Women in Mining. What would we do without them? – by Dick DeStefano (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – December 1, 2013)

Dick DeStefano is the Executive Director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA). destefan@isys.ca  This column was originally published in the December 2013 issue of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal.

Modern Mining & Technology Sudbury (MMTS) is one of the best organizations in Canada for promoting and creating awareness of mining and the technology advances in the industry.

The organization is responsible for number of mining games and activities geared to elementary and high school students and teachers during April and May each year, events that attract thousands of students from the Sudbury district to Dynamic Earth, the city’s geoscience centre. These innovative and interactive opportunities expose students to the importance of new technologies required for the future of mining. MMTS 2013 week-long events attracted over 1,000 attendees.

MMTS 2014 will be special because the organization has commitments from a number of professional women with mining industry experience.

The profiles of women in mining in this edition of Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal reflect the important role women are playing in the industry. However, in addition to playing a role in industry, women are taking a lead in promoting mining as a great career choice.

Much credit must go to Nicole Tardif, former chair of MMTS. Program coordinator at Laurentian Unversity’s Goodman School of Mines, Nicole led a group of volunteers to rebrand and restructure the Sudbury Mining Week organization to move into the 21st Century.

Her perseverance during the past two years led to the creation of a nonprofit organization with a full governance structure and multiple committees. She will continue to work with the MMTS executive as secretary and will be an active member in the years to come.

Lori Martin, geology lead at Glencore Xstrata’s Fraser Morgan Project in Sudbury, has agreed to serve as chair for the next two years. Lori has a significant background in mining exploration and analysis and, last year, was responsible for sponsorship support for MMTS. Lori is very thorough and committed to the industry, and we look forward to her leadership and ideas during the next two years. Claudine Beausoleil of the Bharti School of Engineering at Laurentian University is vice-chair for the forthcoming year and has been an active supporter of MMTS. She is well known in mining circles as she is responsible for finding co-op placements for students.

Claudine brings a high level of energy and professionalism to the MMTS committee.

Samantha Espley, Vale’s general manager of mines & mill technical services for Ontario Operations, has agreed to serve as honourary chair for the forthcoming year. Samantha has a wealth of operational experience and recently received the prestigious Women in Mining Canada National Trailblazer Award. She is a past-president and a founding director of WISE Sudbury (Women in Science & Engineering), a past member of the board of trustees for Science North, a long-standing member of CIM and has been an executive member of the CIM Sudbury Branch. She is also a newly appointed board member for the Bharti School of Engineering at Laurentian University.

Alana Arcand, Canadian mining coordinator at Golder Associates in Sudbury, is responsible for the annual MMTS career showcase, as well as the advertising campaign for the week-long MMTS. Alana has proven to be a capable and excellent organizer.

Other members of the executive are the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines’ Sean MacLean, who will oversee sponsorship, and Ed Debicki who serves as MMTS treasurer. Ed is the senior manager of the Ontario Geological Survey’s Geoscience Laboratories.

Yours truly, past honorary chair, will continue to work on the MMTS executive committee as a director emeritus, a newly created position.

A significant number of MMTS committees are led by women.

Shannon Katary of CEMI, Danica Pagnutti of Vale, Diana Holloway of Northern Life newspaper, Jennifer Beaudry of Dynamic Earth (Science North) and Sherrie Burrell, executive assistant, Stantec, are also contributing to the success of MMTS.

For full details on committee members and the proposed events for 2014, visit http://www.modernmining.ca/author/mmts.