Jemma Moore, Chartered Geologist

How did you decide on pursuing your degree(s)? Did you know about geology before you entered university?

My path to Geology was a little unconventional.  I originally studied Business Management at a University in London, as geology wasn’t even on my radar at the time. It hadn’t been offered at School, and the closest subject was Geography. I wasn’t sure what career options Geography would lead to – aside from teaching, which I knew wasn’t for me.

After completing my business degree, I went travelling and eventually found myself in Perth, Australia, working for Worley Parsons on an iron ore project as a project assistant. There, I worked alongside engineers, geologists, project managers etc. and it opened my eyes to the world of geology. This is when I felt I finally could see my career path I wanted to pursue. Therefore, I decided to return to university to study Geology – and that’s where my journey in the field began.

Describe your career progression since finishing undergrad

During my geology degree, I built strong connections with Aggregate Industries (now Holcim), completing several work placements with them and receiving bursaries to support my studies. By the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to join the company. Although there were no geology roles available immediately, I joined their Graduate Management Scheme. This experience was invaluable, as it provided me with hands-on exposure to operations – shadowing a quarry manager and rotating through different departments to gain a full understanding of how the business runs.

After about 6 months, a geology position became available and I joined the team as a Geologist.  I spent seven years with the company, during which time I also studied part-time for a Masters in Engineering Geology and obtained a diploma in Quarry Management. During this time I also progressed to a Senior Geologist and obtained my chartership status with The Geological Society of London and as a European Geologist.

Following this, I took a short stint with a contractor as a Senior Engineer, managing multiple drill rigs on a multi-million pound tunneling project. Soon after, I decided it was time to move abroad again and accepted a position in Canada with Heidelberg as a Mining Engineer.

In August 2022, I returned to Holcim (Lafarge, now Amrize) as a Reserve & Mining Manager. In May 2025, I was promoted to Head of Reserves and Mine Planning for Canada, leading the team and driving the company’s long term strategies.

If you could go back to your first year in undergrad, would you pick the same degree and career trajectory? Why/why not?

Yes absolutely! I feel very fortunate to have discovered the path I truly wanted to follow and to have had the opportunity to return to university a second time. 

What are the three best things about your job/career? What are three things you would change?

1.      Without a doubt the people I get to work with in this industry are fantastic. Something that sticks with me is the saying;

people may leave a company for a promotion or better pay, but they may return if the culture is good – yet they will never return to a company with a toxic culture! 

The amount of people that do return to this industry, including myself speaks volumes!

2.      The variety of work and the chance to be involved in projects that bring ideas to life

3.    Being a technical expert, driving change and initiatives and adding real value to the business

Things that I would change;

1.      There’s never enough time in the day – I always want to do more!

2.    Balancing the technical focus of the role with the growing amount of administration work that is coming with a publicly traded company!

3.     Ensuring the industry continues to attract and retain the next generation of talent – it would be good to be able to do more to showcase the opportunities in the industry, modernize perceptions of quarrying and construction and create clearer development paths. 

Why is gender balance in mineral exploration/mining/geoscience important to you? Why should it be important for everyone?

Denver Cement Plant

Gender balance is important to me, as I have seen first hand how diverse teams bring better ideas, stronger collaboration and more innovative solutions. Women bring more empathy to the table too and look at “risk” from different perspectives – without women in the room there is a large gap in this respect. In addition, when there aren’t women leaders it makes it more difficult to bring women into the industry and it’s harder for women to see their career path or where they could fit. When women are in positions of influence for people to see – it shows that it is achievable!

I strongly believe this should be an important topic for everyone as the construction industry will be left behind with the lack of diversity. Huge groups of people could be overlooked that could be invaluable to add new ideas and perspectives. Mining and geology roles in particular face complex challenges, from decarbonisation to securing future resources and we can’t afford to limit ourselves to half the talent pool! A more balanced, inclusive workforce creates safer, more resilient and more forward looking businesses.

What advice would you give to young women starting a career in mineral exploration/mining/geoscience?

My advice would be; don’t be afraid to step into spaces where you might not see many people like yourself yet. If we avoid these scenarios, it only exacerbates the challenges and makes it harder for us to progress change.  Make a point that you are the only woman at the table or at the event! Take every opportunity to learn from colleagues, mentors etc. and don’t be shy about asking questions.

It is also useful to find a like-minded group either within or outside your organisation to share experiences and learn from each other on how to handle certain scenarios that may only unfold for women. It’s important to build relationships and support each other, to make you feel more comfortable and confident.

What motivates you and keeps you busy outside of mineral exploration/mining/geoscience?

Outside of work, I stay busy by exploring new places (to some degree I still feel like a tourist to Canada!), trying out a new hike or getting on the slopes for skiing in the winter. Travelling is one of my biggest passions and I have travelled many places around Asia, Europe and Australia and now I’m based in Vancouver – I’m enjoying exploring North America. 

I have also rode horses from a very young age and still have my pony in the UK, I miss this hobby the most, but having a horse right now with my lifestyle would be very difficult!