Mining Update with Sydney Hay of AMIGOS - Uptime Logistics
Today on Uptime Logistics, Doug Draper of ACME Distribution and the Denver Transportation Club dives into the world of mining with Sydney Hay, President of AMIGOS, Arizona’s top mining industry association.
Sydney brings her experience in the mining industry, as well as her insights into education around policy discussions and industry advocacy. We get to learn more about Sydney and her background, as well as the current state of mining in Arizona and beyond. While it’s a good time to be in mining, there’s also supply and demand challenges on the horizon that must be addressed. As the world creates more cell phones, electric vehicles, and even alternative energy sources, the demand for mining materials is growing.
“If it’s not grown, it’s mined.”
Doug and Sydney also discuss misconceptions about the mining industry, what efforts in reclaimation can achieve, as well as some current and future technology trends for the mining industry. Watch or listen to learn more!
Learn more about AMIGOS at their website
Watch our Mining a Smartphone video to learn a bit more about mining and the technology and people it supports.
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Doug Draper 0:06
Hey, welcome to Uptime Logistics. I am your host, Doug Draper. And I would like to talk about an amazing show we have going on today on Uptime Logistics, as you know, is sponsored and produced by CAP Logistics. And today, we're gonna jump into a really great topic that's very relevant. And very interesting to me as I started doing some research on this topic. And whenever that happens, we got to bring out the best and the brightest. And that is our guest for today. So I would like to welcome and say hello to Sydney. Hey, how's it going?
Sydney Hay 0:39
It's going well, it's a great Friday, although I'm in Arizona, and it's going to be about 110 degrees today. So I'm glad that it’s kind of cool in here.
Doug Draper 0:48
Yeah, yeah, for sure. It is that time of year for sure. So before we jump into it, I wanted to do a little bit better introduction with you in our in our group. But there's a couple of things you're involved with. One is called the Southwest policy group, and then another entity called amigos, which is an acronym and we're going to have to have you jump in on that one first. But I also wanted to let our audience know that you graduated summa cum laude from Kansas Newman college that's actually now referred to as Newman University in Wichita, and Sydney and I spoke about it because that's where I grew up. So we talked about the beer halls and the things that we used to the Hans again, it's great to talk to somebody who knows Wichita, you own your own public relations firm. Like I said, that Southwest policy group, you've served as the president of the mining industry powerhouse, which is amigos for just about 30 years. Five years of that you were also the president of the Arizona mining Association, five year term as a Board of Governors of the Arizona Department of Mines and mineral resources. So you've pretty much been an advisor, a ghostwriter for candidates and elected officials, which is pretty cool, including three presidential campaigns. And now suddenly, you are an official guest of the uptime logistics podcast. And we can't thank you enough.
Sydney Hay 2:10
Great. This is a highlight. I'm happy to be.
Doug Draper 2:13
Exactly. So that's the that's the stock intro. But there's a lot more to your career and some of your highlights. So before we get into the meat and potatoes, talk to audience a little bit about some other things you've accomplished, and maybe a few things you're really proud of personally and professionally in your life.
Sydney Hay 2:29
Wow. Well, public policy drives me I'm very interested in it. So I've done quite a few things legislatively to make things I think better for folks here in Arizona. One of the major accomplishments has been I've successfully amended Arizona's constitution a couple of times at the ballot box for voters to decide. And they decided the way I wanted I'm doing amended the Constitution wants to require a supermajority vote by the legislature in order to raise taxes. So taxes haven't been raised by the legislature ever since for a couple of decades now. And I think that's really been a part of keeping Arizona such a vibrant economic powerhouse as a state, good place to do business good place to live. And other times, I amended the constitution to guarantee folks the right to always have a secret ballot, because that was under threat in union organizing elections, taking away people's ability to let their vote on that key issue. Be secret. So in Arizona, you will always have the right to secret ballot, other things like that school choice has been a big driving force here for me and Arizona is number one of all 50 states in parent's choice in education options for their children, and I'm very proud of that one.
Doug Draper 3:54
Excellent, excellent. Well, thanks for that. So give us a quick summary. You know, you kind of say, you know, what's the state of mining in in the United States? I know your expertise is really down in Arizona. So maybe we'll take two brushstrokes with that, first of all, kind of the current state of mining in the US and then drill down a little bit into specifically with Arizona.
Sydney Hay 4:17
Well, there's good news and bad news, I guess, in every topic that you probably discussed on this program. Good news is we have a vibrant, important mining industry in America. We mined a lot of copper and gold and silver and feldspar, things like that, that we need. So those things that are mined here. I think a more important question is what isn't mined here that we need. And the United States of America is dependent on imports for many, many mined materials that we cannot live without. And that's a concern and ought to be a concern for everyone. For instance, bauxite you make aluminum out of bauxite, we don't mind any of it here. Aluminum is pretty important people are pretty aware of aluminum. And so we are 100% dependent on foreign sources for that. And there's all kinds of them, I can I can mention, and that's a great concern. And as we pursue green energy, which everyone's talking about, everybody wants to do that electric vehicles are now on the minds of everyone with the high gas prices. Those electric vehicles are going to require in the next 10 years to meet, even close to the goals that have been set for numbers of electric vehicles in this country. I read this this morning, in an article 200,000, more tons of rare earth elements are going to be required for those electric vehicles over the next 10 years. That means a lot more mining of rare earth. And that's something that we're dependent largely on foreign sources for. So there's good news, My name is go on great. But there's some real concerns. As we head into the future, that's how much we're going to need.
Doug Draper 6:19
So, maybe talk a little bit about how mining affects the general public, you talked a little bit about, about aluminum, right. But I think there's a lot of folks that may not realize the guy's about to say the cell phones that we have, and everything else. So thread that needle about things that are happening in mind versus how that impacts people and what they touch feel interact with on a daily basis.
Sydney Hay 6:43
There's an old saying that people used to say, or I've seen it on bumper stickers in the past, if it's not grown, it has to be mined. And that's pretty much it. So as you touch this phone, or this equipment that we're engaged together with, all of that requires a vast amount of mine mined materials. So it impacts people's daily lives. From morning till, till night, all day long. Every day. I ran for Congress, it was the Republican nominee for Congress, in congressional district, one of Arizona about a while back, forget 10 years ago. So anyway, it's been a while. But on the campaign trail, I heard a member of Congress had said, in congressional hearing, we don't use much copper in New York. So So I eagerly address that in every audience that I spoke to, because if there's a member of Congress in New York, that doesn't use much copper, then she has to walk back and forth, and Washington DC, because you cannot have any mode of transportation other than your two feet, that does not require massive amounts of copper and electric vehicles go back to that will require a whole heck of a lot more copper than does your internal combustion engine vehicle. So you touch it every aspect of your life, when you open your refrigerator, when you use your microwave for your dishwasher. Any of these things require that you have somebody has mind to that stuff.
Doug Draper 8:27
So, you know, a lot of people out there and folks are driving around, you know, I think you made a good point where you said if it's not grown that its mind. And when people see a mine, they see like strip mining and and the earth being turned up. And it's a visual, and it's like what's happening over there. And there is a perception of, you know, potentially destroying the earth, right, which I know is not the case at all. I don't want to be too dramatic on that stuff. But there's a lot of misconceptions of what's going on out there. technologies that are around with minimizing the impact to the environment. So maybe, let's just call it out, identify a couple, you know, one or two misconceptions that people have related to mining. We'll start there and I have a follow up question after that one. So maybe we'll start there.
Sydney Hay 9:18
It's not your grandpa's mining industry. It has changed so much over the years and yeah, folks picture of burrow and a guy with a pickaxe when they think of mining is a cartoon. It's not that way at all. It's a very high tech industry. And it's got such great new technologies in terms of mine reclamation. So what might be a mind today, once that all the metal or minerals have been mined, it will be restored to where you can't even tell there ever was in line there. That's the technology It's come so far. And a good example right here in Arizona is where Resolution Copper, for instance, is going to be. It's a massive, massive ore body. And there will be a mind there some day. And we can get into why it takes so long for a mind to come around when it shouldn't. That's one thing we need to do better in this country is get the permitting process streamlined. So it doesn't take 2030 years. But they took an old legacy site that had been mined, gosh, in the 70s, I think is when that particular mind shut down, and completely restored it completely reclaimed that you could not even possibly tell there ever was a mine, where they went in near the town of Superior, and reclaimed it all. And so that's what mining is. Now, today. It's not what it was 150 years ago. And it's only getting better, it's only getting more efficient. It's only getting cleaner, better, safer all the time, because of great new technologies that are being developed remote vehicles, for instance, I watched a demonstration of a miner who was sitting as if he were in a sitting at a game console, that kind of a chair. And there was a screen in front of him in an office building miles and miles away hundreds of miles away from the mining equipment in an underground mine that he was operating. So he wasn't in the underground mine, the equipment was and he was sitting in a cool, comfortable air conditioned office and doing great work. Mining, I believe it was a nickel mine in Canada. So things have changed folks in it is a great time to be in mining. And it's a great time for students to even consider a career in mining in the bright future awaits them. For those that want to go into here at the best schools for mines, I think there is I Well, you got Colorado School of Mines and golden. But we have the University of Arizona in Tucson and the things that they're doing there to advance new technologies that might be being advanced for mining, but have applications and things as diverse as medicine, for instance, coppers use in medicine is expanded way beyond I could have been even imagined when I started in this industry so many years ago. So lots of good things on the horizon. And it's a whole different type of mining than folks might be thinking about.
Doug Draper 12:45
Yeah. You know, what, when we were talking a little bit before the call one thing that a common theme that came up, which I thought was really interesting, and really important to talk to our our audience about is the Small Business implication of the money, we just, you know, you just outlined the individual, you know, navigating and working in mind from a chair, you got the safety aspects of it. But I think it's important to understand all the peripheral services, right, kind of like, Yes, you are mining, but there's pics and axes that are being sold, so to speak, to go back to that old analogy, right. There's other things and as ancillary services and products that are used, it's important, or folks to understand that it's just not what's happening in the mind. There's other things around and a lot of those are supported by small business. I know you have a passion about that. So talk about how that small business really impacts and, and assist in the mining industry application.
Sydney Hay 13:41
Well, you can, you can think of that one person that actually working at the mine, and multiply them times four, because that one miner supports for other small business jobs. The type of jobs that I work with all the time in amigos amigos is a group of mining suppliers and mostly small and mid sized businesses that depend on a healthy mining industry to keep all their folks employed. And so while a lot of folks maybe don't know anybody that works in a mind because here I'm sitting in the metro Phoenix area, and we are really far from any active mines. So folks probably don't even know what they are where they are. I've ever been to one but they can sure relate to somebody that sells tires. They have to buy tires, well minds have to buy tires, they have to have to buy really big ones, but they buy big tires from the local tire dealer. So you can you can relate to someone like that. Environmental Consultants I always like to bring up Environmental Consultants because the mining industry employs a whole lot of environmental firms that are probably located in Tucson Phoenix, big cities. And those folks wake up every single day and go to work and think of and design and come up with new ways of keeping our hair clean, and our water clean, and our environment clean. And minds employ a lot of those people. And you can relate to somebody like that, because you probably have somebody like that in your neighborhood. So small business, minds buy a lot of things from small businesses and services and the locales where the minds exist near those small towns, the restaurants, the hotels, all those things are dependent upon those mines. So Arizona, is here as in any where else in the country or the world where there's a mine. They keep a lot of small businesses, being able to keep there people employed.
Doug Draper 15:57
I know there was a couple other industries that are, you know, directly impacted like about restaurants and things. But I know there's a lot of consulting services, you got the reclamation, you have all these high tech applications going on in mines and a little bit, some of those may be local, some of them maybe not, but maybe talk about those three that, you know, I tech, the safety, and reclamation, and how those are growing and are important part of an ancillary support mechanism.
Sydney Hay 16:29
Well, I'll start by saying that when I started with amigos, almost 30 years ago, now, I would hear a presentation from General Manager of some mine here in the state or elsewhere. And they would say something like, and we expect that our mind life will be 20 years remaining. So in other words, 20 years later, they expected the mind would be in closure. And reclamation, well, now it's longer than it's almost 30 years, and they'll say mines are still operating. And you hear the same person speaking on behalf of that mind, it might be a different person. But the person that's in charge of that mind is speaking today and saying, Well, we expect our mind life to be 29 years from now. Now, some of it's because of new exploration, yes. But a lot of it is because of the new and improved technology that is enabling the mind of what would have been considered waste rock 20 years ago, is now going back and being mined again. And that's just that just is only going to get better, it's only going to improve. So and that's good, because as I said from the beginning, we are going to need so much more mined material in this country and throughout the world to meet the new demands that are coming for these these metals and minerals. And so we're gonna need a lot more of it. Thank thankfully, new technologies are going to enable that to happen. You mentioned safety, safety's job, one, we always say every day, when we finished up meetings in the mining industry, we ask people have a great day, well, it's often have a safe day. Safety is number one in the minds in the mind of the minds every day. And I will tell you, you are more likely to get hurt on the job working in retail than you are in a mind. And those are the stats from the Labor Labor Department, I didn't just make those up, you're more likely to get injured on the job working at a Walmart than you are working in a mind. And that's because safety is number one priority. And every single day, you have that as a that is a focus of from the top to the the entry level worker that is the most important focus is safety. That's That's good. Any better all the time? What was your last one? You said technology safety? And I forgot the third one?
Doug Draper 19:10
Oh, I would it was I think you've covered him. Really? I think this specific one was just reclamation, but I think you've talked about that with the ability to to really squeeze out the waste material, so to speak. You're not just throwing away materials that you didn't have the technology to mine in the past. That was
Sydney Hay 19:29
that's only gonna get get better improving.
Doug Draper 19:34
And that's a perfect segue to the next question. Sydney is five years out. So the question I like to ask our our guests, regardless of topic is where is this industry fast forward our audience, give us a perspective and a picture of what things look like five years out whether that's policy related, whether it's what's happening literally in the mind, or whether it's technology so we're now in like 2028 and paint a picture for us what's going on in the industry.
Sydney Hay 20:05
I hope that what goes on in the industry going forward is because of the increased demand is finding way without lowering any expectation or any of the strict environmental regulations that we meet and exceed every day. Without doing anything to diminish that at all, we have got to find a way that it shouldn't take decades to bring a new mining project online. That is unacceptable in my view, for for instance, I printed out a report of all the critical minerals that we need in the US and our policy regarding here, gallium integrated circuits you needed in all high tech equipment you needed in LED lights, as we transitioned to LED lights for energy conservation, this is a critical mineral we need and we are 100% dependent on foreign sources for that we can't have any high tech equipment at all. Without that critical mineral 100% dependent. And here's a long, long list of them, three pages of them in probably about a point type. So my hope is that we can do better at enabling miners to do what they do best is produced the things we cannot live without, we cannot defend the country without them. The military applications for all of this are vital to us. And we should not be dependent on foreign sources, particularly China, for things that our military needs to defend our country. So that's what I hope for in the next five years, what I know will happen over the next five years is that the minds will get safer than they even are today, they will get more high tech than they even are today, they will get more efficient than they are today. And that's going to be great to watch and we'll find more uses for these important these important minerals so future's bright is just as bright as a copper penny, although there's not a lot of copper and a lot of it.
Doug Draper 22:27
Love it. I was just thinking that if any of our listeners are personally interested have family or friends and like it is mining industry in this whole, you know, career, how do you get into it? Like how do you learn so there's some 22 year old kid that's like, I'm not sure what I would do with my life. And mining may be something I want to pursue. Talk to us about how people can learn more about individual they get involved as a career.
Sydney Hay 22:55
There are so many good jobs available in the mining industry today. It's a great industry to get into now that you can be go and get an an apprenticeship, if you're interested in the you know, you want to get your fingers hands dirty, and you know, work on engines and things like that, then then, you know, become a heavy equipment diesel mechanic or something. Those have six figure incomes in the mining industry. And that for that you go to trade school. So there's the trades, you can go into all go to a trade school, Job Fair and see what they have and see what looks like fun and only you get to play with them big toys, you know. So that's one way. But then there's also the engineering degree. So the chemical, geological, metallurgy, there's all of those opportunities there in the sciences. And University of Arizona is a great source for those type of degrees as is Colorado School of Mines. So that's that's another way to go. So, but don't don't dismiss the trades, because those are really good jobs, and don't require a college degree necessarily a trade school program, perhaps. And there's lots of jobs available right now. For those folks.
Doug Draper 24:22
That's great. Well tell us one more time about amigos. I love the acronyms. I know we spoke a little bit about it. But tell us about that organization again and your policy company. How do folks get in touch with you and tell us more about what you're doing in those specific specific entities?
Sydney Hay 24:41
Right, amigos as you said it's an acronym it stands for Arizona mining and industry get our support. But we really are just friends. We're the minds best friends and what we do for the industry because as we said folks can relate to somebody that's a small business owner in their local community. De. And so when the mines have permitting, going on, and so they have public comment opportunities. It's the members of amigos that stand up and be counted and let the regulators and the governmental officials all know that I couldn't keep my ex number employees on these high paying jobs without this mind going forward. So we do a lot for for the mining industry in that regard. Although lately, with Zoom meetings, we've been having a lot more than than Arizona mines being introduced to our mining suppliers. So we probably should change the A to America, because we've been talking to minds from all over North and South America. And so our suppliers are being introduced to a lot more customers. And right now with supply chain issues, you deal with them all the time, minds are going to need to have even a deeper bench, as it were of suppliers. Because if one particular supplier ends up having trouble getting that particular product they need, well, then they've got a bench of others to call upon. So it's a good time for folks that are, you know, in small businesses to look at selling their goods and services to the minds, because they should buy a heck of a lot of them. So good time to be in amigo. Our website is mining amigos.com. And there you can see, it's really more of a Buyers Guide. It's like a catalog almost, where if someone in the mines is looking for a particular brand of motor or pumper or something like that, they can just enter that key word. And up will come the names of the suppliers and their contact information that provide that product or service. For for the minds like cap Logistics is their way if you're looking for needing to, to get something from point A to point B and you don't have a lot of time to do it. You can find that on our website and the minds need that a lot. So
Doug Draper 27:10
great. Well, Cindy, I can't thank you enough for joining us today. It's been real educational for me. And I'm sure with our audience as well. There's a lot more what's going on underground and on top of it to support and I think we may realize you did an excellent job of explaining everything. So I can't thank you enough for joining us today on uptime, logistics, I really appreciate your time.
Sydney Hay 27:33
Well, thank you. It's been an honor to be here. And you know, I I know some things about mining. But one thing I know is I don't I learned something new every single day as the mining industry grows and changes and adapts. And it will audit to the future. So it's fun.
Doug Draper 27:53
We'll just leave it there. I appreciate it, Cindy and I'd like to thank our audience for joining us today on uptime logistics. Obviously, it's powered by CAP logistics. We can't thank them enough. You can find more information about the show in the description below. Don't forget to like and subscribe to cap logistics channel. And please visit app logistics.com for customized transportation solutions including in the mind industry. But thanks for listeners today, everybody. Take care.