Striving for technical excellence, recruiting a new generation of mining workers, and educating the public on the importance of mining are the top three areas Samantha Espley said she’ll focus on as the new president of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM).
Sudbury-based Espley, who recently retired after three decades with Vale, most recently as the company’s director of mining technology and innovation, outlined her priorities during a brief virtual address to CIM members on June 5.
“It's truly an honour for me to be here as president,” said Espley, who was elected to serve for the 2020-2021 term.
“I’m really looking forward to working with the leaders in the industry.”
Espley replaces former president Roy Slack, director of Cementation Americas, who’s based in North Bay and had served as president for the 2019-2020 year.
Calling her new role “exhilarating, yet daunting,” Espley noted her varied experience in the jurisdictions of Canada, Brazil, Indonesia and New Caledonia, with commodities including gold, potash, and base metals.
She’s worked in a number of areas in the sector, including R&D, technical services, operations, projects, governance, and consulting, and said she’ll bring that experience to guide her in her new role.
"I really bring a bit of a rounded experience to the table and really am very excited to see our ecosystem continue to thrive,” she said.
Helping the industry to “create and curate leading-edge technologies” is one area of priority for Espley.
There are many emerging technologies that the industry can take advantage of, she noted, and she sees a role for CIM in developing best practices and guidelines around the use of those technologies.
She also plans to lead the organization in helping to attract the next generation of mining industry professionals to the sector.
“I'm very much committed to working with the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and with all of you in helping us to attract that next generation, very different thought leaders than what we've had in the past,” Espley said.
“That is my second focus, and this also includes outreach to our Indigenous communities and the communities where we operate.”
Finally, Espley said she wants to continue to educate the public on the contributions of the mining industry, something she remains very passionate about.
Particularly in the current context of climate change and pandemics like COVID-19, mining offers many solutions to challenges around the world, she said.
“We have some very interesting projects underway that address all three areas,” she noted.
Calling it the “new face of mining,” Espley acknowledged the challenges faced by the industry during COVID-19, but expressed confidence that the CIM could work with industry to find solutions to those challenges.
