Last Thursday August 19, Collective Mining (TSXV:CNL) announced it had appointed Ana Milena Vasquez as its Executive Vice President. Ana is one of the key group of executives that form the framework for Collective Mining,  a group of former executives from the Continental Gold Mining project. The company is exploring high yield gold porphyries at its Guyabales and San Antonio mining sites, roughly 70km from Medellin.

Vasquez has ample experience with Colombian mining, government affairs, and community. Before Collective Mining was formed, she worked as the Senior VP of the External Affairs and Sustainability wing of the Continental Gold project, which played a part in the discovery of one of the most fruitful gold mines in all of Colombia.

However, Ana Milena Vasquez’s history stretches further than that, and her experience in Colombian mining specifically makes her a major asset for the team. She has previously worked as the Country Manager of Red Eagle Exploration and the President of Minera Vetas. She began her professional career after receiving her Master of Financial Analysis from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in Spain.

Vasquez has also historically played a key role in the upliftment of women in the mining industry. She was one of the co-founders of ‘Women in Mining Columbia” and was even recognized as one of the top 100 inspirational women in mining in 2020. Throughout her career, she has worked tirelessly to affect change in Columbia’s mining industry, which has traditionally lagged behind in gender parity and opportunities for women. In particular, she has campaigned for women to occupy more high-level executive positions in the industry.

As such, her appointment as the Executive VP of one of Columbia’s most promising gold exploration companies bodes well for women in mining in the country. According to recent studies, the position of women in Colombian mining has become better, due in part to the work done by Vasquez’ former organization, “Women in Mining Columbia”.

Vasquez has said she is thankful for the opportunity and hopes that the work she can do with Collective Mining can bring value to the company’s shareholders while also maintaining their social and environmental commitments. Vasquez said about joining the company:

“I am thrilled to work with such a successful team led by Ari Sussman. As demonstrated at Continental, each of us has a strong commitment to implement the highest ESG standards to our operations while delivering results and high value to our shareholders. I am happy to be part of this new chapter in the history of the mining sector in Colombia.”

​​The above references an opinion and is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a licensed professional for investment advice. The author is not an insider or shareholder of any of the companies mentioned above.