at employment and advancement, and being strong supporters of our commu- nities. We have many examples of all of the above — and we need to do a better job of sharing those. What lessons have you learned that you want to share with new miners? Pay close attention to the values of the company you work for. Make sure that your work is more than just a pay- check. What you do should improve people’s lives — whether that is provid- ing strategic minerals for our nation’s defense, ensuring affordable energy, protecting, and improving the environ- ment or supporting your community. What was one experience you will never forget? The first two years in my mining ca - reer, I had a series of tragic things hap- pen in my personal life — if it could go wrong, it did! As if moving to a new town and starting a new job in a new indus- try wasn’t hard enough (I knew noth- ing about mining), life decided to start throwing me curveballs! My dad had terminal cancer and died at 56 over an
What is your vision for AMA in the next two years? I recently attended the first in-per - son AMA meeting in Fairbanks. Deantha and Jennifer also came up which was great! However, it was striking to me how quiet folks were. After two years of pandemic, I think we really need to re- build and get our membership engaged. It also reinforced a vision I have of ex- panding our membership to younger folks already working in or interested in mining. We had so much knowledge and experience sitting in that room at our first in person AMA meeting, it struck me how critical it is we get that intel- ligence, passion and history passed on. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? My crystal ball says the USA will be providing its own energy and minerals in 50 years — and that means Alaska will be a mining powerhouse. I strong- ly believe it will become untenable for Americans to fund other countries who do not share our values of basic human rights and protection of the environ- ment by buying their energy and min- erals. That is exactly what we are doing now.
What do you see as our biggest challeng- es? And opportunities? We have a lot of challenges — too many to list here. Alaska, in particular, also has an abundance of opportunity. A huge challenge (and opportunity) is to keep an optimistic outlook. It is really quite easy to devolve into pessimism, righteous indignation and pontifica - tion. I fight that fight every single day. It is a lot harder to maintain hope and optimism — and that is really where the grit and perseverance of the miner comes into play. We can’t accomplish anything focusing on all the things that have and can go wrong. Another challenge and opportunity is technology and knowledge that will continue to advance. We need to keep right on top of those advances and in- corporate them into our work. Equally important, we need to not be blind to the changing values of society and attitudes about mining. We have a great story to tell! An opportunity we have is to present our industry in the very best light we can. That means go- ing over and above to ensure employee safety and compliance with our envi- ronmental permits, ensuring women and minorities are given an equal chance
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Spring 2022
The Alaska Miner
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