Working together, better futures are possible for both economies and ecologies.
Based in Vancouver, BC, Mining Impact Specialists Ltd. (MISL) works with corporations and local and Indigenous communities worldwide on project and land transition planning that takes economic, environmental and social responsibilities seriously.
Informed by a values-based approach to civil-geotechnical engineering, project collaboration, corporate leadership, strategy, and resource management, we work to deepen understanding between corporations and communities and discover what better means when considering tailings risk and the future of mined lands.
Our team has over two decades of experience in mine engineering, primarily in tailings design, management, and mine closure. Our expertise also includes leading a global innovation team to develop pioneering land reclamation technology for which corporate, provincial, and federal / governmental funding was secured.
Our Work Includes:
Lois’ deep respect for and responsibility to the Land and the people living with it have brought her to found the team at Mining Impact Specialists Ltd. (MISL). Lois builds and works with robust teams of diverse and talented individuals and specialists to address challenges at the nexus of resource extraction, people, society, and the environment.
A civil engineer, consulting in Canada and internationally, she is a leading mine-site rehabilitation specialist working with Indigenous communities, mining companies, and mining regulators. Her experience includes preparing and filing mine closure plans, preparing and reviewing closure cost estimates and estimates of asset retirement obligations and serving as a member of ITRBs. She also has a depth of experience in design, construction, expansion, operations, closure, and reclamation of tailings storage facilities.
Working with Indigenous communities, mining companies, and mining regulators, she has facilitated workshops and planning projects to address the social considerations and impacts of mine closure. Her combined experience as a researcher, technical consultant in mine closure and reclamation, and community collaboration facilitator makes her uniquely qualified to steward processes anchored in respect, trust, and a deep understanding of both challenges and potential opportunities.
As Operations Coordinator Olivia plays a key role in ensuring projects run smoothly from concept to completion. Supporting alignment across teams, she keeps information flowing accurately and connect the many moving pieces of project delivery. She anticipates needs, streamlines processes and bring clarity to complex tasks, allowing the team to focus on their strengths, ensuring the company operates cohesively and effectively.
Olivia discovered a passion for using data and mapping to understand landscapes and tell meaningful stories early in her GIS work. As our GIS Specialist, she brings strong expertise in spatial data management, visualization, supporting mine reclamation and project development through analysis and efficient information management.
Olivia’s work is grounded in a deep respect for land and community and extends to hands-on field experience and volunteer work in ecological restoration, including wildlife habitat monitoring, vegetation assessment, landscape stewardship, soil restoration, composting, agroecology projects, and community-led agriculture. Her experiences shape her holistic approach to responsible land management and her commitment to restoring and regenerating landscapes embody the values that guide our mission for responsible and community-centered mining practices.
With 25+ years’ experience in strategic Business Management, Corporate Mining Operations and Communications, Tanuja supports MISL leadership in an advisory capacity on Operational, HR, Risk, Corporate Communications, Change Management and Employee Engagement.
Adept at working with diverse multinational teams and fostering collaboration leveraging knowledge in project and program management and policy and guideline development, Tanuja’s experience also extends to brand management and content creation and management.
Tanuja is focused on uniting MISL’s strategic business goals with optimized operational processes, performance and effective communications.
Lea is a Consulting Geotechnical Specialist with over 8 years’ experience in mine waste tailings (conceptual planning, alternatives analysis, soils investigation, construction, operations, and monitoring), hard rock geology (core drilling, discontinuity set analysis, and mine design compliance), and active on-site mining operations.
Her experience includes open-pit geotechnical services, critical infrastructure monitoring, instrumentation planning and execution, and due diligence observations for mine safety in fly-in fly-out operations. She was a member of mine rescue for over three years, including leadership positions of vice-captain and captain. She has held international consulting roles, including Australian-based consulting roles in tailings management in Queensland and South Australia.
Lea is an advocate for safe and responsible mining with high standards for industry best practices and a proponent of all voices being heard in the mining process.
Maria is a Community Integration Consultant with over a decade of experience listening to, learning from, and working at the intersection of Indigenous communities, governmental organizations and industry to identify common goals and ways of working together.
Serving at this intersection of entities helps Maria to cultivate and restructure a working collective whose primary goal, moving forward, is to respectfully and responsibly restore sustainable ways of life stewarding both land and community.
The pivotal positioning of cultural, psychological, and social mapping is key to MISL’s mission and works to safeguard and ensure that the voices, culture, customs, knowledge, and heartbeats of Indigenous communities and the land are intentionally considered, preserved and amplified in ways that not just expose and acknowledge, but in ways that seek to rectify the significant harm, manipulation, and disenfranchisement experienced by Indigenous communities.
Jennifer is a Senior climate change and hydrology consultant with over 20 years’ experience in mining, hydroelectric, utility, renewable energy and water resources. She is experienced in leading multidisciplinary teams on water and climate system modeling, software and machine learning model development and environmental impact studies.
Her broad expertise includes developing risk models for wildfire, erosion and flooding risks, utility asset failure, and operational plans for mines, utilities, and hydroelectric projects to anticipate, reduce and mitigate climate risks, including adaptive management plans to address variable future hydrologic conditions.
Jennifer’s extensive experience using water and climate models, fish habitat and wildlife migration models in public stakeholder negotiations and forums with Indigenous groups supports MISL’s mission and vision of leveraging the broadest knowledge base applicable to our engagements.
* MSc Renewable Energy, BSc, Geology & Geophysics (Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA)
Fatimah is an educator who began her career in the environmental consulting sector and then pivoted to education. As a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, she has been designing and teaching courses for children and adults on various subjects for well over a decade, including teaching virtually. She brings her varied knowledge, experience, expertise and talents to enrich MISL’s reports and projects.
Fatimah earned a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Science from Georgia Institute of Technology followed by a Master of Education specializing in Math and Science from Georgia State University.
She currently resides in Vancouver, BC on the unceded, traditional, and ancestral territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.
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