Women drilling away at stereotypes in mining indusrty

You might not expect to find many women down in a mine, but one woman is drilling away at that stereotype.

From learning about oil and petroleum in her home country of Trinidad and Tobago, to becoming the General Superintendent at Nutrien’s Potash Mine near Rocanville, Tylerbest has worked her way up to the top of the mining industry.

She had two strong role models to look up to along the way.

“My mom and my grandma were a huge part of my success,” Tylerbest said.

“My grandmother was the first female school principal in the country that I grew up in. And my mom took me on business trips. So I knew nothing else but work hard.”

Tylerbest said she doesn’t really notice being in a male-dominated industry.

“I’ll be very honest when I show up here, I don’t think about that,” she said. “I just show up here to do a great job.”

But she acknowledges that being in a position like hers is important.

“I think it promotes that anybody can do anything,” she said. “And if you’re willing to challenge yourself and put in the work, anyone can do anything.”

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Tylerbest immigrated to Canada in 2005 as a university student.

She started out in the nickel mining industry and then discovered potash after her partner moved to St-Lazare, Manitoba.

“I found out that potash had been here the whole time and I wasn’t aware,” Tylerbest said.

“So one of my goals getting this job was to educate everybody on the industry that’s around here. Then I came here (Nutrien mine) on a tour, thought it was pretty awesome and applied.”

Potash crumbles off the wall extremely easily. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Tylerbest wants people to understand that potash plays a pivotal role in getting food on the table.

“We don’t choose the term ‘Feed the Future’ lightly,” she said. “There’s a growth in population, so we need to produce more in order to feed the growing population. It’s very important.”

Being a General Superintendent takes a lot of work. Tylerbest has to make sure everything is running smoothly and safely.

“When you look at all industry, everyone’s trying to get more efficient and more safe,” she said. “Nutrien is using our technology and automation in order to get more efficient and safe, so that we’re able to monitor more and be a bit more preventative than reactive.”

As for the future of potash? Tylerbest said it has to stay for Canada to continue to be successful economically.

-with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie