THIS IS MINING: THE PODCAST: Recent Episodes
AmberMac Media
Explore stories of human transformation connected to Ontario’s mining industry. You may be surprised to learn how our abundance of minerals offers hope for the future and the opportunity to make the world a better place.
What happens when the ability to build is no longer just an economic issue, but a matter of national sovereignty? Jody Thomas, former Canadian National Security and Intelligence Advisor, joins us to explain why Canada can no longer rely on geography or long-standing alliances to keep us secure, how minerals connect defence, technology and economic resilience, and why Canada must start treating its resource base as a strategic advantage.
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Ontario Mining Association | oma.on.ca
Canada has what the world needs. We’ve been hearing that a lot. Heather Exner-Pirot, Senior Fellow and Director of Energy, Natural Resources and Environment at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, joins us to unpack why Canada may be entering a once-in-a-generation resource opportunity, what could prevent us from seizing it, and why simply doing well is not the same as being competitive.
Check out:
- Ontario Mining Association | oma.on.ca
Canada is living through a nation-building moment — and mining is at the heart of this change.
Season 6 explores how Canada is being built today, what it takes to get major projects off the ground, and whether Ontario mining is ready to help lead the country into its next chapter.
Hosted by Amber Mac. New episodes dropping this summer. Subscribe now and catch up on previous seasons wherever you listen.
This Is Mining: The Podcast is produced in partnership with the Ontario Mining Association, the Government of Canada, the Government of Ontario, and Employment Ontario.
The Honourable Stephen Lecce, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Mines, shares how his view of mining has evolved—from family roots to global opportunity—and why investing in the next generation of workers is key. From the Ring of Fire to tech-driven mines, he believes resource development can fuel the economy and do some good for the world.
What sparks someone to choose a future in mining? For Hassan Yousif, a Mining Engineer-in-Training, and Alika Maharaj, a Geologist-in-Training, it started with curiosity, mentorship, and opportunities to see the industry up close. In this episode, they share their journeys from students to emerging professionals—and how they’re carving out their own paths.
Rob Millard, a Teacher with the Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario, brings real-world mining into the classroom, and the classroom out into the world. Tune in to see how one teacher is helping students connect what they study to real-world opportunities that can shape their futures.
Joanne Sallay, the President and CEO of Teachers on Call, never imagined mining would shape her tutoring business - until one eye-opening visit to a mine site shifted her perspective. Now she’s inspiring parents and educators across Ontario to see mining as a powerful pathway to purpose and possibility for the next generation.
In this episode, we’re going back to where it all begins: classrooms, conversations, and curiosity. And who better to kick things off than someone who lights that first spark every day? Chelsea Renaud, an environmental scientist who also leads education and outreach at Mining Matters, takes us on a journey through her classroom lens: what is mining, why it matters, and how she’s helping young Canadians imagine their future in this essential industry.
Join me, Amber Mac, on my very first trip underground at a mine in Sudbury, Ontario! I went 1.5km underground – that’s nearly 3 CN Towers deep into the earth! It wasn’t like anything I could have imagined. Along my trip, I connected with Shawn Sauve, Mobile Equipment Specialist; Alex Mulloy, Carbon Specialist; Christine Gasteiger, Integrated Remote Operating Centre Superintendent and Don Duval, tech entrepreneur and mining futurist.
Dawn Madahbee Leach, Chair of the National Indigenous Economic Development Board, joins us to talk about the power of resource development partnerships and careers as a route to prosperity and reconciliation in action for Indigenous peoples. We are also joined by Clyde Moonias, a member of the Neskantaga First Nation, who’s embarking on his career ‘close to home,’ as the Health, Safety & Environment Coordinator at Wyloo’s Esker Site in Northern Ontario (formerly Ring of Fire Metals).
Ontario is facing the largest labour shortage in a generation, particularly in skilled trades. Monte McNaughton, Minister of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development in Ontario wants young people across Ontario to know that careers in the skilled trades are meaningful, well-paying and in-demand. We are also joined by Kendra Liinamaa, a young millwright working at a nickel mine in Sudbury, Ontario who describes how she overcame her own stigma to pursue her career in skilled trades.
A career in mining is not what you think it is. Does your perception of mining today reflect the realities on the ground (or underground?) Let’s get into the facts with Ryan Montpellier, Executive Director of the Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MiHR). We are also joined by Cara Rockwood, an environmental scientist pursuing a career in mining, who is challenging her peers (and even professors!) to think of mining as an environmental field.
Let’s talk about the most important resource on earth: people. Todd Hirsh, the Modern Economist, helps us understand the current labour shortage in Canada and how we can talk to young people about their futures. We are also joined by Veronica Knott, a young mining engineer who’s found her passion and home in Canada’s mining industry.
A career today in mining is not what you think it is.
Mine life can be far from home … right at home … or home unto itself. A life of new frontiers. A life of new technologies. A life of taking care of the world around us. A life boldly driving our modern world forward, by delivering the metals and minerals that make everything possible.
Join us for Season Four of This Is Mining: The Podcast to discover mine life – and at the end of the season, I’ll take you with me on my first ever trip to a mine!
Energy security. Environmental protection. Climate action. These ambitious goals set by the Government of Canada are often viewed as at odds with each other. But are they really? Or do they collectively represent a generational economic opportunity for Canadians? Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, Anita Balakrishnan from The Logic and Bentley Allan from the Transition Accelerator join us to talk about opportunities and challenges facing Canada’s ambitions.
With significant incentives from both levels of government and as major auto manufacturers make significant long-term investments, a localized EV supply chain is on the horizon. When will critical minerals from the North be ready to feed the new battery supply chain? What does the future of mining for critical minerals look like here in Ontario? Amber Mac talks to Trevor Walker, President and CEO of Frontier Lithium and Mark Selby, President and CEO of Canada Nickel to find out.
Canada has the critical minerals the world needs for electrification and a green energy future, but accessing them is not without roadblocks. Two major challenges are investment and permitting, both intertwined when it comes to the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples in major Northern development projects. JP Gladu, prominent Indigenous business leader, joins Amber Mac to discuss the power of resource development partnerships as a route to prosperity and reconciliation in action.
Renewable energy is dependent on critical minerals, but where they come from and how ethical and responsible that production is present two very pressing questions. Join Amber as she tackles the topics of responsible sourcing, ESG and supply chain challenges with Trent Mell, an entrepreneur in the battery metals and clean energy space and Charlotte Selvey Miller, Head of ESG at Benchmark Minerals, a market intelligence firm for the lithium-ion battery to electric vehicle supply chain.
The growth and demand for critical minerals is impressive and daunting, according to our first guest, Duncan Wood, the Vice President for Strategy & New Initiatives at the Wilson Center, a Washington DC based think tank. We can’t have an energy transition without extractive resources, Wood says, and the race is on to secure them.
It's a critical time for our world and the generational challenges we face. Our future requires an increasing demand for resources - minerals and metals critical to energy security, technological transformation and the accelerating race to halt climate change. Season Three explores why the moment is now for critical minerals.
50 years ago, the people, governments and mining companies in Sudbury recognized that, no matter how afflicted their environment was, it was not beyond repair. Sudbury is a beacon of hope, an example to the world that learning from the past can inspire us to do better. Biologist, Dr. John Gunn, microbiologist, Dr. Nadia Mykytczuk and 14-year old climate activist, Sophia Mathur join us to talk about what we can learn from Sudbury and how together we can approach climate change and environmental renewal.
Critical minerals like nickel, copper, and cobalt (found right here in Ontario!) are the building blocks for a clean, green and digitized economy. The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources, Canada, joins us to talk about how we can unlock economic opportunities in Canada and how mining can drive our collective climate action.
Environmentalist and founding President of FROSKR, a firm using technology to build confidence in taking climate action, Kati McCartney, joins us to talk about how the mining industry will deliver net positive environmental impacts, contributing to our generation’s greatest challenge: climate change. The path to decarbonization depends on minerals to power clean energy like batteries, wind turbines, and solar panels. For Kati, it’s not about choosing between productivity & profit or social responsibility; it’s about collectively protecting our shared planet.
In this episode, MaRS Fellow, angel investor, and one of Canada’s foremost thinkers on innovation, work, and learning, Don Duval, joins us to talk about how the technology transformation in mining is helping it win the battle for talent. He also shares how buyers and adopters of technology in mining, including those at NORCAT, have built a tech ecosystem in their own backyard and why VCs are taking notice.
In this episode, Queen’s University Engineering Professor, Joshua Marshall joins us to discuss the robot revolution and why it’s already here. He contends that Canadians have the potential to thrive, seeing the most significant opportunities in sectors like Canada’s global mining industry. While Joshua has been working on robotics and autonomous vehicle technology since the late 1990s, it’s the NOW in mining that excites him. Why? Because the industry is undergoing a significant technological transformation.
Season Two explores the elements of mining that go so far beyond simply digging in the earth, helping to advance science and engineering and pioneering technologies that touch all walks of life. Mining is today’s technology, and science-based solutions are being used to tackle the most pressing challenges facing our generation.
The end of 2020 is near and we’re looking forward, post COVID-19. What does the future of Ontario look like? How will we economically recover? Will Ontario’s abundance of minerals and metals fuel our growth? What role does mining have in a clean and green future? We’re talking to two committed champions of Northern Ontario and responsible resource development.
How can we embrace sound science and try to understand the very essence of life around us? By going deep underground. We’re talking to Samantha Kuula from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory – or SNOLAB as its called – a Nobel prize winning, world-class science facility located deep underground in the 120-year-old Vale Creighton nickel mine near Sudbury, Ontario in Canada.
Why does representation matter? How can traditionally male-dominated industries like mining, technology and space become just ‘industries’? It’s good business - just ask Alicia Woods, who - in the early days of founding Covergalls - earned a deal with Michael Wekerle on Dragons' Den. We’re also talking with Nicole Lynds, an employee at Vale and a transgender woman about finding the courage to ‘be the change you wish to see.'
His father had a grade three education and his daughter is a university-educated banking professional. According to Glenn Nolan, past Chief of the Missanabie Cree in Ontario, his community’s self-sufficiency is rooted in the development of natural resources on their traditional lands. From hunter-gatherers to captains of industry within 3 generations, economic hope leads to economic freedom. It all started in the late 1940s with a small spark of hope for the Missanabie Cree.
Explore stories of human transformation connected to Ontario’s mining industry. You may be surprised to learn how our abundance of minerals offers hope for the future and the opportunity to make the world a better place.