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This past summer four students selected for the 360 Internship Program got to spend 10 weeks learning a lot about mining as they spent time working alongside miners and also as they spent time working with people involved in the regulatory side of the industry.
The 10-week paid summer internship is made possible through a partnership between the Nevada Mining Association and the Bureau of Land Management.
The internship program is intended to provide students with a 360-degree view of Nevada’s modern mining industry. The interns spend three weeks learning from regulatory professionals at a Bureau of Land Management office in Nevada before shifting to work alongside professional miners at an active mine site for the remainder of the program.
“We love this program because it provides interns with a complete look at Nevada’s mining industry, helping further their education and bolster STEM skills through real-world experience,” said the NVMA President Tyre Gray. “Together with BLM Nevada and participating mines we’re able to support the next generation of miners, regulators and STEM professionals in their pursuit of industry knowledge and experience.”
The internship program is now in its third year.
“It was born really as a brainchild of Greg Gibson, who is our incoming chair, and myself sitting back and collaborating,” Gray said.
Austin Rodell-Davis at the SSR Marigold mine during his 360 mining internship in 2021.
In 2020 a lot of Nevada was shut down due to Covid, but the mining industry was still going strong, and Gray said the NVMA saw this as a good time to start a new internship program to give students the opportunity to learn more about the mining industry.
Gray said the internship program is not only for students who are seriously considering going into the mining industry, but is also for students who may be in a field such as engineering and who are interested in learning more about mining.
“We would love for them to eventually matriculate into mining.” Gray said. “But even if they don’t, what we’ve done is we’ve now educated a professional who is going to go into their career in the engineering space, to know a little bit about mining, so that they will continue to spread the good word of what we do here in Nevada when it comes to mining.”
Joseph Kolibar, fourth from left, with Kinross employees during his 360 mining internship at the Kinross Round Mountain mine in 2021.
He said they also like to bring in some interns from other states to introduce them to mining in Nevada.
Introducing students to the regulatory side of the mining industry by having them spend time at a Bureau of Land Management office is also an important part of the program, Gray said.
“This is a unique opportunity to help recruit to the mining industry, but not just the industry itself but also the regulatory side,” Gray said. “We know that BLM is critically understaffed and anything that we can do to help out with BLM staffing is a positive.
“And really, anything we can do to help develop the skill set of those who will be in BLM staffing as well is a good thing. Because the industry just does better when you have good regulators.”
“The BLM values this program because it allows us to partner with one of our stakeholders while simultaneously providing us the opportunity to engage and educate youth about a highly visible, but not always well understood, industry on public lands and the role BLM plays on the landscape,” said Lacy Trapp, BLM Nevada branch chief of solid minerals. “Multi-use is the heart of the BLM mission and the chance to develop the next generation of public land users is an amazing opportunity. The time spent with BLM and the mining companies will also inspire this next generation to continue their pursuit of a STEM career in industry or regulation.”
In 2020 when the 360 Internship got started there was only one intern. This year there were 16 applicants, and four students were selected for the program.
Gray said they hope the internship program will continue to grow in the years ahead, with more mining companies joining program and with perhaps some of the mining companies accepting more than one intern.
“We’re hoping to be able to increase the number of slots so that we can accommodate the interest that we have and continue to grow the interest so that we can continue to recruit top talent here to Nevada to participate within the mining industry,” Gray said.
The students chosen to participate in this year’s 360 Internship Program are:
Audrey Topp working at the Coeur Rochester mine during her 360 mining internship this summer.
Topp is going into her senior year at UNR this fall.
For years she was interested in hydrology, but after a couple classes at her local community college, she decided to go into geology instead.
“Geology interests me the most because of being able to get outside and look at the formations and the structures that come from the earth. And it’s just fascinating to me that these things are millions and millions of years old and we can still gather data from them and create a story, and this can be used for industries like mining.”
She started out her internship with three weeks at the BLM Humboldt Field Office.
“They took me all around Humboldt County and they showed me active mine sites, inactive mine sites, abandoned mine sites.”
“The office side was very paperwork intensive, I would say, but the field portion of it was awesome, and they showed me a lot of cool places around northern Nevada.”
Audrey Topp in the field during her 360 mining internship.
“They even took me out to Rochester, so I came here before I even started my time here, so that was cool to see.”
At Rochester, Topp said, “I am a production geology intern and I work directly with the geologists for ore control. … I do field work in the pit relating to drill holes. We log the material type that comes out of each drill hole for blasting patterns, and we put that into our database, and we can make models off of that.”
“I have also gotten offered to be with the exploration geology team. And they show me drill rigs, and they show me how to log core, and what the exploration side is like, too.”
“Working directly in the pit is awesome, because you get to see all the equipment work around you. Obviously you have to be very careful about that, but it’s a neat experience. I love it.”
Topp said the internship was absolutely a valuable experience.
“It’s definitely geared me towards a career in this industry, and has made me take the time to think about a future career in this field.”
“I was actually unsure about mining before I started the internship because I had heard mixed things from people at school. And I decided to give it a go, and so far it’s been awesome. I’ve been really lucky to have a site that has awesome people who encouraged my learning experience.”
“If there’s anybody unsure about going into the mining industry, I would tell them to definitely apply for this internship because it’s an awesome eye-opener to what mining really is.”
Topp plans to pursue a master’s degree as she continues to consider her career options in geology.
Zoey Plonka at the Kinross Round Mountain mine during her 360 mining internship this summer.
Plonka got her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan.
“I was drawn to geology early on. I loved being outside. I really love field work.”
“Back east, especially in Michigan, there’s not a huge emphasis on mining or economic geology in the program that I was a part of.”
But then she took a class called “Natural Resources and the Economy” taught by a professor who used to teach and do research at UNR.
“He was the first person to say, hey, we need mining. Look at all the things you’re using, look at the computer you’re typing on, the phone that you use every single day, the car that you drive in. All of that is directly brought to you by the minerals and mining industry.
“I think before that most of my classes had a very big emphasis on the environment. And now I know that they’re also very interconnected. We need to have good environmental sanctions, but also to keep mining.
“So it was really that class that got me to first switch to, hey, not only is it really cool science, because economic geology and core deposits are really fascinating, but it’s super important.
“And it’s helped me think about future career aspirations, and thinking of somewhere where I can put in some time to work in the field but also have some kind of social impact. And so far, I’ve found for me and my personal interests, the mining industry to be the best place to kind of hit both of those points.”
Even though she is not studying to be an economic geologist but is doing research in stratigraphy and sedimentology, her interest in mining helped lead her to choose UNLV for her master’s degree.
“I was drawn to the rich history that Nevada has in terms of mining.”
Plonka said her internship at the BLM Caliente Field Office was a great experience.
“I got to work with a really experienced geologist. … She was a great mentor. Partially because she’s working at the BLM now, so I got to get a taste of what it would be like to be a geologist working for the government. But she also had a long history of careers in exploration and mining. So she was able to give me a taste of both aspects.
“The biggest takeaway was just getting an idea of what you would do as a geologist at the BLM. And it was really cool.
“They got me in the field pretty much every single day for the three weeks I was there, because they knew how important it was to me. We got to inspect active and inactive sites, as well as historic exploration projects.”
Zoey Plonka visits the Basin and Range National Monument during her 360 mining internship.
“They also got me out with other specialists in the field. … I got to go out with the range specialist to check on fire scars and revegetation. I got to go out with the archeologist to see how important it is that we have a good idea of if there are any artifacts in the area before opening it up for public land use.”
“I got to see how interconnected that office was, how they work together to achieve the goal of this multi-use model of getting the most out of the public lands.”
The internship at Kinross Round Mountain was also a great experience, Plonka said.
“They placed me with the environmental team. That was another area where they were really able to tailor to my interest in field work. They get me out plenty of days. Touching on environmental inspection … Making sure everything looks environmentally sound.”
“They also allowed me to connect with geologists. I have an interest in environmental work, and it’s great, but at my core I’m a geologist. So they allowed me to connect with a geoscientist working there as well.”
“I think the biggest thing of working at Kinross Round Mountain was really just to give me the experience of working on a mine site.”
At UNLV, she said, “Most of us have never set foot on a mine site.”
“So I think that was a huge experience, just learning about all the training that you have to do to be a miner. The emphasis on safety has been really huge, learning how to work under MSHA guidelines.
“All of that has been a good experience and I think will shape my career path.”
“I don’t know that I totally have it figured out in terms of what I’m going to do. I graduate in December, so I’m getting close, but I still have a lot of work till I get there.”
“The reason I was really drawn to this internship program rather than trying to apply either directly to a mine or directly to a government agency was the whole idea of getting to do both in one summer. These are the two things that I’ve thought the most of doing in my life, so this was just a really great opportunity.
“I will say, I’m probably a little bit more drawn to the mining right now, just because it’s a lot of hard, actually science happening. But I could also see myself, especially later in life, ending up working for the BLM or some governmental association, because I see how important the work they do is.”
“I’m definitely interested in staying in Nevada. I’ve thought a lot about Elko. I know there’s a lot of mining up there, and it seems like a lot of people from our program down at UNLV end up at mines up in Elko. And they all seem to be having a good time and doing really cool work and enjoying the area.
“But just the Southwest or the West in general, anywhere where there’s active mining, I think I’ll be drawn to. The next step is getting accepted somewhere, so we’ll see what that availability is like.”
Plonka said she will be recommending the 360 Internship Program to others.
“I’m really grateful to the Nevada Mining Association as well as the participating BLM offices and Kinross Round Mountain. Because they’ve all been really kind, and really tailored the experience to my interests and my career aspirations.”
“I’m definitely going to urge anyone I know, geoscientists, to look into this program, because as I said, a 10-week program where you get to experience both the government and private sector I think is very neat, maybe a little bit rare. I’m glad that they developed this. … I just think it’s a great program.” 
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Audrey Topp working at the Coeur Rochester mine during her 360 mining internship this summer.
Zoey Plonka at the Kinross Round Mountain mine during her 360 mining internship this summer.
Audrey Topp in the field during her 360 mining internship.
Zoey Plonka visits the Basin and Range National Monument during her 360 mining internship.
Austin Rodell-Davis at the SSR Marigold mine during his 360 mining internship in 2021.
Joseph Kolibar, fourth from left, with Kinross employees during his 360 mining internship at the Kinross Round Mountain mine in 2021.
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