Samantha Espley: mining a challenging career for Vale manager.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: MINING

At her first summer mining job, while an engineering student at the University of Toronto, Samantha Espley was one of four women--of 10 students--hired on at Falconbridge's Keno Gold Mine in Val d'Or, Que. It wasn't until later that it dawned on her how unique it was to work with that many other women.

"I didn't really think much of it at the time until after I realized how few women there really were to choose from," said Sudbury-based Espley, who was the only woman in her engineering class. "So it was quite a neat experience."

After graduating, Stan Bharti, who would later bestow Laurentian University's engineering school with a $10-million endowment, interviewed Espley for her position at Falconbridge, where she remained for a few years before hiring on at Inco (now Vale). Since then, she's worked in research, been a general foreman underground, acted as superintendent of business systems, and served as manager of nickel services for mining operations. She's currently the general manager for mines and technical services.

In March, in recognition of her achievements, Espley was awarded the second annual National Trailblazer Award from Women in Mining Canada, an organization that focuses on advancing the interests of women in the minerals exploration and mining sector.

Of the roles she's held during her 25-year career, Espley said her favourite remains hard-rock mining, for the challenge of the technical work and the evolving nature of the business.

"We're always mining and depleting the ore zone and we're chasing to the next zone, so it's always changing," she said. "It's something new every day and you have the ability to make decisions to make things better. You have the ability to influence what happens every day, and in a positive way--the safety, the production. You feel a very strong sense of reward at the end of every shift."

She's often found herself the only woman in a group of men, but Espley said her experience in the industry has been overwhelmingly positive. Often she had to overcome her own anxieties about the job she was doing: was she being assertive enough? Was she being too soft?

"I really haven't had any role models that are women in my field, so ifs been difficult to find my way" Epsley said. "But there have been a number of men in the business who have been extremely supportive as formal mentors, and who have really been helpful in working through some of those personal anxieties that I've had."

Advancements in the...