The Rt Revd David Urquhart KCMG
Bishop David was raised in the Scottish Highlands and became a committed Christian at the age of 18 in Idi Amin's Uganda. He worked with BP for ten years in London, Teesside, Germany and Ireland before a call to ordained ministry in the Church of England.
He served as Bishop of Birmingham and as Convenor of the Lords Spiritual, stepping down from both roles in 2022 on reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. He is the Archbishop of Canterbury's Envoy to China.
As Chair of the Mining and Faith Reflections Initiative (MFRI), Bishop David has worked extensively to support and catalyse courageous dialogue between global faith leaders and the mining sector around the world. This includes:
- Chairing annual Days and Dinners of Reflection
- Encouraging the set up of courageous dialogue at the national level, including in Brazil. Bishop David attended the inaugural Courageous Dialogue in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2024, and subsequent meetings including in Maceió in 2026. This participation was informed by site visits to Minas Gerais in 2023, where Bishop David spent time with communities critically impacted by the Brumadinho and Mariana tailings disasters
- Representing and speaking at a wide range of industry events, including Mining in Motion, Ghana (2025), and the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa (held annually). Bishop David is also a regular speaker at the ICMM Responsible Mining Leadership Forum, held annually during LME week in London, UK
Emily Richards
Emily is a human rights and business consultant with 20 years' experience working on the social, ecological and human rights impacts of the mining sector.
She has conducted on-site and desk-based research and analysis on the social and human rights risks associated with the mining industry, working with companies, NGOs and international organisations including UNICEF, the European Commission and the South African Human Rights Commission. Her on-site experience includes work in South Africa, Colombia, Egypt, Serbia, Peru and Ghana.
Emily has served as Secretariat Manager to the Mining and Faith Reflections Initiative since May 2018. In this role, Emily supports the development of strategy and implementation of the objectives of the MFRI with the MFRI Secretariat, Steering Committee and through the extensive network of key stakeholders operating within the mining industry and across global Christian and interfaith traditions.
Emily's work is built around a passion for engagement and relationship building with a wide range of stakeholders. She has lived and worked in Johannesburg, South Africa, and now lives close to Oxford in the UK.
Joanne Gardiner
Joanne is a governance and operations professional with extensive experience supporting Boards of Trustees and senior leadership teams across the charity and public health sectors, including at the Medical Research Foundation, the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), and Frontline AIDS.
She holds an LLM in International Human Rights Law, a Graduate Diploma in Law, and a BA (Hons) in International Development.
Joanne is based in Hove, East Sussex, and volunteers as a Community Mediator with Mediation Plus Sussex.