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A couple of weeks back, Strictly Boardroom attended the Mines and Money conference in London, the UK’s largest annual mining industry conference.
Alongside the conference were the usual networking / free drinks events – the best of which was organised by the UK ‘Women in Mining’ (WIM UK) group. The WIM event not only drew the largest crowd but also offered the opportunity to win some bling!
Whilst the WIM UK event itself was well-attended by women (possibly up to a third of the crowd) the same could not be said for the rest of the conference. A quick count during one of the presentation sessions Strictly Boardroom chaired revealed a total of just three women in the room out of 52 (6%).
Looking across the whole conference, of the 189-people involved in the conference deliverables (presentations, panels, interviews, forums, debates etc.) there were only 16 female participants (8%). These numbers were repeated around the booths as well. To be fair, having spoken to the conference organiser, Mines and Money is well aware of the issue and is trying to recruit more female speakers.
Indeed, at least some of the issue is beyond their control in that the choice of conference participation not only lies with the organisers in terms of invitations but with companies too of course. For example, a good proportion of the speaking slots are fee-paying company promotional slots: Of these only two of the 35 slots were filled by women (6%), so kudos to both Champagne Resources and North American Nickel. The other companies presenting either had few women in leadership roles available to attend or else did not select them to do the job.
In fairness this is hardly an issue constrained to either the UK alone or to Mines and Money. A similarly small percentage (6%) of board members in ASX mining and exploration companies are women1. Likewise, the proportion of fellows (the most senior rank) of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) who are women is surprisingly still less than 2%!2
Action is needed. In Strictly Boardroom’s experience two practical objections to increased gender diversity in senior leadership roles are commonly raised at this point by the men with the power3 to change the situation: 1) they do not know any suitable women for leadership roles; and 2) that it is risky to appoint people without a leadership track-record, regardless of gender, in business, universities and professional societies (or even to speak at a conference perhaps?).
Fortunately, one of the free books in the Mines & Money conference pack has come to our rescue. The “100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining” produced by Women in Mining (UK) (and funded by BMO Capital Markets) resolves the first impediment above by providing a list of 100 women for all senior decision-makers in the industry to get to know. The list also resolves the second impediment in that all have been selected by the peers as inspirational leaders:
1. Kathleen Altman – Principal Metallurgist at Roscoe Postle Associates
2. Catherine Apthorpe – Head of Legal & Company Secretary at Amara Mining
3. Joyce Arynee – Management and communications consultant
4. Michelle Ash – Engineer and former COO of Acacia Mining
5. Adiki Ayitivie – Director of External Affairs and Communications for Africa at Newmont
6. Georgette Barnes Sakyi-Addo – Founder of numerous small mining-related companies
7. Ann Batisse – Programme Director for Aboriginal Women in Mining
8. Julie Beck – CFO at Joy Mining Machinery
9. Sophie Bergeron – Manager Operations at Hoyle Pond Underground (Goldcorp)
10. Anushika Bhana – Manager for Precious Metals Sales (Western Hemisphere) at Anglo American
11. Christine Blackmore – Associate Director at Wardell Armstrong International
12. Lynda Bloom – President & CEO of Analytical Solutions Ltd.
13. Italia Boninelli – Executive Vice President of People and Organizational Development at AngloGold Ashanti
14. Lisa Bradley – Vice President and Senior Toxicologist at Hayley & Aldrich
15. Laurie Brlas – Vice President and CFO of Newmont Mining
16. Mellissa Brown – Team Leader (Crew Haulage) at Glencore
17. Hilary Byrne – Resettlement Coordinator to ArcelorMittal Liberia
18. Zeinab Camara – Communities Manager at Rio Tinto
19. Froydis Cameron-Johansson – Head of Safety, Sustainability, Corporate Affairs and Compliance at Anglo American
20. Cheryl Carolus – Chairperson at Gold Fields
21. Liv Carroll – Technical Director at Wardell Armstrong
22. Deborah Caudle – Director and Head of Metals and Mining (Australia) for Societe Generale
23. Anne Chalmers – Vice President for Risk and Security at Teck Resources
24. Andrea Cornwall – Head of Coal Marketing at Vale International
25. Aline Cote – Global Head of Mining Technical Services at Glencore Zinc
26. Wing-Yunn Crawley – Biodiversity Manager at ArcelorMittal Liberia
27. Danielle Dimitrov – CEO and President of Orvana Minerals
28. Claudia Diniz – Head of IP and Technical Information at Anglo American
29. Mette Dobel – Global Product Line Manager for FLSmidth A/S
30. Caroline Donally – Director of Metals and Minerals Deal Team at Denham Capital
31. Elaine Dorward-King – Executive Vice President of Sustainability and External Affairs at Newmont Mining
32. Heidi Edwards – Superintendent of Maintenance Integration at the Operations Centre of Rio Tinto
33. Catherine Farrow – CEO and Director at TMAC Resources
34. Chantal Francoeur – Vice President of Human Resources and Communications at Glencore
35. Andrea Freeborough – Vice President of Finance at Kinross Gold
36. Joanne Freeze – Geologist and CEO of Candente Copper
37. Diane Garrett – Former President, CEO and Director at Romarco Minerals
38. Betty Gibbs – Mining engineer, university professor and company founder and director
39. Natalia Golovkina – Partner at Deloitte CIS
40. Euridice Gonzalez – Country Manager for Mexico at McEwan Mining
41. Sarah Gordon – Geologist, risk management expert and company founder and CEO
42. Betty-Ann Heggie – Accountant, mentor and retired senior figure at PotashCorp
43. Jeane Hull – Retired Executive Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Peabody Energy
44. Ruth Ives – Vice President of Project Development at Dalradian Resources
45. Pippa Jeffcock – Head of Mining Business Unit at Kulczyk Investments
46. Jayde Johnson – Mechanical Fitter for BHP Billiton
47. Zayaan Kahn – Market Strategy Manager for Rio Tinto
48. Tracey Kerr – Group Head of Exploration at Anglo American
49. Sheila Khama – Director of the African Natural Resources Centre at the African Development Bank
50. Ashley Kirwan – Co-founder, Vice President and Senior Project Geologist at Orix Geoscience
51. Johanita Kotze – Lead Hydrogeologist at Anglo American
52. Maggie Kotze – Engineering Planner at Mutanda Mining
53. Michelle Lawson – Financial Controller of Glencore Coal Assets Australia
54. Jeanne Le Roux – Chief Occupational Health Medical Officer at Kamoto Copper / Glencore
55. Carmen Letton – Group Head of Open Pit Mining at Anglo American
56. Vanessa Lickfold – Head of Early Studies at Anglo American
57. Courtney Lynn – Vice President and Treasurer at Coeur Mining
58. Siza Majola – Senior Manager of Stakeholder Relations at Royal Bafokeng Holdings
59. Rebecca Major – Lawyer and Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills
60. Faby Manzano – Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Barrick Gold
61. Olivia Markham – Director and Portfolio Manager at Blackrock
62. Tina Markovic – Head of Integrated Operations at the Escondida mine, BHP Billiton
63. Andrea Marsland-Smith – Manager for Regulatory and Compliance at Heathgate Resources
64. Almorie Maule – Director at Impala Platinum Holdings
65. Elena Mayer – Senior Manager of Client Relationships (Mining) for PWC Canada
66. Jeannette McGill – Head of Technology and Innovation at Anglo American
67. Aoife McGrath – Vice President for Exploration at Alamos Gold
68. Catherine McLeod-Seltzer – Director, President and Chairperson of multiple Canadian mining companies
69. Angelina Mehta – Investment Manager at The Sentient Group
70. Patrice Merrin – Non-Executive Director at Glencore
71. Simangele Mngomezulu – Executive Director of Stakeholder Relations at White Rivers Exploration
72. Moetlo Maria Moganedi – Mining Engineer and Site Manager at Aveng Mining
73. Emily Moore – Managing Director for Water and Tailings Management at Hatch
74. Marian Moroney – Senior Director for Global Exploration at Barrick Gold
75. Trisha Naidoo – Manager of Metallurgy for Ivanhoe Mines
76. Aissatou Ndong – Head of Port Operations at Grande Cote Operations, Senegal
77. Priscilla Nelson – Chair of the Department of Mining Engineering at Colorado School of Mines
78. Daphne Mashile Nkoshi – Executive Chairperson for Kalagadi Manganese
79. Veronica Nyhan Jones – Global Head of Sustainable Business Advisory for the International Finance Corporation
80. Kellie Parker – Managing Director for Pilbara Assets and Development at Rio Tinto
81. Noleen Pauls – Project Operations Manager for MSA Group
82. Louise Pearce – Managing Partner for Global Mining at Environmental Resources Management (ERM)
83. Genevieve Pearson – Geologist and Principal Consultant for Phoenix GeoConsulting
84. Anastasia Plischka – Technical Sales Engineer at Gekko Systems
85. Carol Plummer – Vice President of Project Development (USA & Latin America) for Agnico Eagle Mines
86. Kathleen Quirk – CFO, Executive Vice President and Treasurer for Freeport McMoRan
87. Birgit Rameseder – Senior Techno-Economic Analyst at De Beers Group Services
88. Shastri Ramnath – Co-founder, President and Principal Geologist at Orix Geoscience
89. Berte Simons – Engineer and Business Unit Director for Mining and Heavy Industry and Country Manager (Indonesia) for Royal Haskoning DHV
90. Eira Thomas – President, CEO and Director at Kaminak Gold
91. Sarah Thomas – Partner and Head of the International Mining Group for Pinsent Masons
92. Vanessa Torres – Vice President of Production, Logistics and Infrastructure for BHP Billiton
93. Irena Tsakova – Operations Director at Dundee Precious Metals
94. Anna Tudela – Vice President of Diversity, Regulatory Affairs and Corporate Secretary for Goldcorp
95. Laura Tyler – Vice President for Strategy and Performance at BHP Billiton
96. Fransje Van der Marel – Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company
97. Frances Wall – Mineralogist and Professor at the Camborne School of Mines
98. Joanne Warner – Senior Portfolio Manager (Global Resources) for Colonial First State Global Asset Management
99. Anna Wiley – General Manager for Tom Price and Marandoo, Rio Tinto
100. Elena Zhavoronkova – Vice President of Legal Affairs at Polyus Gold International
Strictly Boardroom is ashamed to say that we only have the business cards of just seven of these inspirational female leaders. How many do you know?
That said, we also reckon that an ‘All-Australian’ list of a further 100 inspirational women-in-mining is more than doable. What do you think?
Good Hunting.
John Sykes is undertaking a multidisciplinary doctorate at the Centre for Exploration Targeting, UWA. He is also director of Greenfields Research, a consultancy specialising in the analysis of mining and exploration across the base, precious and speciality metals sectors (john.sykes@greenfieldsresearch.com).
Allan Trench is a Professor at UWA Business School and Research Professor (Value & Risk) at the Centre for Exploration Targeting, a Non-Executive Director of several resource sector companies – and the Perth representative for CRU Consulting, a division of independent metals & mining advisory CRU Group (allan.trench@crugroup.com).
