Metals And Mining Review: Specials Magazine

Isabel Montes, who is currently Newmont's Vice President of Human Resources for the South America Region, took an unexpected leap into the HR world when she graduated as an Industrial Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. Montes got selected by Procter & Gamble to join their internship program for HR, which opened the doors for her to understand the HR arena and change management. While at Procter & Gamble, Montes gained immense experience and soon joined Arthur Andersen as a senior business consultant. She moved to the U.S. 22 years ago, got her master's in HR from Chapman University, and started working for Starbucks. There, she held different roles, including the HR and Learning Director for Latin America. Her skills, expertise, and leadership helped the company build the brand across 22 countries, establishing it as a critical retail player, not only from the product and customer perspective but also from the people practices point of view. In 2022, Montes joined Newmont, where she was attracted to the opportunity to help evolve people's practices in the mining industry. Montes' current role at Newmont involves leading the People Function for operating sites in Mexico, Suriname, Peru, and Argentina. She is responsible for setting the People vision for the region, evolving people practices, and developing leaders within the business. Leading Trends within the Change Management Space One of the biggest trends that excites me in the HR space is the notion that change is not limited to being a top-down effort. It has drastically evolved to become a bottom-up endeavor as well. It is necessary to start with the individual and ensure that every person impacted by the change has the space for navigating it. It is also essential to consider that change is an individual's journey that leaders must support....Read more

Rare earth magnets have always been the cornerstone of the world’s most advanced technologies. Yet for decades, this critical supply chain has relied precariously on a single country – China. China produces the majority of the world’s rare earth magnets and controls much of the global supply of raw materials, processing, and finished components that are critical to the entire supply chain. This dependency has created one of the most fragile supply chains in the industrial world, where the actions of one country can send ripples through production schedules and pricing models from Detroit to Düsseldorf. USA Rare Earth is building a vertically integrated supply chain that will eliminate single points of failure in the global supply of rare earths and take them off the geopolitical leverage game board. We aim to serve as a catalyst for industrial self-reliance and a partner of choice across the value chain. “USARE’s specialized production capabilities are able to serve an array of customers across industries including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, and clean-energy technologies. Our focus is to provide the supply security and resilience that our customers need to move forward with confidence,” says Ron Fogarty, VP of Magnet Sales. The Power of Vertical Integration A key element of USARE’s differentiation lies in its vertically integrated structure. Through our magnet manufacturing facility in Oklahoma, our UK-based metal-making and stripcasting subsidiary, our processing lab in Colorado, and North America’s largest deposit of heavy rare earths in Round Top, Texas, we’re able to deliver a secure, US-controlled and fully integrated supply of rare earth materials and magnets, ensuring customers receive high-performance, ethically produced components made in the US according to their needs. This reduces dependency on third-party suppliers and strengthens cost stability and quality control....Read more