Celebrating SuXXess: Sara Pedneault

At Eldorado, we believe that our diversity contributes to our success. 

 That’s why we put in place a Diversity Policy last year, and continue to invest in providing opportunities for women across our Company.  

In our latest blog series, and in honour of International Women’s Day, we will be profiling women in our team, ranging from our corporate office, to underground engineers, and even our Board.

In today’s post we learn more about Sara Pedneault, a young, up and coming engineer who works at Eldorado Gold Lamaque in Val d’Or, Quebec. We recently caught up with her to get a taste of what she loves about our industry!

Sara Pedneault in a field

Name: Sara Pedneault

Job title: Junior production engineer (Geology department)

Number of years with Eldorado: 1 year, 2 months, including internship

Where are you from: I was born in Quebec City and now live in Louvicourt, a little town 25 minutes from Val d’Or.

What attracted you to the mining industry?

My first internship was in an underground mine in the Abitibi region. I thought it would be a good challenge and would provide a valuable learning experience.

Plus, during the interview, all the questions corresponded to my personality so I gave it a go.

Have you had any positive mentors in mining?

Sara Pedneault in the mine

In my first internship, the men who took the time to teach me the ropes and demonstrate the job is the reason I fell in love with everything about mining and geology.

The people I encounter every day on the job are also a source of inspiration. I often tell myself that if they can do it, so can I!

What does the industry need, in your opinion, to attract more women in mining?

The mining industry is not for everyone and to attract women, the industry needs to provide ample opportunities to allow women to try it and to see for themselves; They need to discover if they like this kind of environment, especially working underground.

What has been your toughest business or professional decision?

The choice between mining or exploration in my professional career has been the hardest decision I have had to make. In the end, I think I made the right decision – mining won!

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Astronomer, astrophysicist or a paleontologist.

What profession would you most like to try if money was not an object?

Hard to say, probably something that would help people improve their job or life.

What main change would you like to see for young girls in the next generation?

I would like them to know that if they want to do something or have a specific job and they have the skills to do it, that they can do it!

It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman – there are many opportunities in the industry to have a great career!

In case you missed our previous posts, you can find them here:

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