Osisko VP Maggie Layman on the roots of exploration success: Exclusive Mining Legends Speaker Series interview

What follows are excerpts from Layman’s remarks at the sold-out event, which attracted 100 delegates.  

Tickets to the next Speaker Series event in Toronto on June 8 with mining legend Pierre Lassonde and Orix Geoscience president, CEO and cofounder Ashley Kirwan are now available.   

Layman is the recipient of the Young Mining Professionals’ prestigious Eira Thomas Award and vice-president of exploration for Osisko Development. She led Barkerville Gold’s technical team on the Cariboo project from exploration through to feasibility and its drill programs for over seven years. Prior to joining Osisko, Layman worked as a drill manager and a project geologist for Vale.  

Formative experiences 

Anthony Vaccaro, president of the Northern Miner Group, kicked off the conversation by asking Layman how a famous quotation from Mark Twain applies to her life.  

“’The two most important days in someone’s life (are) the day you’re born, and the day you realize why you were born.’ When you came to geology, was there a feeling that you knew this was almost your destiny?” Vaccaro asked. 

In response, Layman recalled her job working in the field in central Labrador, with the Geological Survey of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2004,  before she graduated from Memorial University with a degree in geosciences. 

“(It) was definitely life changing,” she said. “It was a couple of months living in a tent. It was an all-women crew, with one male field assistant. But it was a group of really strong, powerful women who were having absolutely so much fun working in the field and problem solving. It was really empowering.  

Another formative early career experience was her work as a project geologist with Vale (NYSE: VALE) in Sudbury, Ontario.