Here is a piece from Jamie Caswell, Manager, Communications & Outreach, National Mining Association. It is worth reprinting and I am honored that this blog was considered to be one of the places to best disseminate it.
Women in the mining field will grow an incredible nine percent by 2019. With 1.2 million American jobs supported by minerals mining, it is no wonder that women have found a home in mining. Not only that, but the average salary for an employee in the sector is $85,504 a year and often climbs above $100,000. These women in mining are bringing unique skills in math and science to this male-dominated industry, proving that women can conquer all.
Spotlight on Ginger
Ever since Ginger McLemore was in junior high school she knew she wanted to be a geologist. She grew up in Baltimore and when it was time to go to college, she instinctively looked at the Colorado School of Mines, but instead set her sights on the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. In her current job she works in the Applied Research department, where she is the senior economic geologist for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. Throughout her career, Ginger has been given the ability and opportunity to set her own projects and continue to work on what she finds most interesting.
When Ginger first started work in in the 1980s, it was a much different scene. Women were in the field—but they had just started trickling in. Ginger mentioned, “I had two children at the time and the industry just did not know how to handle it.” But now she says it’s a much different scene; the industry now understands when women need to take their kids to school or leave for an assembly.
Over the past 15 years, the industry has grown. When Ginger was in school, she was the only women in her field camp. When the students would take field trips to the mine, the mine owners would say that women were not allowed to come in. But when the professor threatened to leave with all the students, the mine changed their mind.
Ginger says that she is happy women are being recognized for their achievements in mining. Back then, the ratio of women to men was 1:5 – perhaps even lower – but as time has passed, the ratio has shifted to 3:5. She even added that at the New Mexico Geological Survey there are more females on the executive board than males.
Lastly, she tells young women interested in the field, “you’ll never be bored. It will always be challenging and you have the opportunity to do things you could have never imagined.”
Virginia “Ginger” McLemore currently serves as the senior economic geologist for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources and the Minerals Outreach Liaison for the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. She joined the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources in 1980 and was promoted to senior geologist in 1993.
She specializes in mineral resources in New Mexico (geology, origin, resource potential, water resources, environmental assessment, impacts on water resources, reclamation, sustainable development; see current projects) and the geology and history of mining districts in New Mexico. She also holds memberships to several professional societies related to minerals mining.
Spotlight on Nicole
Nicole Preuss first got her start in mining as a contract geologist through Geotemps, a recruiting firm that hires individuals for skilled administrative, technical and introductory labor that is vital to a robust and necessary mining industry. She worked a number of short-term jobs gaining the experience that would help her later in life.
Prior to that, Nicole earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in geology. Her hard work and dedication at various companies lead to a great opportunity at Kinross Gold, a Canadian-based gold mining company with mines and projects in the United States and across the world. As a senior geologist, Nicole is responsible for management of all near mine exploration to extend the life of the Round Mountain mine in central Nevada. What she likes most about her days at Kinross is that they are filled with a variety of projects and no two days are ever the same. Whether she is working with operations or mentoring new geologists, Nicole says life at Kinross is never dull.
When asked what she would tell young women interested in a male-dominated field Nicole said, “Jump in with both feet, it [mining] may be a male dominated field, but it is not male exclusive.” She continued to discuss how women are a part of every aspect in mining from administrative positions to equipment operators to mining engineers.
She also elaborates on how things have changed since she entered the field in 1996. Nicole said she never felt as though she was working in a male dominated field, “There was no reason I should not have been there.” But she agrees that since the mid-90s, women have grown a considerable amount.
Nicole also reminded young women to choose their own path. She argues that mining is a grand thing that is not exclusively college-based. “Mining is one of the last industries where you can come into it right out of high school and work through the ranks, without necessarily having to go to college to be successful.”
Nicole Preuss attended the University of Central Missouri where she received her Bachelor of Science in Geology and went on to also get her Master of Science in Geology at Southern Illinois University.
Nicole is senior geologist at the Round Mountain Mine in central Nevada. Her primary duties include management of all near mine exploration to extend the life of the mine. She also supervises numerous contractors and steps in as the geology manager when the current manager is unavailable.
It’s been a complete change since I started in 1969. I remember seeing my first woman working in an open pit mine in N Ontario, back in about 1976. I met my first female mining engineer in the early ’90′s. She was a summer student at a mine where I worked, and she quickly became one of our best longhole drillers. Women back then were pioneers and had something to prove to the rest of us. Nowadays it’s quite common to see women engineers, as well as women working in pits or concentrators. Not a lot of female tradespersons yet, although I’ve met a couple and they are excellent diagnosticians. I have only seen one female mine superintendent. but several concentrator managers and engineering managers. No female general managers, but I suspect it’s just a matter of time.
I am interested in geology and i’d like to know how often do geologists travel and are there enough opportunities that when i graduate i could get the job as soon as possible?