London – 20 October 2021: Women in Mining UK 2021 Summer Internship at Altus Strategies – Destiny Carter
Written by: Destiny Carter
This summer I was over the moon to be offered an eight-week internship with Altus Strategies, UK-based mining royalty generator focused on producing a diversified portfolio of assets across Africa, through a partnership with Women in Mining UK. The past two months have been a great opportunity to gain insight into the mining industry and relevant experience before commencing my MSc in Exploration Geology at Camborne School of Mines.
Because of the COVID-19 travel restrictions still in place across the world, I was unfortunately unable to undertake any grassroots fieldwork however working remotely from home and being given varied tasks – including desk-based research, GIS and corporate company reviews – allowed me to develop many new skills and a wealth of understanding of Altus’s activities. Once lockdown restrictions were eased, I had the opportunity to go into the office, based in Didcot, to meet the team in person and settle into an office environment.
As part of the internship, my role varied each day which was very refreshing! At the start of the eight weeks, I worked on a promotional presentation for the Company’s new projects in Egypt. This gave me exposure into the corporate side of the mining industry, understanding the business model and how shareholders play a role in strategic decision-making in consideration of new business opportunities with third parties. I also had the chance to research how companies conduct mine closure plans (which plays an important role in the mine’s life cycle).
Part of my work entailed participating in a country review, which covered preliminary background study on a prospective country. This included the political and economic situation as well as geology and mineral deposits. I really enjoyed this research-based study, especially as pre-feasibility studies play a principal role when developing potential new exploration targets and mines.
During my studies, the data side of geology never jumped out at me however working at Altus with real data and a new system to store and access data through software, allowed me to gain technical skills and a new-found interest. This sort of data processing and handling is particularly important for managing large data sets collected from sampling and chemical assaying out in the field, especially when defining prospective mineral targets.
Last but not least, I was also lucky to volunteer alongside WIM UK’s Head of Events, Aymone Schendel, to set up the Summer 2021 Oxford Mining Club’s lunch. I had the opportunity to talk to some big names within the mining industry – absolutely essential networking!
I am so grateful to have been given this opportunity to dive headfirst into the industry and the experience has equipped me with fundamental skills which are absolutely beneficial to progressing my MSc this year.