The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on the 11th, was established by UNESCO and UN-Women in 2015 with the aim of recognizing and valuing the contribution of the female population in the scientific and technological sphere. In this scenario, geology plays a fundamental role and is one of the areas where gender equality is gaining momentum, as it is at BAMIN.
Marta Ormond, a geologist who graduated from the Federal University of Mato Grosso, is responsible for the geological mapping and quality control of all the ore produced by the company at the Pedra de Ferro Mine in Caetité.
Marta’s commitment on a daily basis is a reflection of her professional and personal career. Before joining the company and working in her role, the geologist faced numerous challenges. Born in Oliveira dos Brejinhos, Marta finished high school in the small town in the interior of Bahia and moved to Goiânia to continue her studies. In the capital of Goiás, she worked as a cashier in a market during the day and at night she attended a technical mining course at CEFET-GO.
“My first contact with mining was during this course, when I did an internship with a multinational company and took part in a feasibility study to set up a nickel mine in Barro Alto, in the interior of Goiás. During this project, I fell in love with geology and had the support of fellow geologists who encouraged me to study Geology at university. From then on, I immersed myself in my studies and was approved for the geology degree course in Cuiabá. When I arrived at the Federal University of Mato Grosso, I started an internship at the National Department of Mineral Research (DNPM) for two years and was later approved for a scientific initiation project focused on Mineral Exploration and Geochemistry, which allowed me to focus solely on my studies,” she recalls.
After graduating, the geologist worked in Catalão, in the interior of Goiás, in a niobium and phosphate mine. She later worked with gold in Crixás, also in the state of Goiás. She went on to Paracatu, Minas Gerais, where she worked in lead and zinc mining. In Minas Gerais, during a geology congress in the city of Araxá, she learned about BAMIN’s Pedra de Ferro Project. At that moment, when she saw the magnitude of this deposit, something told her that one day she would return to her homeland and be able to contribute to the geology of Bahia, putting into practice what she had studied in the Midwest of the country.
“I started at BAMIN in 2011, when I came to Caetité to work at the Pedra de Ferro Mine. Here, as well as starting a family, I was able to fulfill my dream of working as a geologist in my hometown, in such a complex and crucial profession. Geologists study the structure, composition and processes that have formed the earth, its evolution over time, and play a crucial role in mining, since it is through geology that mineral deposits are discovered. They also contribute to other sectors such as the oil industry and engineering, and are fundamental to the development of a country and society in general,” she says.
Always in search of personal and professional development, Marta completed her master’s degree in 2021 at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in the area of Metallurgical, Materials and Mining Engineering, and recently finished an MBA in People Management at the University of São Paulo, the content of which was the evolution of female leadership in Brazilian mining. “I had BAMIN’s support for both courses. I am very grateful to BAMIN, my team and my leaders for all the inspiration and empowerment they have given me over the years. I’m a little suspicious to say, but I’m extremely proud of my profession and of the journey I’ve made so far and of the enormous expectation of seeing the ore from the Pedra de Ferro Mine on the FIOL railroad tracks to the port in Ilhéus and from there to the world,” she says.
