When people talk about an industry as large as mining, one subject that sometimes gets lost in the complexity of describing a mining operation is the variety of jobs within any given mine site. The number of Americans employed by the mining industry and mining-related vendors and services is astounding, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that these jobs belong to individuals with compelling backgrounds.

In this installment of our ‘Meet Your Miners’ series, we turn our focus to Katie Marten of Barrick Gold Corporation.

Marten began working for a consulting firm out of Denver after graduating from Michigan Technological University. Her introduction to the industry came by chance as much of the consulting work she did was for mining companies.

“The work exposed me to permitting and mine regulations as well as design work for tailings dams, heap leach pads and the like,” said Marten. “I actually intended on going to school for chemical engineering. I went to school thinking I would get my first year worth of classes out of the way then transfer over, but I never made the switch. I was hooked and never looked back!”

Marten, with Barrick Gold Corporation for seven years now, is the chief planning engineer for the Goldstrike open-pit mine in Elko, Nev. She oversees all long range planners, dump planners and short range planners as well as the survey crew. An ever-changing adventure, Marten’s profession requires her to constantly analyze current mine conditions in order to determine the most economic mining sequence, fine-tuning the process as it progresses. Marten’s preparedness is essential in helping ensure safe execution of the mining plan.

“I think there is importance in chasing down potential problems [to] start exploring alternatives even if they end up not coming to fruition. Better to have a lifeboat than to depend on your ability to tread water when the flood comes.”

The irony isn’t lost that someone with the job title ‘Chief Planner’ never could have anticipated her current career path. “I never had the clearest picture of where I would end up in life as I was growing up, and I am pretty sure that this career was never on my radar! I wouldn’t trade these experiences for the world though. My experiences here have broadened my worldview so much.”