Isabell Brassard from Rio Tinto
Isabelle Brassard, the General Manager of Boron Operations was the speaker at the April 16th meeting. She spoke of the on-going challenges of the Boron operation from mining to packaging to shipping.
Originally from Quebec, Canada, Isabelle earned her Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Quebec in Saguenay, Quebec, Canada. She has been with Rio Tinto since 1998, originally signing on as a maintenance engineer and working her way up and through-out the company including working for three years as General Manager, Services, Sohar Aluminum, a Rio Tinto joint venture in Oman.
Included in her talk was work Rio Tinto does in the community of Boron as well as Tehachapi, Victorville, Palmdale and Ridgecrest. One of their 'claims to fame' is helping the Boron High School football team attend the Super Bowl this past January. She also explained how the mine itself is expected to a thriving operation for at least the next forty years, working to employ over 800 people at the plant located in Boron. A Visitor Site is located at the plant and operated daily from 9am to 5pm. Money raised at the gift shop there goes to work as part of the charitable contributions that Rio Tinto returns to the community.