In each issue of The Alaska Miner, we interview an out- standing leader in and member of our industry. This time we are talking with Varina Zinno, a senior geologist at Calista Corporation who was honored as Volunteer of the Year by AMA in 2019. Faces of Mining
Varina Zinno Senior Geologist at Calista Corporation
Who was your mentor in this industry and what did they teach you that remains true today? All of my bosses have played somewhat of a mentor- ship role with how common on the job training is, but the individual who really stood out for being an active men- tor was my first boss who hired me on my first project straight out of graduate school, Alan Roberts. He ran a tight ship and taught me many important technical and practical industry work skills. Some practical ones to share are that geologists should be open to do as variable work assignments as our miner and driller work partners embrace as “part of the job” (i.e. night shift, extended rotations and double shifts if need - ed), and to negotiate strongly your pay rate in the good times because you may have to rely on savings from that to get by in the bad times of recession given the cyclicity of the mining and exploration industry. What lessons have you learned that you want to share with new miners? Don’t be shy and always be proud to speak up about safety issues because this is part of what we are expect - ed and need to do as miners. Embrace new assignments/ tasks as the new opportunities they are with a “can-do” attitude as part of the job, and they may open new doors and even good recommendations. What would you do differently? Taken GIS in college and more focus on ore deposits in grad school, but thank goodness for on the job train- ing! My M.Sc. in mineralogy from McGill was part of what caught the eye of my first boss in hiring me for core log - ging, as he expected I would be sufficiently detailed ori - ented, so I really have no regrets. What was one experience you will never forget? It’s hard to pick one experience, but getting dropped off by helicopter/plane/boat to see the most epic scenery in the world for a long, wonderful day (or extended hitch) of field work is always memorable. These days remind me why I became a geologist, and gives the feeling of living the dream. For example, the views near Tsirku Glacier, Palmer Project, near Haines, are stunning and awe-in- spiring. What do you love most about this business? No. 1 is being able to do field work in the great outdoors. Finding gold is really fun and gold fever likely drives lots of rigorous treks in challenging conditions. More gener- ally, I love the people, camaraderie at camps and mines, the community, and passion many have and share for ex - ploration and mining. It’s a business where hard work, dedication and enthusiasm can really get you somewhere. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? Caught up and advanced compared to where Yukon mining and exploration is now. For the metallogenic po -
tential it seems we should have more mines. In the future I see more mines in Alaska, more exploration ac - tivities, and hopefully a larg- er trained local workforce and more support, both tan- gible from state and federal level and general community wide support of projects.
What do you see as our
biggest challenges? And opportunities? Our biggest challenges are perceptions of mining/lack of education on importance of mineral resources, lack of importance and training placed in trades like prospecting, challenges at UA system that could impact ability to create locally trained and educated workforce, and remoteness and lack of infrastructure at many jurisdictions that are apparent deterrents to investment. These challenges, when met, create our biggest opportu- nities — expanding Alaska’s trained and educated workforce including grassroots prospector development could lead to new discoveries and certainly more support for the indus- try. It is essential to educate the general public on the need for investment in new mineral resources to not only sustain our current modernized lifestyles but to make more envi- ronmentally sustainable “green” technology and expanded infrastructure with efficient development. In addition, we as an industry, need to continue spreading the word on the robust permitting process we have in Alaska that addresses and protects environmental sustainability concerns. As for remoteness, this is also an attribute since there are more opportunities that haven’t been uncovered yet due to access. What keeps you awake at night? The only thing that really keeps me awake at night is my neighbor’s dog. But an item of concern that I regu - larly come back to is how close we seem to be to losing an invaluable component of exploration — prospecting. Prospecting in Alaska is becoming like a lost art. It is my understanding from legislative research in the mining regulations that the state stopped financially supporting prospectors in 1982. The current regulations and gener - al industry seem to favor bigger projects over smaller in practice, so that makes it harder for the independent pros- pectors to stay in the game. The history of discoveries in Canada shows prospectors have played a key role and the Provinces have various means to support prospector de- velopment as part of comprehensive initiatives to promote exploration and development from all levels. I have spent time in the last several years brainstorming, researching, and networking on how to reinvigorate our industry from the bottom up through investment and support in grass- roots prospecting.
16
The Alaska Miner
Winter 2021
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online