discovery, regardless of whether it leads to an eventual mine or not. I still get a thrill every time I see gold in my pan and most of my pans have had fly speck gold at best, not nug - gets. Standing on the top of a high Alaskan ridge and won - dering if anyone had ever been there before. Thinking how amazing it is to be paid to go places that many people would pay dearly to visit. What do you love most about this business? I’ve already mentioned some things that I love about the mining business. I love the people in the mining industry. I enjoy interacting with others on a professional level, as well as a social level. I also enjoy the variety of opportunities. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? I see the Alaska mining industry continuing to grow. The world economy needs basic resources to function, and Alaska is a vast storehouse of mineral resources. The Alaska mining industry has proven that it can mine responsibly and it will continue to do so into the future. We are re - sourceful and able to adapt, so I believe our industry will adapt throughout the years, meet challenges as they pres - ent themselves, and provide needed minerals and metals far into the future What do you see as our biggest challenges? And opportunities? One of our biggest challenges is the lack of infrastructure throughout Alaska. The opportunity is to build that infra - structure and gain access to natural resources across Alaska. The Alaska mineral industry is continuously challenged to inform government at all levels about our industry. What we need to function, what we provide for local communi - ties, as well as what we provide to national and interna - tional markets. We must continually inform regulators and government officials that Alaska is not like other jurisdic - tions and one-size-fits-all regulations do not fit Alaska. What keeps you awake at night? Myself! I’m known for sending late night emails, some - times into the early morning. But if we are talking about things that concern me, then I do have several items. The first is the current lack of an economic geology professor at the University of Alaska Fair - banks. The Alaska mining industry has focused on fund - ing and preserving a mining department at UAF and that is a critical need for a healthy mining industry in Alaska. I believe that having an economic geology professor focused on ore deposit teaching and research is equally important for the Alaska mineral industry. There aren’t any current graduate students focusing research on Alaskan ore depos - its. These students have filled a critical need in the past for ore deposit studies in Alaska and they have been part of the pipeline of geologists filling junior positions for mineral exploration companies. Another item that concerns me is the lack of a system for preserving information regarding exploration and oth - er mining related activities in Alaska, especially on State lands. The State of Alaska owns 97.9 million acres and is entitled to an additional 6 million acres under the Statehood Act. The State actively gains knowledge about the resources on its lands by funding and conducting such programs as
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Summer 2022
The Alaska Miner
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