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The Power of Women in Mining | March 31, 2026

Investor TV Apr 7, 2026

Summary

Panelists argue mining performance now depends on leadership — trust, communication, and stakeholder alignment — as much as geology and capital.

Paramount Gold's CEO describes how resolving ranchers' cattle concerns around its Oregon mine turned locals into permitting supporters.

Upside Gold's CEO learned on a drill program that daily communication and fast decisions keep fieldwork on budget when conditions turn.

Panelists urge investors to judge management on delivery versus promises, and to favor teams that have succeeded together before.

Women remain a small share of mining's workforce, and panelists argue their collaborative, trust-building leadership style is a competitive advantage.

Key points on Rua Gold

  • CFO Zeenat Lokhandwala points to a core team that has carried across Rua Gold and Roxmore Resources and repeatedly chooses to work together, which she calls a signal of past success and cohesion.
  • She advises investors that teams that have worked together before are likely to succeed again — the pattern she says she values most in the companies she serves.

Key points on Silver Viper Minerals Corp

  • IR director Tania Archer describes a Silver Viper culture of open communication, decentralized decision-making, and transparency against plan, actions, and results as the formula for team performance.
  • She says CEO Steve Cope brings a family legacy in the JV mining space, and that the board was built around him with members adding depth in financing, market access, and community stakeholder work.
  • Her IR approach centers on telling a consistent story, so stakeholders can verify the company is still telling the same story as its projects mature.
  • She credits the company's chairman with a forward-thinking approach that has brought her to the table on several of his public projects.

Steve Cope's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Silver Viper's IR director says CEO Steve Cope carries a family legacy in the JV mining space, and that the Silver Viper board was built around him with added depth in financing, market access, and community stakeholder work.

Sophy Cesar's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The Upside Gold CEO's central argument: in mining, 'the technical case rarely kills the project — the relationship case does,' so trust must be earned through consistency with teams, regulators, investors, and local stakeholders.
  • She says the 2025 drill program weathered water shortages and a snowstorm without blowing the budget because of daily communication, closeness to the team, and fast, constant adjustment.
  • She recounts reading failed social cues in a meeting in Denmark that a male counterpart judged a success — the counterpart pulled out of Canada within two months — as evidence of women's stronger read on rooms.
  • She argues leadership in junior mining extends beyond the project site into advocacy — engaging federal agencies on grants, infrastructure investment, and flow-through financing policy.
  • She says putting ego aside — something women have had to do repeatedly to advance — lets her make decisions focused on what is best for the company and shareholders.

Ms. Zeenat Lokhandwala CPA's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The Rua Gold CFO argues resilience is a necessity, not an option, for small junior exploration teams, built on trust and collaboration that gives people a say and increases buy-in.
  • She contrasts the tough, male-leaning female leaders of her early public-practice career with a young collaborative CFO mentor who showed her that good leaders elevate the teams around them.
  • She says her leadership legacy is developing people, and the best sign of success is former colleagues gladly leaving other jobs to rejoin her on a new team.
  • She points to the recurring team pattern across Rua Gold and Roxmore Resources as evidence investors should favor teams that have already succeeded together.
  • She admits resilient leadership is still a work in progress for her — learning to manage rather than absorb the stress of high-stakes junior-mining environments.

Rachel Goldman's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The Paramount Gold CEO says the company is permitting the first mine ever in Oregon, leading the state's nascent regime as its most advanced project and paving the way for those behind it.
  • She recounts resolving ranchers' cattle-safety concerns during federal permitting by helping engineer and permit relocated and additional water developments, turning them into a supportive cohort for the mine.
  • Her advice for assessing management: compare what they say with what they deliver, and expect ordinary compounding causes rather than anything nefarious when timelines slip.
  • She describes a new feasibility study for the Grassy Mountain project now in progress (as of the March 31, 2026 panel).
  • She describes moving from 20 years in finance and capital markets to frontline environmental, social, political, and operational leadership, supported by specialized consultants.

Karen Mate's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Her closing call to investors: bet hard on women in mining, which she says already has every ingredient investors are looking for.
  • She argues women's read-the-room skill — picking up on body language and subtle reactions and recalibrating mid-presentation — is a distinct edge in mining communication and decisions.
  • She says women excel at building boards, running deep dives on personalities and fit to pick directors that others might overlook.
  • She argues that protecting relationships over transactions — including calling clients with bad news early — is why investors stay through rough markets.
  • She describes a hands-on Earthwise board role: talking to drillers and investors, raising capital, and staying on call.

Tania Archer's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The Silver Viper IR director's mantra is a 'legacy of leadership': teams built on clarity of the why, decentralized decision-making, autonomy, and transparency against plan, actions, and results.
  • She tells investors to understand the true nature of an organization before backing it — the leadership structure's ingredients, consistency of mindset, and depth of experience.
  • She credits mentorship from her Silver Viper counterpart Alicia Ford and from her mother — hold clients' hands in rough markets and celebrate with them when conditions turn — as foundations of her approach.
  • She says she has intentionally built a strong female quotient in the IR team, a role women have only recently embraced.