From the Australian Outback to Canadian Mountains: Meet Greer Lane

Here at Longford Exploration we pride ourselves in hiring people who have a genuine love for exploration. We work in some of the remote places on earth so it’s important that our people are able to handle a variety of working conditions. 

Greer Lane joined us in the Fall of 2021 as an Exploration Geology Project Manager. Hailing from New Zealand, she began her career after studying Geology, where the syllabus focused on engineering and volcanology. Having a keen interest in minerals, Greer decided to take part in an exchange program with Queens University in Ontario. 

After studying, she hit the Australian Outback and that’s where her adventure began but don’t worry, the exchange wasn’t the last she’d see of the Great White North. 

Australia was a whirlwind of science and research. Greer was able to further her mineral training with roles in geotech engineering and mine production. Besides the opportunity to put her training into practice, Greer thoroughly enjoyed working alongside local indigineous individuals and communities within Australia. 

While both Australia and Canada are leaders within mineral exploration, there are vast differences which Greer would soon come to experience, and motivated her for a move. The lack of surficial water supply and high temperatures required quite a bit of preparation and training, including having to drill massive bore holes for water trucks to fill up in the Outback. The lack of surficial water supply and high temperatures required forward planning, including drilling deep water boreholes, heat stress management and Outback first-aid. Team members have to be extremely mindful of heat stress with temperatures rising to 50 degrees on the hottest days. Besides worrying about staying hydrated and the extreme heat, explorers in Australia get the unique and sometimes comedic experience of ensuring curious Kangaroos don’t fall into drilling mud pits. 

After a few years of working in the Australian mining sector, it was time for a change and to chase variety in commodities, landscapes and culture. Having studied in Canada, Greer knew the Canadian mining industry was “quite cool” (literally) and set out to find her next adventure. Her passion for mineral exploration and wanting to get involved in a bunch of different commodities led her to Longford. 

“Canada is super cool, you get to see such a wide variety of things and honestly some places are just hilariously remote and a complete opposite of where I was working previously. I’ll find myself in the field thinking this is actually amazing.” 

Within the first two weeks of being with Longford, Greer was exploring copper, molybdenite, graphite and travelling to mountains that were only heli-accessible. It was such a stark contrast to Australia, with Longford there was always something new and exciting to work on, never just one commodity. Greer has found her place and we are so thrilled to have her.