Sudbury's Samantha Espley, general manager of Vale's mines and mill technical services division for its Ontario operations is the recipient of the second annual Women in Mining (WIM) Canada National Trailblazer Award.
Presented at the Women in Mining reception at this week's Prospectors and Developers conference in Toronto, the award recognizes women “who have taken personal career risks and helped to advance the careers of other women.”
Graduating with an engineering degree 25 years ago, Espley worked with Dome Limited in Northern Quebec, Denison-Potacan Potash Corporation in New Brunswick, and Falconbridge's operations in Quebec and Sudbury prior to shifting over in 1990 to Inco's Ontario operations, which later became Vale.
In Sudbury, she leads a team of more than 200 mining and mineral processing engineers, geologists, metallurgists, technologists and technical staff supporting Vale?s mining and milling operations.
A March 7 Vale press release called Espley a “trailblazer” and a “role model for young women striving for senior roles in the industry."
"I am humbled and honoured to receive this prestigious award from WIM Canada," said Espley in a statement. "Mining has allowed me to have a challenging and rewarding career, and I think it's incumbent on female professionals to promote mining as an attractive career choice to the next generation of young Canadian women. I look forward to seeing more women occupy senior management roles in our industry through the work of WIM and other industry partners."
