From mineral exploration to decisions in mining operations
Practical experience in exploration, mine operations and project evaluation, connecting real industry challenges with graduate learning.
Previous leadership roles · Fura Gems · Gemfields / Kagem
Geology and mining roles since 1997.
Consulting and project work, per his résumé.
Multicultural team at Kagem Mining, Zambia, 2015–2017.
Member since 2003; now a Fellow.
A geologist and mining executive whose experience spans field exploration, resource evaluation and operational leadership. His career includes Tata Steel, Vedanta Resources, Gemfields / Kagem and Fura Gems; he currently leads edGeo Resources.
Dibya Jyoti Baral is a geologist and mining executive whose career runs from the exploration field to the management of large operations. After postgraduate studies in applied geology at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, he joined Tata Steel in 1997 as a geologist at the Sukinda chromite mine in India. Over more than eight years he moved from quality control of chromite dispatches and resource estimation to heading geological services for the company's manganese leases.
In 2006 he worked as a geologist at the Zod gold mine in Armenia with Vedanta Resources, and then founded edGeo Resources, a consultancy that applies GIS, remote sensing and field exploration to early-stage projects. Through edGeo he has supported gold, base-metal, nickel and iron projects in India and abroad, including an independent due diligence of iron tenements in Mauritania.
In 2013 he joined Gemfields at Kagem Mining in Zambia, which Gemfields describes as the world's largest emerald mine. As Head of Production, Planning and Exploration he was responsible for mine planning and scheduling across five open pits and for exploration beyond the existing operation. From 2015 to 2017, as General Manager, he was responsible for planning, budgeting and monitoring the whole operation, leading a multicultural team of about 900 people and working with government, communities and the press. In 2015 he served as technical lead for the company's mineral resources in the Competent Persons Report prepared by SRK Consulting (UK).
He worked with Fura Gems from June 2018 to March 2026, first as Director of Technical Services and, from April 2021, as Chief Technical Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Africa operations. He currently serves as Managing Director of edGeo Resources.
A Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists, he has published and presented research on remote sensing and GIS applied to geological interpretation and mineral prospecting. For GAE University's graduate students, his career offers a view of mining from both sides of the decision: the geological evidence behind a project, and the operational, financial and community consequences of acting on it.
An invitation to examine real challenges in exploration, mine operations and project evaluation through his industry experience.
Present
Consultancy for geological and GIS projects.
Target generation and greenfield exploration for gold and base metals in India and abroad, GIS databases, due diligence and prospect evaluation. Field work covered mapping, geochemical sampling, geophysical surveys and drilling supervision, in projects across 11 countries.
June 2018 – March 2026
Guided the technical side of exploration, mining and processing for the group: early-stage gemstone appraisal, resource assessment, feasibility, resource inventory and reconciliation, process automation, and growth opportunities.
2013 – 2017
Zambia. Gemfields describes Kagem as the world's largest emerald mine.
Responsible for planning, budgeting and monitoring all operations, then for mine planning and scheduling across five open pits, with a team of geologists, a gemologist and engineers. Liaison with government, communities and the press, and with Gemfields' sustainability projects.
2006
Zod gold mine, Armenia.
Production geology and exploration design at an open-pit gold mine, including budgets for extensions of ore bodies, drilling, logging and geological sections.
1997 – 2006
Ferro Alloys and Minerals Division, India.
Led geological services for six manganese leases: exploration programs, core drilling, resource evaluation of 11 manganese and iron blocks, production planning and statutory mining plans. Earlier, quality assurance for about 1.5 million tonnes of chromite products and a team role in a pit-slope and underground feasibility study with SRK Consulting.
1993 – 1996
Roorkee, India.
Foundation in applied geology, preceded by an undergraduate degree at Utkal University (1990 – 1993).
From 2013 to 2017 he held two successive roles at Kagem Mining, a Gemfields company: first Head of Production, Planning and Exploration, then General Manager.
The work joined geology and operations: turning a resource model into mine schedules for five open pits, and turning budgets and targets into the daily work of a large, multicultural workforce.
The challengeConnect resource models, mining schedules, budgets and the coordination of a multicultural workforce.
His responsibilityProduction, planning and exploration leadership, followed by general management at Kagem between 2013 and 2017.
The learning connectionExamine how geological evidence informs technical, operational and financial decisions.
Historical figures taken from his résumé. They describe the Kagem operation and its teams between 2015 and 2017, not current results, and they are not attributed to one person alone. The 2015 Competent Persons Report was prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) Limited. In November 2016 he presented the Kagem operation at Gemfields' Capital Markets Day in London.
What he can bring to a graduate classroom, grounded in the roles above.
From desktop target generation to drilling supervision and resource estimation, in chromite, manganese, iron, gold and emerald.
Pit design and scheduling with industry software, and production planning for five open pits at Kagem.
Due diligence and early-stage appraisal, including a two-property iron review in Mauritania that covered roughly 2,000 km².
Judging resource potential, exploitation potential and the risks around them before committing capital.
GIS, remote sensing, 3D orebody modeling and Leapfrog models of emerald-bearing pegmatite vein systems.
Process re-engineering programs, ERP development in geological functions, and process automation.
Multicultural teams of up to about 900 people, and small teams in remote greenfield exploration.
Community and government relations, sustainability projects and safety and environmental benchmarks.
Applied research on remote sensing and GIS for geological interpretation and mineral prospecting, alongside work on exploration technologies and database modules for grade reconciliation.
D. J. Baral, R. P. Gupta
International Journal of Remote Sensing, 18(18), 3889–3894. Taylor & Francis.
D. J. Baral, R. P. Singh
Conference paper, 32nd International Geological Congress, Florence, Italy.
D. J. Baral, R. P. Singh
Poster, SEG 2004 conference, Predictive Mineral Discovery Under Cover, Perth, Australia.
C. Mohanty, D. J. Baral, J. Malik
Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing, 32(3), September 2004. Cover article.
Graduate education in mining gains from people who have lived the decisions it studies. His experience points to questions such as these.
These themes describe the kind of discussion his experience can inform. They do not imply access to confidential projects or participation in live operations. Course assignments will be confirmed by GAE University.
What does the data support, and what does it leave open?
How does a resource estimate become a budget, a schedule and a decision to proceed?
How do you plan and schedule several open pits while exploration continues nearby?
How do you reconcile the model with what the mine delivers?
How do improvement programs and risk controls fit into daily operations?
How do you coordinate multicultural workforces, contractors, authorities and communities?
How does a geological choice echo through cost, schedule and stakeholder relations?
His experience relates closely to the themes of the program below.
Back to FacultyIntegrated management of extractive operations: planning, sustainability, safety and technical leadership for modern mining.
Explore the program