Yamana Gold has partnered with Artemis Project to promote and advance female entrepreneurs in mining. As its founding industry sponsor, the gold miner will collaborate with companies in the Artemis Project network to diversify its supply chain and advance its innovation and sustainability.

Entrepreneurs themselves, Heather Gamble and Laura Mottola founded Artemis Project in 2018. Gamble, CEO of Women on the Move, and Mottola, president and CEO of Flow Partners, met when Mottola joined Gamble’s business accelerator at Women on the Move. A well-regarded mining engineer, Mottola attracted more female entrepreneurs in mining to join Women on the Move, and the two entrepreneurs began thinking about how to help them.

Gamble and Mottola started Artemis Project as a way to accelerate business outcomes for women working in the industry. “We thought that there [had] to be a better way that we [could] help female entrepreneurs in mining because we didn't see anything being done in any systematic way to address this,” Gamble explained. “So we co-created a new model.”

Gamble and Mottola founded a collective of female entrepreneurs with highly specialized knowledge and products for the mining industry, which they support through continuous business development and training. Artemis members include Zoe Coull, corrosion specialist and founder of ICE Dragon Corrosion, which specializes in corrosion risk management strategies and corrosion control plans; Sabrina Dias, founder and CEO of mining and sustainability consulting firm SOOP Strategies; and Alicia Woods, founder of Covergalls, which makes personal protective gear designed for women.

Related: Covergalls founder Alicia Woods wants women to feel they belong in the industry. Part of our We Are Mining series

“We're pleased to support Artemis Project as the founding industry sponsor, and we welcome the opportunity to develop further business relationships with these outstanding entrepreneurs,” said Yohann Bouchard, senior vice-president of operations at Yamana Gold. “On an industry level, we believe that partnering with organizations like Artemis Project will help raise industry standards by increasing support for female entrepreneurs, an innovative source of talent whose products and services can only make our industry better."

Yamana Gold and Artemis Project have already been working together for over a year, and several Artemis members and businesses have had work contracts with the gold miner. “One of the things that's really important to us… is [driving] incremental business activities for female entrepreneurs in mining,” said Gamble. “Once we have partners such as Yamana, it's our role to work with [them and] develop long, productive relationships with them and with our Artemis members.”

Artemis Project is working to expand its member network and sponsors and partnerships with mining companies. Currently, the company is working with Canadian entrepreneurs and businesses, but plans to expand globally with more time and resources. The company is also currently working on a project to consolidate and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the Canadian mining and metals industry, with funding from the federal government.