People are at the heart of Glencores’ global business. For this reason, the company prioritizes safety across all its operations, works to minimize its environmental and community impacts, and seeks to attract employees who aspire to be leaders in their field. The video feature is part of a series profiling Glencore employees.
Tricia is Senior Engineer Supervisor at Elk Valley Resources (EVR) and grew up in rural Ontario, Canada, and has fond childhood memories of skiing and playing hockey.
“In high school you don’t really know what jobs are out there, you just know what you’re passionate about and what you enjoy and for me that was always science. I also love being outdoors. It’s where it all started for me,” she says.
After studying environmental engineering at university, Tricia spent her early career working as a chemical engineer, gaining experience in process engineering and process safety while working at an oil refinery.
She joined EVR in 2019 after deciding to relocate from a larger city. “I wanted to find a job that brought together my interests and the lifestyle I wanted to live,” Tricia explains.
EVR operates four steelmaking coal mines in the Elk Valley of British Columbia. In her role as a Senior Engineer Supervisor, Tricia manages a team that oversees some of EVR’s water treatment facilities.
“My work supports EVR’s commitment to environmental performance with a focus on protecting water quality in the region,” she says.
The mining process generates large quantities of leftover rock that contains naturally occurring substances such as selenium, an element that is essential for human and animal health in small amounts, but which may cause adverse impacts in high enough concentrations.
Addressing this challenge is the focus of the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan – a long-term plan with the goal of stabilising and reversing the trend of substances such as selenium, calcite and other constituents and improving the health of the watershed, while at the same time allowing for continued sustainable mining in the region.
“As part of the mining process, waste rock is exposed to wind and weather. Selenium can be washed out and enter the surrounding waterways through runoff,” Tricia explains. “Our facilities can collect potentially affected water from waterways across the Elk Valley and treat it using microorganisms to reduce selenium and nitrate levels – or as I would explain it to my kids, ‘I use bugs to clean water!’”
Progress has been made in implementing the Elk Valley Water Quality Plan. Recent samples show that the four water treatment facilities are removing between 95% and 99% of selenium from the water. Selenium and nitrate concentrations have stabilised and are reducing downstream of treatment. EVR expects further reductions as additional water treatment facilities come online.
Tricia and her team are also overseeing the development of new water treatment plants at EVR sites.
“On top of our work operating our existing plants and trying to develop ways to increase their capacity, we’re developing operations plans for our new facilities, and testing new technologies.”
Outside of work Tricia enjoys spending time hiking with her family or mountain biking with colleagues.
“Our community in the Elk Valley is passionate about the outdoors” Tricia says. “It means that everyone I work with is proud of what we’ve accomplished to date and what we’re doing to help preserve this beautiful environment for years to come.”
See more of the series featuring the stories of the people that make up Glencore’s global business.
