Mineral Exploration

S pring 20 1 8 23 PHOTO: COURTESY KIM HATCHER HIVE HIVE assembles teams of students and underemployed recent graduates to work on geological consulting projects for companies under the careful guidance of a P.Geo., usually Randell himself. Using online collaboration tools, team members choose a part of the project to work on, contributing labour to the project and learning vital skills at the same time. "When I take students in the field, I see a huge gap between what they learn at university and what the industry needs," explains Randell. "Every season you get a new crew, and the first few weeks is training field skills. The impetus behind HIVE is to familiarize students with hands-on field skills, like how to take a soil sample or manipulate data using industry-standard software." BELOW BC Randell's passion for sharing geology extends beyond students. His other venture, Below BC, is a non-profit geoscience outreach organization set up in 2015 to develop in-person and online learning resources about the rocks, minerals and resources in B.C. Below BC has received an outreach education fund grant from AME for the last three years and has used it to develop face-to-face outreach and online learning resources, for both geologists and the public, reaching over 8,000 people at gem and mineral shows and outreach events around the Lower Mainland in 2017 alone. In January 2018, Below BC launched the 360-degree digital geo-archive project: an online collection of rocks and minerals that are displayed and can be manipulated in three dimensions. Using a camera, lighting and turntable like those used by retailers to display their wares online, Randell has taken high-resolution photographs of samples from collections gathering dust or hidden away in storage, including at AME and the Pacific Museum of Earth at UBC. The Smithers Exploration Group, Britannia Mine Museum, the BC Geological Survey, mineralogy groups and even personal collectors have expressed interest in participating. CATALYST FOR CHANGE Randell was awarded the Bedford Canadian Young Mining Leaders Award from the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum in 2016 for his ongoing contributions to the industry. He joined the AME Board of Directors the same year to actively contribute his industry knowledge and passion for student mentorship and public outreach to the association. "I don't mind being a catalyst for these things," says Randell. "It's the industry I love, and I want others to be as interested and enjoy it as much as me. You just have to put some work into it." For now, Randell is funding these initiatives by reinvesting money he earned on consulting projects and with small grants from supporting organizations. In an industry reluctant to change quickly, he has found that it is easier to obtain funding by first proving the concept works. "I was that kid who was into dinosaurs," says Randell. "I never wanted to do anything else. This is my dream job." INSPIRED BY HIVE Kim Hatcher, a fourth-year geology student at the University of British Columbia, became a HIVE member after meeting Randell in January 2017. For the past two years, Randell has run a speed-dating-style student orientation to connect students with all aspects of the exploration industry, including drilling contractors, First Nations leaders, hydrogeologists, geochemists and environmental engineers. As a result of taking part in the course Randell taught at Roundup in 2017, and subsequently working with HIVE in Yukon the following summer, Hatcher is pursuing several courses to support her increased interest in mineral exploration. "My first mineral exploration field visit with Andy made me excited for geology," says Hatcher. "I'm taking three courses now that I never would have taken. My experience with HIVE got me more excited about school."

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