"Geology is a lot like detective work," says Shastri Ramnath, a 29-year-old geologist with FNX Mining Company Inc. in Sudbury. "We look for clues, put together an interpretation of what happened and, based on that interpretation, we decide where we want to look."

Shastri and 22 other FNX geologists are combing the Sudbury Basin for new deposits of nickel, copper, gold and platinum group metals to meet the demand of a booming global market.

Born and raised in Arborg, Manitoba, a small farming town 120 km north of Winnipeg, Shastri had no idea she would end up as a geologist.

"I knew I wanted to do something related to science because that's what I enjoyed in high school," she recalls. "So, I took all these science and math courses, thinking I was going to be an architect.

"Then, one day, my dad suggested I take a Geology course. I found that I enjoyed it a lot more than Calculus, Math and Physics. It was interesting. We learned about why sand dunes are the way they are and why you mine certain rock types for different metals. It was all applied stuff, as opposed to being theoretical."

Five of the 12 students in her graduating class were women, but she was the only one who ended up pursuing a career in the mining industry. Some ended up in environmental science. Others were attracted to the oil and gas industry.

"I was pretty young when I finished my undergraduate degree and I didn't really feel like a geologist," Shastri confides. "I thought about going to Laurentian University in Sudbury to do a Masters, but I also wanted to travel. Then I realized I could do both."

Off to Africa
Shastri applied to Rhodes University in South Africa and killed two birds with one stone.

"They had a great mineral exploration program and there were field trips to Namibia, Zimbabwe and throughout South Africa, so it was great," she says.

Finding work as a young geologist can be a challenge, but with willpower and humility anything is possible.

When a job with a junior mining company in Manitoba concluded after three months, Shastri's boss called a colleague at Falconbridge to help her find work.

"They didn't have anything at the time, but suggested I drop by for a coffee, so I went to meet them. I told them I would clean the toilets. I said I would do anything as long as it's for a mining exploration company. And they said, 'We don't have that, but we have fi-ling.' So I filed for five months and got hired on as a full-fledged geologist when I returned from South Africa with my Masters."

Shastri advises kids starting out to swallow their pride. "Get your foot in he door. Be humble. Be willing to do anything and you'll eventually get to do the good stuff."

The market is hot now and jobs are plentiful, but the mining industry has its ups and downs.

"When times are good in this industry, there are jobs for everybody, but when times are bad, you get laid off," she says. "I've been working for five years and I've been let go twice, but each time, my employer helped me find work somewhere else."

When Falconbridge decided to close its exploration office in Manitoba, Shastri applied for work with FNX in Sudbury.

"I was really stressed out, knowing that I would be laid off in a month. Then someone from FNX called to invite me to Sudbury for an interview. A few days later, he called again and said, 'Scrap the interview. Come to work on Monday."

It turned out that the guy from FNX knew Shastri's boss at Falconbridge and hired her based on his recommendation.

References are huge
"It's a very tight network. They all know each other and references are huge," she explains.

Geologists can make $45,000 to start and between $60,000 and $80,000 after five to 10 years of experience, but the money is just one of the rewards.

"It's a cowboy lifestyle," says Shastri.

"If you like camping and getting out in the bush, it's great. I get to drive quads and snowmobiles and fly in bush planes and helicopters. If they paid me minimum wage, I'd still want to do this job."

Exploration geology also offers her opportunities to see the world. FNX recently sent her to Guinea, West Africa, to supervise a drilling program.

"Everyone should travel to a place like Guinea at least once," she says. "It makes you realize how fortunate we are. Most of the time there was no running water or electricity. We had to hook up a big tank to take showers and we used candles at night."

In Sudbury, the fieldwork is just 40 to 50 km away from the city, so every evening she's able to return to the comfort of her own home.

A typical day
A typical day usually begins in the office at 7 am. After checking her email and getting organized, it's off to the field where she'll check in with the drill crew, look at core samples and identify the rock types. Back at the office in the afternoon, she loads the data into her computer, looks at it in a 3D program, and selects new drill-hole targets based on the evidence available.

The payoff for the company, its shareholders and the community can be huge if a new orebody is discovered.

Critics of the mining industry have it all wrong, claims Shastri.

"People don't realize that everything we use -from the cars we drive to the needles we use to stitch our clothes - is made from metals. People ask, 'How can you just take from the Earth and not give back?' But nowadays, we make sure that things go back the way they were before we started drilling. We don't cut down trees if we can avoid it. We are very environmentally conscious."

Women are still a minority in geology, but more and more are entering the profession. At FNX, six of 23 geologists are women, including the company's chief geologist.

"I wish there were more women in mining," says Shastri. "It's a great industry to get into. You're always learning new things, it's fun, and you get to travel and work with computers. It's never boring."

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