I have a career in the mining industry thanks to a field course that I took as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto. I realized that I learned more in a week in the field then I did over the course of an entire semester in class. Learning in a natural laboratory while being active and outdoors was a perfect fit for me!
A career in mining has made me realize the value that we as an industry bring to the countries and communities in which we operate. We help raise people out of poverty and improve the standard of living. We contribute the building blocks of our society with the raw materials for the items that we rely on every single day. We are the foundation of a sustainable future. Bringing people and resources together to build a better world inspires me.
My job is focused on understanding how ore deposits form so we can better predict where to find them. I imagine that it is a bit like detective work; teasing out clues to figure out when ore deposits formed in a certain spot and why. Successful exploration going forward will require that we predict the location of economic deposits undercover and to do that we need an understanding of the entire Earth system and how it operates. This requires brand new thinking and the generation of new concepts and innovative new tools. It’s a very challenging and exciting space!
I have the fortune of working with an incredibly knowledgeable, passionate and dedicated team of individuals. We challenge and support each other. I also engage with groups in academia and industry who are working on innovative new ideas, datasets and tools. A career in mining is very dynamic and I am constantly being encouraged to try new things and push boundaries. There are so many different aspects of the business and therefore innumerable opportunities to make a big impact.