Meet three women who have
embarked on careers in the mining
industry. This program profiles Robin
Betker, a mining technician who lays
drill patterns for long hole drillers;
Marilčne Larocque, Chief Geologist
with a mining exploration company;
and Shalni Prowse, a grade control
technician who monitors ore quality.
Remarks from co-workers and supervisors provide
additional layers to the descriptions of each job.
View a preview video clip and read below for descriptions of each segment, or
scroll to the bottom to order!
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Mine technician Robin Betker spends a lot
of her working day down under. She's
underground in a mine laying drill patterns
for long hole drillers. The drilled holes are
packed with dynamite and exploded. The
resulting rock fragments are taken away
for processing.
Along with the day-to-day elements of her job, Robin likes the social aspect of
working with so many different people in the mine. It's a different environment
and one that she finds can be a real blast. “It's exciting to work underground.
It's a completely different atmosphere and you work with 400 different people.”
Robin took several different courses in college before
deciding she wanted a fast track into the work force.
That's when she found the mining program at her local
technical college. Her future goals include gaining as
much experience as possible in all aspects of mining.
Going underground can be a good career move, with plenty of on the job training advancement and a variety of courses available.
Robin's position pays about well, working a 40 hour week with shift work. When
she's not hiking around the mine, she likes to keep active and take advantage
of the great outdoors.
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Geologist Marilčne Larocque wanted a
career that would take her outdoors, but
she couldn't decide between ecology and
geology. Geology won out and she's never
looked back. Now she's Chief Geologist
with a mining exploration company and is
responsible for all exploration forays into
Northern Quebec.
“You have to be a little bit of the adventurous type to do this work. You have to
be resourceful, and you have to be able to combine scientific analysis with
physical work.”
Marilčne is involved in the exploration end of the mining industry. She works for
Socem, a company interested in finding and identifying mineral deposits.
Though Marilčne really loves the part of her work that takes her outside, she
also has a lot of work to do in the office – that's where she does a lot of her
primary research and also where she writes all her final reports after her field
trips.
When Marilčne does field work, it's not limited to
looking for rocks and gathering samples. She also has
to make the travel arrangements to all those remote
locations and secure accommodations and food and
all within the budget established for that particular
project.
Even if technological advances have made the field work a little safer and a
little faster, some things haven't changed. Geologists still have to be in good
shape for the weeks of 12 hour days in the wilderness.
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Grade control technician Shalni Prowse
spends a lot of time underground doing
quality checks on the ore that miners take
out. Ore quality changes as the miners
work through an ore vein. It has to be of
high enough quality to be mined cost
effectively. So when her samples indicate
that the ore quality has diminished in one
part of the mine, she has the miners move to another location underground.
For Shalni, it’s a dirty job but very enjoyable!
“I like it underground. People don't realize how big it is. I've been working there
for three years and I still haven't seen the whole mine.”
Shalni earns good pay, which can go up considerably
depending on how many weekends she works. Shalni
encourages other women to consider a career in
mining because it pays well and there are lots of
opportunities for women. She says her bosses would
like to hire more women, but that women don't apply.
On the surface and off the job, Shalni’s schedule allows her time to pursue
many interests, mostly outdoors. She lives in a small community near her
family and takes her dog along on most outings.
Click the image to the left
for a preview video clip!
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Developed in 2006 in Canada, the Career Options for Women series is an
outstanding resource for schools wanting to attract women and girls to Science,
Technology and Trades!
Please Note: These videos are an excellent depiction of women in these jobs
and are interspersed with Canadian salary and labor statistics, which are
similar to the numbers in the United States. As there is a no-return policy on
these publications, please make sure to look at the preview video clip for the
DVD(s) you are ordering.
Pricing - Career Options for Women: Emerging Technologies DVDs
