NMA Celebrates Women In Mining

Today we’re celebrating International Women’s Day by giving special acknowledgement to the thousands of hardworking women of the U.S. minerals mining industry.

With 1.2 million American jobs supported by minerals mining, it is no wonder that women have found a home in mining. According to the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, mining is one of a handful of sectors that will add jobs at a fairly consistent rate over the next 20 years –adding between 11,000 and 13,000 jobs per year – and women in mining will grow an amazing nine percent in the field by 2019.

Women like Ginger McLemore, a senior economic geologist for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Minerals Resources, and Nicole Preuss, senior geologist at Kinross in Nevada, are both driven by the growth and progress of the mining industry. McLemore, who has two children, attests to the flexibility within the industry when it comes to her children; and Preuss has stated, “While mining may be male dominated, it is not male exclusive; women are in every aspect.”

Whether working as equipment operators or geologists, environmental specialists or engineers, the women of the mining industry help secure vital raw materials that are critical to our nation’s infrastructure, technology sector, medical equipment producers and automotive industry.

Are you a woman who works in the mining industry? We would love for you to share your story with us!