni, Total) on multi-million-dollar investment opportunities. All clients secured the most promising exploration licences/projects in the region. - Regular face-to-face business meetings with Chief Exploration and Upstream officers from major IOCs, as well as with government officials in Geneva and abroad. In addition I was a part-time Basin Researcher in charge of analysis of petroleum systems, stratigraphy and basin evolution (covering Saharan and Sub-Saharan Africa).

- Research project worth USD 5 MM financed by Eni, Shell, Petrobras, Statoil among others, aimed at establishing the oil and gas potential of several regions of Mexico and the Caribbean. - Main projects: - “Tectonics of Southern Mexico and its influence on oil maturation and trap formation in the Southern Gulf of Mexico, Tampico-Misantla, Veracruz, Sureste and Chiapas basins”, - “Tectonics of the Caribbean region (with emphasis on offshore Colombia and Venezuela), as well as continental Colombia and Ecuador”.

- Consultant for a number of multi-million dollar projects, among which: - Pre-feasibility studies for two geothermal projects in Ecuador (Chacana and Chachimbiro). The Chanana geothermal power plant will produce over 40MW with an investment of around USD 160 million in the next few years. - Geological risk analysis for the USD 600 MM new international airport of Quito. The construction started in 2006 and was inaugurated in 2013.

Ecuadorian-Canadian consulting company in Engineering, Geology and Environment Founder Associate and geological advisor for technical reports.

I participated in the installation of lab facilities, evaluated laboratory equipment performance, analyzed and interpreted data, and published as well as presented results at workshops, internal group meetings and international conferences.