How did you decide on pursuing your degree(s)? Did you know about geology before you entered university?
Describe your career progression since finishing undergrad.
I’ve grown up privileged with freedom to pursue many interests. When I entered university, I was a passionate organizer who’d had a lot of opportunities creating and working on fundraisers focused on international development and sustainability. I was also fascinated by the natural world and human physiology. When I started university, I was excited about being involved in international aid as well as environmental activism. I’d always loved the sciences and was working my way towards medical school with the hope of becoming a doctor with Medicine Sans Frontier or a rural medical doctor.
I’d grown up with a family in the health and social sciences as well as international development and knew I wanted to do something that let me be active and outside, while pursuing my values around equality with the earth and other species. I stumbled into geology when I was in my second year and was looking for field work to help pay for university. Somehow, I got to spend my first field season in Yukon with other individuals who are some of my dearest friends to this date. I was hired as a soil sampler, and fell in love with the long solo day hikes, hard physical labour, and invigorating evening conversations back in the field camp that ranged from politics to the puzzles we were observing on the land.
My favourite days were the ones I got to spend assisting our project geologist as she mapped out new areas and followed up on our geochemical results. I couldn’t believe that this could be a job and after my first summer, I decided to switch my degree around so I could also major in Earth Science, while still completing my pre-med courses. After a couple more seasons of field work and schooling, I’d finished my bachelors degree in biology and earth science. I loved the field, and was happy to move between contract jobs, mostly as a soil sampler, prospector and geology assistant.
Although I loved the work, I struggled with the impact of the industry. Often it felt like there was excessive waste, short-sighted planning, and a general stop and go to mineral exploration that didn’t feel sustainable. I was puzzled with how to work in the field and stay true to my values. My solution was to go back to school, and pursue a science teaching degree, as a way to share my love of geology and biology while supporting the growth of further generations. My partner and I taught rurally in Bella Coola and Ucluelet BC. We got to live intimately with those communities and explore our position as settlers dealing with the aftermath of colonization. The BC education system is working extremely hard toward reconciliation, which was intense to incorporate into lessons and support students through their understanding of that history. I was passionate about taking students outside and was able to contribute to incredible outdoor education programs, as well as find ways to incorporate time outside into my lessons. I also still spent a lot of time in the field over the summers, working in remote corners of BC as a junior geologist.
Five years ago, conversations with a close group of mineral exploration friends led to the seed of Anomalous Exploration. When we’d all started in mineral exploration, we didn’t know how to work within it and live within our values. Our hope was to start an early stage geological services company, mostly geochemical sampling in the beginning, that could decrease the environmental impact of mineral exploration. We saw a lot of low hanging fruit that was easy to implement, mostly around transportation and camp set-up. With the imminent effects of climate change, our hope was that we could make much more change within an industry known for excessive impact than we could if we worked on the issue elsewhere.
Somehow we lucked out, and companies wanted to hire us! Yet when we started, most companies hired us because they knew us and knew that we could do a good job for a reasonable price. It led to an amazing first season of small fly camps, staying on site and accessing targets by foot or bicycle wherever possible and constructing efficient camps with careful food planning, waste and renewable energy systems.
As we grew as a business, we were able to offer more services, run lower impact programs and work with more amazing people. We started to see that there was a community of people within mineral exploration that shared our values and were excited that we were trying to do things differently. Anomalous Exploration is still a small group with around twenty employees through the field season, but it’s like being in the center of a magnet. We are seeing that our model fits surprisingly well with the changing needs of the industry.
My goal with Anomalous Exploration is to see us do more for communities and the environment while growing our reputation as a consultant that companies can count on to deliver quality data and services.
As a kid, I was always told I should be an entrepreneur, and when I started thinking about careers after high school, that was not high on my list. That turned out to be good advice because running this business has been a phenomenal experience that I’m looking forward to growing with. It’s allowed me to pursue a nerdy love of earth and business systems while spending all the time I could ever want in the field. It’s also allowed me to work with people who inspire me and to be part of a passionate pursuit towards responsible exploration and mining.
If you could go back to your first year in undergrad, would you pick the same degree and career trajectory? Why/why not?
The path I have taken has worked out well for me and I like how it's shaped me, so I wouldn’t be interested in trying to do it differently. That being said, education is so valuable and there are so many more courses and job opportunities I wish I had time to pursue. I guess I wish I could relive that stage of life in more than one way!
What are the three best things about your job/career? What are three things you would change?
The three best things about my career:
Pursuing geology and biology has meant that every forest or mountain is full of questions and learning for me. I love how being outside sparks my interests.
I’ve always felt like if I couldn’t make positive change aligned with my values in this career, I’d have to switch. Since starting Anomalous Exploration, I haven’t had to switch. The challenge is to make things better, every program and every year, and I love that drive.
When I was taking pre-medical courses in university, I felt like there was finiteness to a right answer. The teachers had them, and we needed to learn and memorize the material. In geology, I’ve always felt that anyone could have a theory or idea, and if they could support it scientifically, it would be accepted until someone else figured out something that held up better. I love how mineral exploration lets you explore and play with data and theories. I love the mystery of it and the steps you get to take towards trying to disprove your theories.
Three things I would change:
I hate the way the industry is funded. I think it can mask quality deposits and steer the work away from long-term thinking. I’d change the industry’s funding structure to incentivise more public involvement and responsible exploration.
We need more transparency inside mineral exploration. Even as someone following the industry closely, it’s hard to decipher what projects are worth pursuing. I think this is a major distraction from developing mines supporting the energy transition. If there could be more trust and honesty within company marketing and less secrecy, there would be a lot less waste of resources and people’s time.
I’d love for there to be more public education around mining. The disconnect between things we want and how hard it is to extract them is strong. The wastefulness of North American culture is saddening and I think part of that is because we don’t have a sense of the effort that goes into extraction, processing and development. Compared to other points in history, our society lives far from mining. I live on Vancouver Island, where most people would hate to have a copper mine nearby. Yet a lot of people want solar panels, smart phones, big tvs and electric cars. I think if there was more public education in schools and society about mining and we felt more connected to the process, we’d feel more responsible about our consumption habits.
Why is gender balance in mineral exploration/mining/geoscience important to you?
It’s important to me because we don’t really do it. Companies are focused around balancing cis-gender numbers within their companies, but I don’t think an accepting ethos is felt strongly enough yet. My hope is that we move away from the conversation of what gender you are and more towards supporting who people are, with the way we structure our systems, equipment, and leadership.
Why should it be important for everyone?
When my partner was working as a wildlife fire-fighter, there was an understanding that lack of diversity led to dysfunctional crews. I think that is true in mineral exploration and mining too. Many of the systems in place today segregate based on gender. We’ve also moved to rotations at mining camps, where mostly men leave their communities and families to work for extended periods of time, instead of building communities around a mine. That’s led to a lot of dysfunction and broken systems with unhappy and unhealthy people.
We need diverse, safe communities, and I’m extremely grateful for the brave souls championing that in Canada. As a wealthy, liberal nation, I also think Canada has a huge responsibility to continuously grow in this respect and model gender equality to the world, especially right now. I get to live in a country where I’m free to dress and present how I want and to feel safe doing it. Many women don’t have that right and that’s extremely sad and destructive.
What advice would you give to young women starting a career in mineral exploration/mining/geoscience?
I’d trust your gut and follow your values. I’d seek mentors and work to build community in areas you are passionate about.
It’s okay to decide to speak up if you feel your work environment is unsafe.
This is a small industry, and we want you to be successful. There are a lot of people keen to help you become a leader in this field. It’s far from perfect and ever-changing. How the industry looks now doesn’t have to be how it will look in the future.
I’d also challenge young folks early in their career to try a bit of everything. Every job is important, everyone’s work is valuable and has its own challenges. If we are grateful and supportive of everyone, it leads to fun, inclusive, effective work environments.
What motivates you and keeps you busy outside of mineral exploration/mining/geoscience?
I’m motivated by community and nature. I spend a lot of time outdoors, skiing, biking, hiking, walking, running, swimming, playing in the waves, gardening, building, birding, looking at rocks and doing things outside. I’m one of those people that can’t function without a good dose of daily exercise and my mind has always felt clearest in a natural environment.
I’m also lucky to have a sweet community to adventure, sing, share food, play, learn and discuss with. Community organizing and politics have always been fun for me to learn about and contribute to. For me, it's all about finding beauty, peace, justice, joy and love during our short stint on this planet.
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