Heather White had her first taste of the mining industry as a first-year engineering student working at a gold mine in Nevada.

"I guess that was the clincher for me," Heather says. "It was then that I knew that mining engineering was the career for me. It gave me an opportunity to be out in the field where I could see design put into practical use. I found the people I met in the mining industry to be very interesting and down to earth, and I really enjoyed the experience."

Heather, a native of Toronto, graduated in 1995 with a BSc in Mining Engineering from Queen's University in Kingston, and between 1995 and 2001, worked as a mine engineer and internal auditor for Inco Limited in Sudbury. In January 2003, she was hired as chief mining engineer at Inco's $2.9-billion Voisey's Bay project in Labrador, and a year and a half later, she was appointed mine manager.

"It has not been an easy endeavor," Heather says. "With that opportunity, starting up a new mine from scratch, came a lot of stress and pressure, but it's been a very rewarding experience."

As mine manager, she is responsible for mine operations, maintenance, engineering and geology, and oversees a 100-employee workforce - 93 men and seven women. Prior to taking over management of the mine, Heather was responsible for all of the planning to bring the mine into operation, including the hiring of workers and the purchasing of equipment.

Rewarding
"It's so incredibly rewarding to be running the mine, seeing the design is working. I pretty much gained 10 years experience in one year," she says.

The fly-in, remote mine site, more than 300 kilometres north of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, is a far cry from the metropolis of Toronto where Heather was born and raised. In fact, the mine has nothing more than a hotel on site to house workers. She flies home to Goose Bay on weekends when she is working a typical Monday through Friday workweek.

"(This career) has provided an opportunity and a challenge at the same time. I've been fairly successful and have had the opportunity to move and experience different cultures, but it has been difficult because it's moved me away from family and friends. You have to be adaptable to change."

She adjusts her hobbies and interests according to the environment she is in. Working for Inco's Indonesian subsidiary for two and half years prior to Voisey's Bay, Heather spent her leisure time scuba diving, playing tennis and swimming. Now, in Labrador, she enjoys running outdoors from spring through fall, and skiing and snowmobiling in winter.

Heather's interest in pursuing engineering at the post-secondary level was sparked during her late high school years while touring various universities. She encourages young people who may have an interest in engineering, particularly mining engineering, to take the initiative to engage in job shadowing programs, or make contact with a local company to tour a mine and talk to engineers.

"It's your life, it's your career. You shouldn't just rely on high schools to set you up with companies to job shadow or tour mines," Heather says. "If you contact the human resource or public affairs department in a company, they'd be more than happy to make arrangements for you to come out and talk to an engineer and see the mine or the operation."

"If mining engineering is an area you're interested in, get some exposure early on, perhaps through summer job experiences while in university, so you can really determine if it's a career you'd be interested in pursuing."

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