Women in Mining Canada handed out its annual awards to some high achievers in their profession and a few up-and-comers in early March.
Geologist Patti Tirschmann, a familiar face in the Sudbury Basin, shared the Trailblazer Award with Heather Bruce-Veitch, director of communications and external relations of the Iron Ore Company of Canada.
Tirschmann recently retired as the vice-president of exploration with North American Nickel.
The recipients received their trophies at the Mining for Diversity cocktail event held during the week of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada mining conference in Toronto.
Tirschmann has 25 years of exploration experience in working for six years as vice-president of exploration for Continental Nickel and more than 18 years with Falconbridge Limited/Xstrata plc in various roles, including senior geologist.
She worked on nickel exploration programs in Sudbury, Thompson, Man. and Raglan, Que. as well as working overseas on projects in Norway, Greenland, Alaska, Chile, Australia, and Tanzania.
A graduate of two degrees in geological sciences from the University of Manitoba, she is a registered professional geoscientist in the Province of Ontario.
Other awards included Christine Petch, principal of Enterprise Risk Management of Toronto, who took home the Rick Hutson Memorial Award for mentorship.
Indigenous Trailblazer Award went to Nalaine Morin, principal of Arrowblade Consulting Services of Sparwood, B.C.
Fourth-year Queen’s University mining engineering student Aimee Harper received the Student Trailblazer Award.
The Indigenous Student Trailblazer Award went to Rachel Ambrus, a third-year year geological engineering student at UBC.
