Plenty of potential in the mining industry

1 of 1Mine your Potential was an inaugural development event for women or men interested in the natural resources sector in Saskatchewan. — Anne Gent photo

Mine your Potential, an inaugural development event for anyone interested in the natural resources sector in Saskatchewan, was presented by Women in Mining and Women in Nuclear Saskatchewan Inc. (WIM/WiN) on October 22, 2013.

Nancy Komperdo is the co-chair for Women in Mining/Women in Nuclear Saskatchewan branch and is an exploration geoscientist at BHP Billiton. She has worked in the mining industry since 2006 in both operations and exploration. She said right now only about 14 per cent of the mining industry is made up of women.

"This includes women in clerical roles all the way up to heavy equipment operators," said Komperdo. "So it's really a small percentage of the industry. Our main goal is to open the eyes of everyone in Canada and show them this industry is wonderful and you can work in it too. Everyone can.

"We really hope to attract more women to the industry, starting with people in university. We want to let them know they can study what they want to study. We are looking for a wide variety of people, from biologists to chemists to human resources and financially skilled people."

The Mine your Potential event was a great way to not only attract people to the industry but help them network and get educated.

"Several months ago, the seed was planted in our minds from an industry representative who had experience doing this kind of thing for the oil and gas industry," said Komperdo. "They approached us to see if we would be interested in doing some sort of development event like this. We were absolutely engaged and on board with this opportunity presented to us."

Komperdo said they worked with a group of project management individuals from across the industry to pull the event together and it turned out to be a great success.

"It gave the opportunity for women, and men, in the industry to gather together and learn about the industry," she said, "and the limitations that may or may not exist when it comes to being a woman in the mining industry and put aside any preconceived notions about women in mining.

"It's a great industry to work in and women are really a key part of it. A lot of women don't even realize this is great industry to work in. We really used this as an opportunity to reach out and talk to everyone about the opportunities of the mining industry."

Women in Mining Saskatchewan currently has ongoing monthly luncheons and other networking events for women and men in the mining industry. The organization will also start planning the second Mine your Potential event in the next six months. To find out how you can get involved, visit their website at www.saskmining.ca/info/SaskWIM/wim-info.html.