time and effort into the find and mine phases that this gets overlooked. The great reclamation works Usibelli, and Kinross have/are doing show what modern mining commitment to rec - lamation looks like. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? I see Alaska as the future of Min - ing in the U.S. Huge untapped and unrealized potentials for precious metals, coal, as well as the boom for the “social” minerals. We all know the struggles we face in Alaska, with power projection, and infrastruc - ture to remote sights. However, I do believe there is a common vision of what excellence looks like for Alaska mineral future. I do like the emerging technologies that will impact Alaska future in mining. Strong arguments for potentials on micro-nuclear re - actors, providing abundant electri - cal power for electrical haul and ex - tractive equipment. Remote operated vehicles that utilize Infrared lights negating the light pollution. Analyt - ical improvements that will forward the ore discrimination decisions min - imizing the transportation of waste. Just some simple initial thoughts on
business? I love mining! I love all spectrums of the mining life cycle. As a geolo - gist, my first passion is the early, in - fant phase of exploration. Learning the rocks, how mother nature put these geochemical anomalies together and following them to discovery and into a deposit. The young adult phase, or the prefeasibility/permitting stage is a unique opportunity to set the fu - ture conditions of success. This phase is exciting, in that its where you as a geologist can optimize and derisk the geology, work in a cohesive multidis - ciplinary team to fighting for the goal bringing a mine to fruition. The Adult phase, actual mining is what all the years of hard work go into. I loved the mine geology in that it was a close-up examination, from the inside of how the deposit was formed. Keeping the headings on ore, minimizing waste, working with engineering and met - allurgists in optimizing the mining is a unique, sometimes frustrating balance. Mother Nature is never kind enough to make ore deposits simple. One of the most exciting, and very overlooked aspect of the mining cy - cle is retirement phase, or reclama - tion. We as an industry put so much
LARIMER, CONTINUED from PAGE 20
What was one experience you will never forget? One of my most favorite memories was being on the Pogo Mine Under - ground Rescue Team. It was a lot of additional work, and time, but an im - portant aspect for the Mine’s opera - tions. Additionally, being on the Mine Rescue Competition Team. While the Mine Rescue team is a tight knit of your mine brothers and sisters, the bond is your commitment on your ac - tions if an emergency arises. It was a unique experience to be on the com - petition team, being graded and tested on your skill as a team. Your compet - itive edge really comes out. You want to beat the pants off the other teams and show your teams dedication and skills are the best. But at the same time, the level of respect, and family is so strong across all the teams be - cause your commitment is your bond. It is refreshing to know if there was a major underground emergency, that you have support from the rest of the Alaska Mines Emergency services.
What do you love most about this
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The Alaska Miner
Summer 2022 9/29/21 2:37 PM
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