Lisa Roche
Senior Project Exploration Geologist - Fortescue Metals Group
Bachelor of Science (Honours, Geoscience), Master of Science (Ore Deposit Geology)
November 2021
Lisa Roche is a Senior Project Exploration Geologist at Fortescue Metals Group. She explores for copper and gold in remote parts of Western Australia.
Lisa works in a small team and uses techniques like geophysics, mapping, soil sampling, and geochemistry to understand the geology of the area they are exploring. Lisa combines many different data sets from these techniques to decide if the area is prospective for copper or gold.
Lisa’s team getting the lay of the land in the Pilbara region, WA.
Why did you choose this career pathway?
I enjoyed science at high school so enrolled in a generic Science degree at Monash University. Geosciences was my “fun” elective, which was hands down my favourite subject and then turned into a career I didn’t know existed when I was younger.
Lisa’s remote field work campsite in the Goldfields, WA.
What are the best parts about your job?
What are the hardest parts?
The best parts are getting to travel around remote parts of the country, and the buzz of finding visible gold or copper in rocks I pick up off the ground!
Whilst I haven’t experienced this yet, the hardest part is that exploration and mining industry has waves of downturns when commodity prices are low - meaning a lot of my colleagues have been made redundant at one point or more in their career. Hopefully I can avoid this for the next while!
How well did your degree prepare you for your career path?
My Earth sciences degree provided a great foundation for all things geology, however you really do keep learning constantly on the job and probably until you retire. So don’t expect to be an expert anytime soon, but I like that aspect, it challenges you continuously.
Lisa and her team use quad bikes to get around in the Great Sandy Desert, WA.
What does your career progression look like from here?
There are two general routes you can go down as an exploration geologist-either the management/logistics or the technical side. I love the technical aspect of my job and want to pursue this avenue over the next few years of my career.
What advice would you give to students in your study area trying to decide on a career path?
Give things a try! You won’t know if you have a passion for a subject until you try. I fell into geology because I thought it sounded interesting and fun, with no clue what career it might bring. I have no regrets!
Connect with Lisa