Breaking Ground: Rebecca Darling Discusses a Career Built on Curiosity
- GEOVERT
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
In the latest episode of Breaking Ground, Hannah Thomas sits down with Rebecca Darling, a sustainability and external affairs executive with over 20 years of experience across eleven countries and five continents. Rebecca's path into mining was entirely accidental, shaped as much by curiosity and a willingness to say yes as by any deliberate plan. The result is a varied and genuinely interesting career.
Watch the full episode:
About Rebecca Darling
Rebecca is a sustainability and external affairs executive with over two decades of experience in the mining industry. Her career began in environmental policy in the California State Legislature before an unexpected move to Mongolia introduced her to mining. She has since held senior roles at the International Finance Corporation, Resolution Copper, Barrick Gold, and Newmont, where she became the first executive to lead social performance as a standalone function. She holds a Master's degree from Cornell University and has worked across North America, Asia, Africa, and beyond.
Key Highlights from the Conversation:
An unexpected entry point
After working as a legislative aide in the California State Assembly, where she found herself deep in environmental policy, Rebecca made a surprise move to Mongolia with her partner. She Googled "Mongolia and environment," sent her CV to every organisation that appeared, and landed a role managing a multi-stakeholder responsible mining project for the Asia Foundation. She arrived on a Saturday and by Monday had a team of 13 and a project already a year behind in implementation.
"It was baptism by fire. He pushed you into the fire and said, call me when you... you sink or swim."
That experience set the foundation for everything that followed. A Master's degree at Cornell, a role as a social performance expert at the International Finance Corporation, and then a move inside the industry with positions at Resolution Copper, Barrick Gold, and ultimately Newmont, where she became the first executive to lead social performance as a standalone function in the company's 100-year history.
The value of doing it the long way
Running through Rebecca's story is a quiet but consistent argument for the unconventional path. She's candid that she didn't follow the expected route with junior college before university, years working abroad before going back to study, stepping into roles she wasn't fully prepared for and figuring it out along the way. When she finally did pursue her Master's degree at Cornell, it was with years of real-world context behind her, and she's clear that made all the difference.
"I had a bunch of life under my belt. I knew more of what I wanted, what I didn't want."
It's a perspective she shares with the people she mentors too, that there's no single right route, and that time spent out in the world before committing to a path is rarely wasted.
Be the CEO of your own career
Following a redundancy at Newmont she's spent a year climbing Kilimanjaro, travelling to six countries, and completing yoga teacher training, Rebecca shares the advice she keeps coming back to. She describes the idea of being the CEO of your own career: understanding that even when circumstances feel beyond your control, you are still directing the overall trajectory.
She's equally candid about the trap of tying your identity too closely to a job title, and the work required to separate the two. And she's refreshingly honest about comparison - what looks like having it all from the outside rarely tells the full story.
"Don't feel like you are at the whim of others or of businesses. You're in charge, even if it doesn't always feel that way."
Rebecca's career story is fascinating and well worth your time - whether you work in mining, sustainability, or public affairs, or are simply thinking about what it means to build a career on your own terms.
About Breaking Ground
Breaking Ground is a podcast series featuring conversations with leaders in geology, mining, and geotechnical engineering. Hosted by Hannah Thomas, the series explores career journeys, technical expertise, and the evolving landscape of the mining industry.
Previous Episodes:
Episode 1: Marianne Rogers
Episode 2: Carrie Heaven
Episode 3: Julia Potter
Episode 4: Amanda Adams
Episode 5: Marisol Valerio
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