Title:
Mining engineer

Angelique Stoker came all the way from South Africa to join the team of Viscaria, former Copperstone, in 2022. Since then, she is one of the mining engineers in a group of experienced colleagues, preparing to reopen the Viscara mine.

What made you take the leap to move across the world?

It was the dream to be part of an amazing group of people, working together to open up a mine. You rarely come across an opportunity like that in your career. Not to mention the adventure of moving to a new country with a different culture, and a completely different climate!

I knew from my very first interview with Viscaria that I wanted to work with this team. We are an incredibly diversed team, that bring our unique ways of thinking to the table. I feel more like we are family than colleagues. To me, that bond is important since I have left my family, friends, and everything I cherished behind. When I came here I didn't only find a good place to work, I found a place to live as well.

How long have you been working in the mining industry?

I graduated as a mining engineer and started in the industry 17 years ago. Since then I’ve worked in many different positions, mines and commodities - both underground and in open casts. I have worked on the production side and the technical planning side. The commodities have worked in previously has mainly been diamonds and iron ore, mostly in South Africa but also in other parts of the continent like Lesotho. Growing up in a mining family, the choice of profession was always obvious to me. Mining has always been a part of my life! My parents worked in many places in Africa. In South Africa we have a mining joke, saying that when you work in mining you have broken furniture and stupid children because you move around so much from one mine to the other. But both my brother and I turned out to be Mining Engineers so we didnt do too badly.

What is your role in the work and planning to reopen Viscaria?

We are a very small and diverse team, working together in many different areas of the project. My main focus is the design and logistics of the open pits, and the infrastructure around them. Now the main focus is to get a holistic idea of what it takes to reopen a mine, and to contribute with the experiences I’ve gained from my work in the industry.

Compared to your former experiences in mining, was there anything that stood out when you first came to Kiruna and your new work place?

Definitely the climate! I had never imagined it would be possible to mine in areas this cold. But, the area is also breathtakingly beautiful both in Winter and Summer. It is as if you had taken two different worlds and wrapped them into one. Also, I have never worked in such a diverse team before in terms of nationalities, ages and personalities. We are a unique team, which I think is one of our greatest strengths. We bring experience from all over the world. Coming to Viscaria and Kiruna was my first exposure the Swedish mining industry. Here the industry follows a strict legislation for environment and sustainability and has high environmental standards. I have expanded my knowlede base and contributed my experience to the diffrent applications and mining techniques used here.

What are your hopes and expectations for the near future?

Definitely to realise my dream - to open a safe, sustainable and profitable Viscaria mine. But also for me personally, to build a mine from scratch, and to carry on contributing, learning and growing in my professional knowledge. I am planning to stay as I really love working and living in Kiruna. Hopefully I will be here not only to open but also to close and rehabilitate the mine again one day, that is my goal.