SUNY Potsdam students mine valuable career experience

POTSDAM — Three seniors at SUNY Potsdam are giving a whole new meaning to the term “gold digger.”

All geology majors, the three students completed internships in gold mines this past summer. Christopher Mack and Stephanie N. Fochtman interned at the Hecla Greens Creek Mining Co. near Juneau, Alaska, and Brian D. Butts interned at the Cortez Gold Mine in Lander and Eureka counties, Nevada.

“I really advocate these internships because they provide a unique and practical vehicle that these students can gain real-world experience through,” said Christopher R. Kelson, an assistant professor in SUNY Potsdam’s geology department. “They can see what they can do with their degree in geology when they graduate. It’s a huge educational experience for them, and they learn more from these internships than they probably do from the classroom.”

The SUNY Potsdam geology department typically sees at least a few of its students intern in mines every summer, although the economy and the price of metals often influence the availability of those internships. While mining may not seem like a desirable job for a college student, Mr. Kelson said, entry-level positions in the industry can often pay more than $50,000 in annual salary.

Ms. Fochtman agreed that mining is an unexpectedly lucrative — and enjoyable — field. Originally from Oswego, she was involved in “core logging,” or evaluating rock samples to determine their ore content, during her summer at the Hecla Greens Creek mine.

“When I thought of mining, I thought, ‘Oh, no, I don’t want to do that,’ but it’s good to get an internship,” she said. “I’m actually really glad — I found out that I really like mining. It was really hard work, but you get used to it within a few weeks, and by the end you’re like, ‘This is fantastic — I have to go back to school?’”

Mr. Mack, who also worked in the Alaska mine, worked in the more rugged field of surface exploration, which included soil sampling, underground mapping and carrying 80-pound packs through a grizzly bear-infested Alaskan forest. In Nevada, meanwhile, Mr. Butts interned in the exploration department of the Cortez Gold Mine, which entailed locating mineral reserves and working with drill programs.

Though his position entailed a major lifestyle adjustment — waking up at 3:30 a.m. each day and working 10-hour shifts — Mr. Butts said the internship gave him a chance to appreciate the difference between textbooks and real-world scenarios in geology. While he is still weighing his environmental concerns about mining with his interest in the field, he said, he may well end up pursuing a career in mining.

“I’m still trying to weigh whether what I was doing was contributing to the (environmental) problems or if it was worth the things they have to do,” he said, “but it’s a great opportunity to become a good geologist. It’s definitely caught my interest, and I’m definitely going to apply for a job next year.”