A Fabergé ring has been raffled at a London conference to raise money for a female student to study at Camborne School of Mines (CSM), based at Exeter’s Penryn Campus.
Organised by Women in Mining (UK), an organisation that aims to increase the number of women in mining and minerals careers, the raffle aimed to raise £5,000 to fund a scholarship for a female student to take the MSc Mining Engineering course, which commences in September 2016. The rocco-style ring was donated by the owners of Fabergé and is set with an ameythst.
The raffle took place at the Mines and Money conference in Islington, the largest mining investment conference in Europe, during a reception celebrating the launch of the 2015 ‘100 Global Inspirational Women in Mining.’ Raffle tickets were priced at £10 each.
Frances Wall, Professor of Applied Mineralogy at CSM, highlighted the importance of encouraging more female students to apply for the course. “There are lots of women geologists but very few studying mining engineering, so we are hoping this scholarship will have some impact,” she stated. “There are a number of great careers for women in mining, not just mining and minerals engineering and geology but in environment, law, business and finance.”
Professor Wall was the first female Head of CSM – the only institution of its kind in the UK – and is now the first woman president of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland. She attended the conference reception, which took place at a business design centre, with two current female MSc Mining Engineering students.
She also thanked Gemfields plc for their donation. “I think it is a wonderful idea. This very generous donation to encourage women to start careers in mining engineering is perfectly timed so that we can advertise the scholarship in January.”