Go Furness

Sally Schofield

This is the second in a series of profiles on ex-students of Barrow Sixth Form College – some of the people who have gone on to do great things after starting out in Furness.

After leaving Barrow Sixth Form college in 1992, armed with A Levels in Chemistry, Geology, Biology and General Studies, Sally headed to Camborne School of Mines in Cornwall (part of the University of Exeter) to study for her degree. She chose this place of study partly due to its world famous reputation and strong old boys’ network but was also influenced by the University’s proximity to the beach…

Leaving Camborne in 1995 with a First Class B. Eng (Hons) Industrial Geology, she headed down to London and embarked on a NERC funded MSc at Imperial College. There she met Tony Williams, a self made millionaire who ran a private company which provided finance for early stage mining deals. Through Tony, Sally gained exposure to the world of business and finance, travelling extensively across Europe, the FSU, USA and Canada, helping convert small exploration and mining businesses into companies listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange.

Most businesses are affected when markets change but the mining sector is especially vulnerable to fluctuations in metals prices. As metals prices drop so does activity and investment and job security rapidly disappears. Sensing problems looming with a drop in gold price and the collapse of the markets, Sally moved out of mining in 1998 and was accepted on a fast-track graduate management scheme with RMC.

Sally’s time with RMC (since taken over by CEMEX) proved invaluable. Working in the quarrying and ready mixed concrete business, she soon rose up the ranks, becoming RMCs youngest (and first female) Commercial Manager, with full responsibility for a business turning over £15 million per annum. RMC also supported her continuing professional development, providing funding for an MBA. This high level commercial experience with a global organisation positioned Sally nicely for a return to the mining markets in 2003, which coincided with the first real increase in the price of gold and copper for 5 years.

In late 2003 Sally became Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of an AIM-listed company called Latitude Resources plc. Latitude Resources had a collection of Iron-Copper-Gold exploration projects in Chile and Sally moved to Santiago full time in early 2006 in order to manage the company. Under Sally’s management the team spent £2 million on exploration and made a couple of promising copper-Gold discoveries and Latitude’s portfolio was eventually sold for £10 million to an Australian company.

Sally’s achievements in the male-dominated world of mining came to the attention of several people and she was twice recognised as one of the UK’s ‘Top 35 Women Under 35’ and became one of the Courvoisier Future 500 group, a collection of people likely to shape the business face of Britain in the coming decade. The highlight of these accolades was an invitation to Buckingham Palace in 2007 where Sally was presented to HRH the Queen for her Outstanding Contribution to Women in British Business.

After selling the business in Chile, Sally worked for an Investment Bank, reviewing potential mining deals in Brazil, Panama and Central America. She relocated from Chile to Australia in September 2008 – just in time for the Global Economic Crisis and another collapse of the mining exploration sector! She currently lives in Perth, on the edge of the Indian Ocean, and is currently investigating new business opportunities.

Posted by John Barker on 6th July.