Diana Carolina Arbelaez Ruiz

I study the social and political dimensions of resource extraction to inform dialogue, and policy- and decision-making. My interests include the dynamics of raw materials for the energy transition, conflict and peacebuilding in mining regions, and indigenous rights and activism in natural resource extraction contexts. I have more than 20 years’ combined experience in the areas of development, social responsibility, peace and conflict studies, and sustainability, with a strong emphasis on the extractive sector.

At UEF, I am examining the geopolitical and socio-environmental aspects of energy transition minerals from a global perspective. My previous posting was as Senior Research Fellow in the Sustainable Minerals Institute’s Development Minerals Program, where I oversaw the establishment of an online knowledge exchange network for ASM miners and quarry workers – the Delve Exchange. My doctoral thesis dealt with Indigenous community participation in post-conflict mineral resource governance in Colombia. As part of this, I was a Visiting Endeavour Fellow at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). Subsequently, I was a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. I held Research Fellow and Research Manager roles at the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland, where I worked on a broad suit of topics focusing on Latin American and Australian sites. I have been a consultant to NGOs and mining companies providing specialist knowledge and advisory services in connection to mining and development projects.