In pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree, I certainly didn’t imagine that I would end up in the mining industry, and yet here I am! I had always associated mining with STEM streams and it simply never occurred to me that there was a place for creative minds and strategic thinking. Upon graduating, I volunteered abroad in Bolivia to gain experience and benefited from a different perspective on the world. After returning to Sudbury, I landed at Golder, a global mining consulting firm, starting in an entry-level position and after 13 years and counting, I am now the marketing lead for our global mining business. The passion of my colleagues for their work was contagious, and their willingness to share their knowledge with me was all I needed to learn and grow and find my place in the world of mining and science communications. A world that definitely requires creative minds!
What’s not to love? I work with great people, in an employee-owned company, who are as passionate about what they do as I am. Helping communicate the stories of the innovative and impactful work we are producing is extremely rewarding. Whether it’s a specialized niche area or a broader multi-disciplinary approach to the latest mining industry challenge, there’s always something interesting to share with our clients who may be encountering similar challenges that we can help solve together.
If you aren’t in mining it seems simple; dig a hole, take out some rock, get metals. However, if you’re in the industry, you know just how far from the truth that is. The intricacy and complexity of operations, years of planning and development, and the sheer number of skill sets required, it is far from simple. That’s exactly why I love it. I love seeing how all the individual facets work together to extract metals that we take for granted in our daily lives. The fun of consulting is that we have so many of those disciplines under one roof. It’s normal to have fish, water, air, rock, waste and infrastructure specialists all working on a project together.
If variety is the spice of life, then mining has it in spades. Regardless of your role within the industry there are all sorts of forms it can take. You can choose to work for a major operation, an exploration company, work on site, or in an office, for a consultant or contractor, or even the government. It can allow you to stay right here in Northern Ontario, or to travel the world. There are so many options available when you choose a career in mining and there’s nothing stopping you from trying out a few!