Show Notes
Debbie is a hardrock mining policy expert with over 30 years of hands-on expertise with the environmental and public land laws and regulations pertaining to mineral exploration and mine development. She provides environmental permitting and government relations consulting services to mineral exploration and mining clients. She has a proven track record of successfully representing clients in legislative and administrative issues on the state and federal levels and in securing project permits for exploration and mining projects. Since 1993, she has been an active participant in the legislative dialogue to change the U.S. Mining Law. She has provided testimonies at Congressional hearings on the National Environmental Policy Act, on abandoned mine policies, and the state and federal environmental regulatory framework applicable to modern mines. Most recently, she testified on behalf of the Women’s Mining Coalition in July 2021 and May 2022 before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources at hearings on the U.S. Mining Law. Her legislative work in Nevada includes playing a key role in repealing a special state tax on federal mining claims, helping persuade legislators to abandon a legislative proposal to tax minerals prior to severance, and convincing legislators not to raise the tax rate on mineral, oil and gas, and geothermal energy production. She is also one of the founders of the Women’s Mining Coalition and currently serves on the Coalition’s Board of Directors. She is a Certified Professional Geologist with the American Institute of Professional Geologists. Her professional memberships include the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America; the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.; and the Geological Society of Nevada. She has served twice as a trustee of the Northwest Mining Association (now the American Exploration & Mining Association).
More from Behind the Scenes with Bryan
Tracie is the Hydrology Manager at Barrick Gold Corporation. She has a unique professional track record and has recently helped spearhead the development of a new publicly available, Excel-based water balance tool for tailings facilities, known as TSFISM (Tailings-Storage Facility Iterative Simulation Model). You can find a paper on this and a link to the spreadsheet at https://halfordhydrology.com/tsfism/
Michel is a long-time friend and client and is the Vice President of Environment and Critical Infrastructure at Agnico Eagle. Michel and I discuss his amazing career. We didn't even talk about the amazing fact that in 2025, he was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) – one of the highest professional honours in the Canadian engineering community.
Henk is the CEO of Wealth Minerals Ltd. Wealth Minerals has structured its Kuska Lithium Project partnership with the Quechua Indigenous Community of Ollagüe to include a 5% free-carried interest and direct board participation for the community. The company has also emphasized Direct Lithium Extraction technologies and minimal environmental footprint as part of its development strategy.We discuss his perspective on how mining companies may need to rethink development models entirely if they want projects to move forward successfully in Chile and elsewhere. With more than three decades in mining and over $1 billion raised in mining finance transactions, Henk has been directly involved in the evolution of the critical minerals sector long before lithium became a mainstream geopolitical story.
Jean is a Senior Geotechnical Engineer with BGC Consulting in Golden, Colorado. She has consulting experience working on geotechnical, mining, civil, solid waste, and construction projects. Experience includes engineering analyses, design, and project management for multi-disciplinary tailings and mine waste management projects. Strengths in the areas of managing / developing teams. Licensed professional engineer in US (Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and South Dakota) and Canada (Alberta).
In this episode, I once again chat with Theo Gerritson from BGC in Brisbane. This time, we discuss The Global Management Institute (GTMI). As it says on their website, The Global Tailings Management Institute has been established to enhance the safety of mine tailings facilities, by promoting widespread adoption and implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).