9 minute read
Women making their mark in mining
WOMEN IN MINING
Women making their mark in mining
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The Women and Leadership Conference takes place on 30 and 31 August 2022 in Johannesburg at the Indaba Hotel, Fourways. Inside Mining magazine features some of the women on the panel of female speakers participating in the event.
In 2014, Tebogo was included in the Forbes Africa 20 Young Most Powerful Women in Africa Annamaré is passionate about the coaching, mentoring and development of women in mining and leadership Thabile is registered as a professional natural scientist through the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions
Organised by Pinpoint Stewards, the event forms part of the Women and Leadership Series with the motto ‘It’s DUE – Develop, Unite, Empower’. The panel of female speakers who are to address attendees at the event were all selected within the borders of South Africa to showcase local talent and leadership. Inside Mining editor Dineo Phoshoko interviews some of these remarkable women.
As the CEO of Ditsogo Engineering & Mining, Mosito does business development and strategic stakeholder engagements with suppliers and clients. “I currently have a team of 46 employees,” she says. In addition, she is also the director for Wimbiz South Africa – a non-profit organisation advocating for inclusive procurement and access to markets for women in mining.
Coming from an environment where she was surrounded by mining companies resulted in a passion for the mining and engineering sector. “I never saw many women tapping into the space of supplying industrial services [in the industry],” she adds.
Statistics of female participation in the mining industry are slowly increasing; however, there is still room for a lot of improvement. “There’s a small growth in females taking up executive leadership roles and many women are given training and empowered, yet they lack support and are afraid to take up roles in mining.”
Mosito believes that one of the methods to improve female participation in the industry is changing mindsets and stereotypes, specifically around women being incapable on capex projects. She adds that removing the red tape will further encourage more women to be involved in the mining industry. For upand-coming entrepreneurs, Mosito’s advice to them is to do research and understand the industry requirements to be well prepared for the job.
“A woman is so much more than just a human being. She has the power to create a life, cope with so much pain, and somehow always end up being the strongest one in the room. The two things I wear best are my confidence and my smile. That’s what I’d recommend to all the women: be authentic and never be afraid to voice out your mind.”
WOMEN IN MINING
“Build your skills, not your résumé.” – Dr Annamaré Wolmarans
Dr Annamaré Wolmarans works at one of the biggest coal mines in South Africa: Exxaro’s Grootegeluk Complex (GGC). As a manager for information management, she manages day-to-day IT operations and provides strategic direction, overall leadership, and guidance to the GGC information management team.
According to Wolmarans, she got into the mining industry by chance but maintains she hasn’t looked back since. Thanks to the diverse job opportunities, she believes that the industry has evolved and made huge strides through innovation towards automation and digitalisation. “The mining industry afforded me the opportunity to focus and excel my career in IT, specialising in operational technology that supports mining operations,” she says.
What do women bring to the table?
Wolmarans highlights the advantages that come with hiring female employees in the mining industry. “Women in general bring the following qualities to organisations: a differentiated leadership style that is better suited to the modern organisation, lateral thinking and a more realistic approach to problems; they create a safer work environment in general and are highly effective agents of change. The longer mining companies delay the representation of females, the longer they miss out on benefiting from these qualities.”
She also notes although female participation in the mining industry is increasing, the process can be a bit quicker. “According to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, female representation has grown from 6% in 2008 to 12% in 2022. It has taken 14 years for the representation to double to a mere 12%. Mining companies cannot afford for the growth in female representation to take another 14 years to increase to 24%; we need to take bold and collaborative action to address gender inequality and promote the representation and advancement of women in this sector,” she says.
According to Wolmarans, a change in culture and mindset is the answer to increasing female participation.
WOMEN IN MINING
While promoting gender diversity in mining is a worthy goal, and one that needs to be addressed, it needs to be done in the right way. She points out that mining companies are introducing several approaches and programmes for the development and upliftment of women, but barriers are still not addressed effectively. “These include barriers such as the glass ceiling, institutional mindsets such as biases, individual mindsets and lifestyle choices.” Wolmarans explains that the technological innovation and automation of processes will level the playing field and make the mining industry more attractive and accessible for women.
Wise words
Her advice for someone wanting to pursue a career in mining is simple: “Look for opportunities; look for growth; look for impact; look for mission.” In addition, Wolmarans encourages people not to be afraid of moving around in their careers. With discussions about careers and job opportunities, a lot of attention is given to résumés.
As important as a résumé is, Wolmarans cautions against neglecting other critical aspects to think about when it comes to considerations about one’s career. “Build your skills, not your résumé. Evaluate what you can do, not the title they’re going to give you. Do real work,” she says. One of the ways to achieve that is through volunteering for projects, a specialist role and an operational job.
In addition, Wolmarans cautions against too much planning and expectations of climbing the corporate ladder fast. “If I had mapped it all out when I was sitting where you are, I would have missed my career,” she concludes.
“Women in any business environment, including the mining industry, should gather in sisterhood. We as women need to support and encourage each other. We should embrace an attitude that her victory is your victory. Celebrate with her. Your victory is the sisterhood’s victory. Point to her. Each woman should claim her power, but also clear the way for other women to do the same.”
Thabile Kulundu has worked in the mining industry for over 14 years. Her extensive experience spans everything from exploration, operational mining and environmental management to corporate roles within the mining environment.
Currently she fulfils the role of head of the Mining Department at Vergenoeg Mining Company (Minersa Group) where she is legally appointed as the mining manager. Her responsibilities include long-term to short- forecasting, resourcing and scheduling, while overseeing both the operational and technical services team. In addition, she is responsible for ensuring the sustainable exploitation of the mine’s mineral reserves.
The seed of pursuing a career in the mining industry was planted by Kulundu’s brother, who first exposed her to the fascinating subject of geology. “I later attended high school in a mining town – Middelburg in Mpumalanga – where I was exposed to mining and attended a few career expos at BHP Billiton. My mom and dad then assisted me with getting all the necessary information I needed to get to university despite the fact that I knew very little about my chosen career,” she says.
Fourteen years later, Kulundu has assumed different roles in mining that have contributed to her successful career. Despite her personal success and longevity in the industry, she believes that there is room for improvement when it comes to female representation, especially in critical mining roles. “On a bigger scale, women’s representation in core mining roles is still lagging; however, it is encouraging to notice the growing number of women who are taking on key positions in this dominantly male industry.”
To create more opportunities for women to participate in core roles in the industry, Kulundu suggest two important solutions: first, more women who are up to the challenge of being hands on in the industry are needed. Her second suggestion touches on the availability of social support for women, especially where remote mining areas are concerned. “We need mining companies that make an effort towards providing the social support necessary for women to thrive in their careers because mines tend to be located in remote areas.”
Kulundu believes that a positive perspective in life and a willingness to not only learn but also serve others combine to create a winning formula for success. Her advice to future female miners: “Take every opportunity to work on yourself because there is always room to grow, especially in mining.”
Confirmed in-person speakers
DINEO PHALADIMAGWAZA Mine Modernisation Specialist, Group Mining ANGLO AMERICAN REYNA SINGH Director NG GLOBAL NOSI MZAMO Executive Manager HR MINTEK NANDI SIBANYONI Executive Head, S&SD ANGLO AMERICANKUMBA IRON ORE TEBOGO MOSITO CEO DITSOGO ENGINEERING & MINING PTY LTD & Director WIMBIZ SA
DR ANNELIE GILDENHUYS Director AEQUITAS CONSULTING PTY LTD. NEO KOKOME Section Engineer President: WIM MMS SERITI
THABILE KULUNDU Head of Mining Department VERGENOEG MINING COMPANY (VMC)
MOSHIBUDI MOKGASHI Manager, Mining Development,P&O EXXARO
Dr ANNAMARÉ WOLMARANS Manager: Information Management EXXARO RESOURCES
Awaiting DMRE representative
BRIONY LIBER COACHING & CONSULTING Committee Member & Lead: Mentoring Programme WIMSA
CAROLINE SHIRINDZA Head Supply Chain SASOL MINING
Industry talking points
Women
’ s contribution to a sustainable mining industry Having more women occupy critical leadership positions Modernization of mining how woman and machine can work side-by-side Complying with the new Codes of Harassment and GBV in the workplace Aligning project decisions in the interest of women and determining the gender impact assessment Current statistics and how to achieve double the percentage of women by 2025 Entrepreneur or Intrapreneur how to keep developing yourself and your environment Mentorship and career coaching tips to step up and lead Reforming government policies to promote opportunities for women in junior mining and exploration 8 New leadership rules for women
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