Evelyn McDonald, organization manager with Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd.
WILLIAMS LAKE – When she first moved to Likely, B.C., a town of roughly 300 residents, Evelyn McDonald, organization manager with Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd., was fully prepared to retire. The locals, however, had other plans.
“I originally was asked to come help out, they were short a person and I had retired from my job in Fort McMurray,” says McDonald. “One of the young ladies I met in the town said they needed some help, so I said ‘oh, for sure, I will give you a hand,’ and I have never left!”
Like many early towns in B.C., Likely was a resource town and logging was the main industry but as the sector shuttered across the country, mining became the new player. Likely is a significant mining location now, and Spanish Mountain Gold operates a full 30 person camp – a camp that McDonald is almost solely responsible for.
“We have a full 30 person camp that we accommodate, so that means kitchen, sleeping facilities, camp positions and also core cutting – I bring in the contractors and employees, I handle all shipments in and out, any kind of staff we need locally, I manage that,” she says.
McDonald has a human resources background and a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resource Management. She also has her National Construction Safety Officer and her Common Safety Orientation certifications, as well as her Certificate in Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Systems and has just completed her Mines Supervisor Certificate.
Spanish Mountain Gold operates a full 30 person camp – a camp that McDonald is almost solely responsible for. Left to right Jason Dunning, Evelyn McDonald , Keith Salamon, Julian Manco.
As a woman in construction, McDonald is quite familiar with being in a male-dominated industry and has revelled in taking on new challenges. However, when it comes to Spanish Mountain Gold, she has been overjoyed with her experience, citing it as positive form the get-go.
“I came from the oil field industry, so I managed trucking companies up there and 25 years ago, women didn’t really do that,” says McDonald. “Locally, Spanish Mountain is a great benefit in the mining industry for employment for women because you can work local and still be home enough to help with the child-care duties that come with being a parent,” says McDonald.
Additionally, when it comes to working alongside other women, McDonald is happy to report that sees way more women in roles previously overrun with men.
“There is a big increase of female engineers, female geologists, I have certainly noticed that in the last five-to-10 years there are more women getting out into the field, absolutely,” says McDonald.
With Spanish Mountain Gold being a local employer, the company hires a large portion of First Nations staff, in fact last year the staff was nearly 50% locally employed First Nations.
“It has been terrific, we hire First Nations for core-cutters, core-technicians, camp staff, labourers, equipment operators whichever positions we have open. We have had nothing but terrific experiences here.”
For McDonald, the future is bright for this budding company as they move past the exploration stage.
“Moving forward into a mine building stage is a pretty exciting place to be right now, to have your boots on the ground in the beginning is quite exciting and there are so many developments with new types of technology,” says McDonald.
“In the last two years, our exploration team and senior management has changed a lot, and that has been nothing but positive change. The company has been growing by leaps and bounds over that time and I can totally attest that to senior management.”
As any mining site transitioning from an exploration to a developer, McDonald mentions the environmental concerns not just as an employee but as a local resident who loves the beautiful town of Likely. However, in the hands of Spanish Mountain Gold and the excellent leadership, she feels confident.
“Being a local, you have concerns about the impact in the environment and it is great to be able to see that the company that you are working for have the same concerns and is seeking solutions to minimize impact, such as utilizing BC made renewable diesel for its exploration programs over the last two years which is lowering the carbon footprint by 72% compared to regular diesel. Our team wants to do better and be better.”
https://spanishmountaingold.com
By Tyler Nyquvest
