Changing Perceptions: Stefanie Loader – Project Director, Rio Tinto’s Bunder Project, Madhya Pradesh
July 24, 11
There are still not that many women in the diamond mining industry, and even fewer who are managing large-scale exploration projects. In her role as the project manager of Rio Tinto’s Bunder Project in India, Stefanie Loader is looking not only for the next diamond motherlode, but also to change the perception of women in the upstream side of the industry in general.
How and why did you get into the mining industry?
I grew up in Western Australia, so I was aware of the mining industry and its importance to the economy there. However, I did not understand the variety of jobs in the industry until I started doing vacation work as part of a university scholarship provided by Rio Tinto Aluminium (then Comalco). As soon as I discovered the part geologists played in the industry, I switched the focus of my studies to geology, from chemistry and maths. The rest, as they say, is history. I continued to study geology and got bitten by the exploration bug and commenced my career in Rio Tinto Exploration looking for gold in Western Australia.
What was the progress to your current position?
The first 10 years of my career were spent looking for and evaluating mineral deposits in Rio Tinto’s exploration business. I started in Western Australia and subsequently worked in Laos, Chile and Peru. The achievement I am most proud of in that exploration time was being part of the team that recognized the potential of the Khanong copper deposit, which is currently being mined as part of the Sepon mining operation in Laos (operated by MMG).
In 2005 I started in the diamond business working as an analyst at the Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada which gave me an appreciation for all parts of the value chain as well as a chance to fill in as a diamond sorter when production demands required. Before commencing in my current role as project director for Rio Tinto’s next diamond mine at Bunder in India, I spent three years in corporate roles in the office of the chief executive and the head of exploration.
What does your job entail? What is a “typical” day like?
A typical day starts with the greetings of one of my children saying “Mummy, the sun is shining, wake up!” And I miss that when I’m not at home, which, with the project being in remote Madhya Pradesh is quite a lot.
 Stephanie Loader |
While I am travelling I take the time to think about my biggest concerns. What am I most concerned about? I am concerned about the safety of our workforce, particularly given the risks we are exposed to when travelling on highways, and I am concerned about maintaining the pace of the progress of the project. Delays in the project timeline not only affect Rio Tinto. Our neighbors at the project site are also affected as employment opportunities are put on hold and investment is delayed. The Buxwaha block where we are located in Chhatarpur District does not have any other major industry employers or projects, so we are important to the development of the local economy.
What have your experiences been as a woman in a very “male-oriented” sector? How has it been working in India?
There is no doubt that mining is a male-oriented sector in India, although I think that is changing in some other parts of the world, in Australia and Canada for example. Early in my career I had a senior executive advise me against applying for a posting overseas, as he thought it would be too difficult for a women in the local environment. Of course this made me more determined to get the posting, which I did! Here in India I have been galvanized to work for employing more women in this organization – I enjoy India and I love my job!
How/where would you like to see more women participating in the industry?
Women can participate in all areas of the industry! And in my role I can and want to influence the participation of women in the workforce positively.
One key challenge is to break down perceptions of what women can and can’t do. As an example, there was some hesitation in my organization regarding employing women as drivers. We started a program last year to train women from the local community to be drivers. I am proud to say that four of them passed not only their driver’s license test, but also the Rio Tinto competency test and are working for us today. We still have a long way to go however, in training and attracting women across the variety of jobs that we will need as the project progresses.
The second key challenge is to create a working environment that attracts women. This is hard to do when jobs are in remote areas that involve either living in a remote area or staying away from home for weeks at a time. This is particularly difficult for women with children who are also the primary caregivers and household managers. Getting women, who are mothers, back into the workforce is a global and cross industry challenge.
Why do you think there are relatively few women in the sector? Is this something that you see changing?
I would challenge that there are relatively few women in the sector as this is changing. Consistently, over the last decade, around 30 percent of the graduates globally entering Rio Tinto have been women and this, to a large extent, reflects the demographic of those wanting to enter the company. So the situation is not dire, but it needs to improve. I think we need to change the perception of the industry in the public domain so that we attract more women to our industry. The starting point for this journey in India is much lower. I look forward to employing women who share our vision of wanting to set a new benchmark for mining in India; their participation will be part of that.
Do you think being female has either helped or hindered you?
I would like to think that it has been neither a help nor a hindrance.
What would you say to/what advice would you give to other women looking get into the mining/exploration sector?
Just do it! It is a very exciting industry that has lots to offer in terms of opportunities. My own experience has had me live and work in seven countries over five continents, with jobs as varied as walking for miles to take samples, to writing board papers. The world will always need minerals and mining.
What has been the high point of your career so far?
This is a hard one to answer as there have been many! Seeing tens of meters of drillcore with high grade copper mineralization, as we predicted, come out of the ground at Khanong in Laos was definitely very exciting. Being selected to work for Leigh Clifford, the then Chief Executive of Rio Tinto was another. And seeing the joy of the eight year old kids performing on stage to “Zoobi Doobi” and their rapt audience at our Children’s Day event here in Madhya Pradesh in 2010 brought tears to my eyes. The next high point I am looking forward to will be the approval of the Mining Lease for the Bunder Project.