Ruth Debicki

How did you get your start in the mineral industry?

I always wanted to be a geologist...and told my grade 8 science teacher of my aspirations. He said "don't be silly...girls can't do that." His was the prevailing attitude in 1962. I was fortunate to earn a summer position in the Geology Department at McMaster University after grade 12, in the University's first offering of what would now be called a "STEM Mentorship Program." There, I learned about the breadth of opportunities in geoscience, so ultimately pursued a B.Sc., and later an M.Sc. in geology. I was also fortunate to be one of the first two female field assistants hired onto a summer field crew by what is now the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) in 1970. This was a time when the mineral sector really wasn't hiring women, and on-campus recruiters would say openly "don't bother filling out the form; we don't hire girls." My work with the OGS was the start of a very diverse, and fulfilling career.

What has been the most memorable experience of your career?

There were so many memorable experiences that I can't pick just one. Some of them include having dinner and discussions with J. Tuzo Wilson when he was just starting to promote his ideas of plate tectonics; being a tour guide for the Apollo 17 astronauts in Sudbury before their trip to the moon; attending a "clean-up" at a large placer mining operation in the Klondike; being a speaker at the PDAC in the Concert Hall at the Royal York; teaching Prince Charles how to play a rock xylophone I'd made; flying over Newfoundland's Western Brook Pond and the Bay of Islands Ophiolite Complex in a helicopter; visiting the James Bay coast (twice - in January); digging for dinosaurs with the staff of the Royal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller; attending the grand opening of the Diamond Bourse of Canada; working with PDAC on Mining Matters and S-IMEW; sharing an Ontario Prospector's Association "Prospector of the Year" award for service to the industry...and the list could go on!