Faces of Mining
of opposition. It will move forward in a responsible manner to probably add another five or six major mines such as Ambler, Livengood, a significant discovery in the Pogo area, Pebble, Bokan Mountain rare earths, Graph- ite Creek. Placer mining will continue to exist and could become more prev- alent depending on gold price. Alas- ka has the potential to become the number 1 non-oil mineral producer in the United States. What do you see as our biggest chal- lenges? And opportunities? Challenge: Overcoming the oppo- sition to mining in the form of out- right lies and distortions, the politi- zation of the permitting process such as the recent pre-emptive veto of the permits for the Pebble project. Effective communications with the public and the native commu- nities is a must to foster a thriving mining industry in the state. Mining companies have done a wonderful job of communications, but still meet with unwarranted opposition.
never forget? Moving family lock stock and bar- rel to Namibia, (Southwest Africa) to manage the Rossing Uranium Mine. What do you love most about this business? The excitement of finding or de - veloping a significant ore body to an operating property. I always wanted to find and develop my own miner - al deposit but was not successful in the finding part. Also, mining has its unique problems and working to solve them is very gratifying; I ran a barite mine in Nevada back in the 60s. We shipped barite in 100-ton RR cars to Texas for processing. The density of barite made it very difficult to esti - mate the load in the cars. I developed a hydraulic pressure measurement system installed in the loader cylin- ders to weight each pass. We never had an over-loaded car after that. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? In spite of the resistance, mining has to move forward against the tide
FACES, CONTINUED from PAGE 18
beyond expectations; it will pay re- wards. Honesty and transparency, al- though it could be a bit troubling at the moment will always be honored in the end. Be honest and transpar- ent and at the time you will have to take actions that are or could be con- troversial; but they will or should be great if backed by practical applica- tions. Don’t hesitate to do what needs to be done. What would you do differently? I have moved around a lot in the interest of improvement and expanded knowledge. This was not a wise move on my part, but I can’t change history. Looking back, I would have chosen to find a great employer, initially Ken - necott Copper Corporation, Ruth, Ne- vada and stick with that. I was a Ken- necott Scholar and should have stayed with them, but it is what it is. What was one experience you will
JCM INDUSTRIES High Density Polyethylene Pipe offers countless advantages for Mining and Industrial Applications. Keep Those Advantages Working with JCM Industries Fittings and Fabrications for HDPE Pipe
• Mineral Exploration • Precision Lift & Placement • Fire Suppression • Environmental Resource • Oil & Gas • Arctic Operations
REPAIR
CONNECTION
PROVEN IN ALASKA FOR ANY ENVIRONMENT ON EARTH.
BRANCHING JCM INDUSTRIES, INC. - NASH, TEXAS, USA 75569-1220 Call Toll Free 1-800-527-8482 or 903-832-2581 www.jcmindustries.com RESTRAINT
ANCHORAGE, AK 907-257-1550 PATHFINDERAVIATION.COM
20
The Alaska Miner
Spring 2023 9/29/21 2:37 PM
MinerMag.indd 2
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online