Norman Henderson Memorial Lecture – Discovering our full potential: The beauty of interconnected natural resource ecosystems

Online and Lecture Theatre A, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St Andrews

Sarah Gordon, Co-Founder & CEO, Satarla Mining is often perceived as a dirty and destructive industry. However, if planned for and undertaken correctly, the need to extract minerals and metals from the ground beneath our feet can form the catalyst for long term positive change for the land and society. This can lead to improved biodiversity, capture of carbon, optimised management of water, and improved social and economic value. The value of a mine should not be constrained only to the rock that is extracted. If we are to move towards more renewable forms of energy generation, we need to dramatically increase the volumes of minerals and metals we have in circulation. This means increasing the activities of finding, extracting, processing and transporting huge volumes of material. This requires collaboration between not only nations, but also disciplines who have not necessarily worked together before. The opportunity to use the energy transition as the justification to re-think how we visualise and value the land around us, inclusive of rocks, soils, flora, fauna and people is not only fascinating, but fundamental. Dr Sarah Gordon is Chief Executive Officer of Satarla, a risk consulting and training organisation she co-founded in 2014. Sarah has worked worldwide in a variety of sectors including mining, R&D, healthcare, finance and government. She is honorary lecturer at Imperial College London, an accredited Institute of Risk Management public and in-house course designer and trainer, and a Trustee of the Geological Society London as well as Geology for Global Development. In 2016, she was voted as one of the 100 most inspirational women in mining.