Following a month-long nomination process, the MiningNews.Net editorial team faced the difficult task of combing through the submissions to finalise a shortlist.

MNN is Australia's leading daily mining investment and finance news service.

Editor Kristie Batten thanked readers who took the time to nominate.

"We were impressed with the calibre of the nominations, which made the task of narrowing them down all the more difficult," she said.

There was some robust discussion and debate, but the nominees are …

CEO of the Year

Bob Vassie - St Barbara

Jake Klein - Evolution Mining

Bill Beament - Northern Star Resources

Amanda Lacaze - Lynas Corporation

Rohan Williams - Dacian Gold

New/Emerging Leader of the Year

Patrick Walta - New Century Resources

Brendan Borg - Celsius Resources

Jim Simpson - Aurelia Metals

Explorer of the Year

Breaker Resources for the Lake Roe gold project outside Kalgoorlie

Celsius Resources for the Opuwo cobalt project in Namibia

Xanadu Resources for the Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia

Peel Mining for its Cobar polymetallic projects in New South Wales

SolGold for the Cascabel copper-gold project in Ecuador

Deal and/or Merger of the Year

Aurelia Metals US$58 million acquisition of Peak

Highlands Pacific's cobalt streaming deal with Cobalt 27

Kidman Resources' joint venture with SQM

Yancoal Australia's US$2.45 billion coal acquisitions

Northern Star Resources and Westgold Resources' South Kalgoorlie deal

Over the next few weeks, we will be profiling the nominees which will shed some light on the rationale for their inclusion on the shortlist.

During that time, our judging panel will deliberate and decide on the final winners.

The winners will be announced in the week starting July 23.