Mining Minds heads underground at the University of Arizona's San Xavier Mining Laboratory for Episode #237 with Adam Arbizo, a Marine Corps veteran, second-generation miner, and laboratory coordinator.

Raised in the mining community of Morenci, Arizona, Adam initially tried to build a life outside the industry. His journey took him through wildland firefighting, military service, and his first mining role with Hudbay before leading him to San Xavier, where he now helps students gain real-world experience underground.

Adam joins Mining Minds to discuss the transition from military service into mining, the importance of mentorship, the connection between traditional mining skills and emerging technology, and why the industry's commitment to safety was one of his biggest surprises. He also shares how families shape the next generation's perception of mining and why being willing to ask questions is essential to becoming a safer, stronger miner.

Recorded during the 48th Annual Intercollegiate Mining Games in Tucson, Arizona.

Episode Chapters

0:00 Safety Culture and the Underground Opening
2:05 Growing Up in Morenci
5:28 Wildland Firefighting and Rodeo Roots
8:15 Marine Corps Service and Discipline
11:35 Transitioning from the Military into Mining
17:40 Adam's First Mining Role with Hudbay
20:10 Mentorship and Building the San Xavier Mining Lab
23:00 Old-School Mining Meets New Technology
26:05 Leadership, Family, and Careers in Mining
33:00 Safety, Asking Questions, and Adam's Future

Episode #237 is proudly supported by Motor Mission Machine & Radiator and Safety First Training and Consulting.

Join Mining Minds as we spotlight the people, experiences, and opportunities shaping the future of our industry—the Voice Inside the Industry.

The South Railroad Project is entering a new chapter as Orla Mining becomes part of Equinox Gold. In this Mining Minds panel discussion, hosts we talk with the leaders responsible for carrying the project, its people, and its community relationships forward.

General Manager Don Dwyer, Community Relations Manager Jaymie Donovan, Mine Manager Steve Hough, HR Manager Lori Clarke, and Project Manager Brad Manning explain what the transition means at the site level. They discuss the added strength and operational depth of Equinox Gold, while emphasizing that the Nevada team and its commitment to advancing South Railroad safely and responsibly remain in place.

The panel explores workforce recruitment, leadership development, local hiring, culture, safety, environmental stewardship, community engagement, volunteerism, operational readiness, and the rare opportunity to help build a mine from the ground up. The conversation also looks at how early planning can create clear career paths and a workplace where technical excellence, character, collaboration, and accountability grow together.

This episode is a practical look at what changes during an ownership transition, what should remain consistent, and how a team prepares for the next phase of a major Nevada mining project.

Hosted by Mining Minds - The Voice Inside the Industry.

Podcast Chapters:

00:00 – Cold Open, Welcome and Meet the Panel
Derek Grover and Dino Brunson introduce Episode #236 from the Equinox Gold office in Elko and meet the South Railroad leadership team.

07:00 – A New Chapter: Orla Mining and Equinox Gold
Don Dwyer explains the combination of the two companies and how Equinox Gold brings added stability, experience and resources to South Railroad.

17:00 – Operational Strength and Clear Communication
The panel discusses the additional operational depth available through Equinox Gold and how the team is communicating the transition to employees, applicants and external stakeholders.

25:00 – Contractors, Business Partners and Continuity
The team addresses contract transitions, supplier uncertainty and the importance of selecting partners who align with the project's culture, safety expectations and community commitments.

29:00 – Operational Readiness, Safety and Stewardship
Steve Hough explains equipment planning, operational readiness and the work underway to support permits, wildlife, water management and a smooth transition from construction into operations.

33:00 – Long-Term Growth, Jobs and Training
The conversation explores South Railroad's exploration potential, future employment, local workforce development and partnerships with Great Basin College and NORCAT.

39:00 – Expectations for Contractors and New Employees
The panel outlines what will be expected from the hundreds of contractors and employees joining the project, including accountability, collaboration, stop-work responsibility and respect for commitments.

45:00 – Mining Education and Community Trust
Jaymie Donovan discusses engaging schools, introducing younger generations to modern mining and consistently showing up to build meaningful community relationships.

50:00 – Protecting Culture Through Rapid Growth
The team explains its approach to onboarding, collaboration, coaching and leadership development as South Railroad grows from a small group into a workforce of approximately 275 employees.

1:02:00 – Volunteerism, Ownership and Building a Legacy
The final conversation covers employee volunteerism, community mine tours, career pathways and the rare opportunity to build a greenfield mine that employees can proudly call their own.

Recorded underground at the University of Arizona's San Javier Underground Mining Laboratory during the 48th Annual Intercollegiate Mining Games, this episode of Mining Minds features Robbie Yordt, a systems engineering student building a path into mining engineering.

Robbie grew up in San Diego with a love for the outdoors, Scouts and hands-on learning. He entered college interested in aerospace and mechanical engineering, but an invitation to an SME student meeting - and the welcoming mining community he found there - changed the direction of his education and career.

He shares what attracted him to mining, including the people, the scale of the work and the industry's commitment to safety. Robbie also explains his student-operations role at San Javier, his crushed-stone internship experience in Southern California and his upcoming underground engineering internship with Redpath at South32's Hermosa project.

· How SME and MineXchange introduced Robbie to the mining industry

· Why exposure can matter more than experience for the next generation

· The importance of authentic mining outreach and storytelling

· Hands-on student learning inside the San Javier underground laboratory

· What systems engineering can contribute to mining operations and equipment

· Robbie's goals for a career built around good people, meaningful work and time outdoors

YouTube- https://youtu.be/qza7xFpIKNU

Safety First Training & Consulting - https://safetyfirstelko.com

Walsh Reclamation, Inc. - https://walshreclamationinc.com

Motor Mission Machine & Radiator - https://www.motormission.com

Learn more about Mining Minds and explore additional episodes at https://miningmindsllc.com.

Content advisory: This episode contains explicit language. Listener discretion is advised.

Chapter titles and short notes

00:00 Cold Open: Learning Through Failure

Robbie discusses making mistakes safely while gaining hands-on experience.

01:45 Meet Robbie Yordt

Meet the systems engineering student building his future in mining engineering.

03:09 San Diego Roots and the Outdoors

Robbie shares how Scouts, camping and outdoor leadership shaped his interests.

06:02 From Aerospace to Mining

An SME student meeting and MineXchange changed Robbie's career direction.

08:21 Mining's People, Scale and Safety

The camaraderie, equipment and safety culture that attracted Robbie to mining.

15:36 Reaching the Next Generation

Why students need accessible opportunities to explore mining at their own pace.

17:04 Marketing Mining Authentically

Using real people, images and stories to introduce mining without forcing the message.

23:25 Internships and the Hermosa Project

Robbie discusses crushed-stone operations and his upcoming Redpath internship.

25:54 Student Operations at San Javier

Hands-on learning, student access and underground projects at the laboratory.

31:26 Systems Engineering and Robbie's Future

Robbie explains systems engineering and shares his equipment interests and career goals.