DON STEWART, B.C.
If asked to picture a typical miner, this guy might come
to mind. Don grew up in Cassiar, a mining hub turned
ghost town in northern British Columbia. He disliked
school and signed on to become a miner at 18 years old,
occasionally working as a faller or driller when mining work
was unavailable. The biggest changes he has seen over his
career are in worker safety, environmental protection and
relationships with communities and First Nations – all for
the better. Now, he splits his time between Ecuador and
the Red Mountain gold project near Stewart, B.C., where he
pumps and monitors the water that has filled the 30-year-
old workings, as the exploration teams drill and sample and
try to make the mine operational again. In both Canada and
Ecuador, he sees mining projects opposed and delayed as
"we pay for the mess left behind" by previous operators. He
works side by side with his son, a fourth-generation miner,
and puts salt in his co‰ee.
S umm e r 20 1 9 21
Exploration geologists are lucky enough to see
spectacular landscapes like this from the air as they
commute daily to and from their "oices" by helicopter.
The counterbalance to this incredible privilege is being
deposited on peaks like the red-orange ridge on the left
of this image in the morning, then hiking up and down
scree slopes all day in bear country, literally carrying
a pack full of rocks on their backs. But when the radio
squawks and the helicopter comes into view again at the
end of the day, and the ride home in the evening oers
views like this, it is worth the eort. (Most of the time!)
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