-She represents a multibillion dollar industry and a cornerstone of the state's economy.

Amanda Hilton, President of the Nevada Mining Association, is our guest this week on Nevada Week In Person.

♪♪ -Support for Nevada Week In Person is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

-Welcome to Nevada Week In Person.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

A fourth generation Nevadan, she grew up in Ely and worked her way up in the mining industry.

The first female general manager of the KGHM Robinson Mine, one of Nevada's largest and oldest operating mines, she now leads the industry's statewide trade organization, and at a critical time.

Amanda Hilton, President of the Nevada Mining Association, thank you for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-Thank you so much.

-And I used "critical" because we are talking about critical minerals and the need for the U.S.

to not be so dependent on getting them from other countries.

How would you describe this moment in time, and especially for Nevada's mining industry?

(Amanda Hilton) This is a pivotal time in Nevada's mining industry.

In this moment, we have gone from being a key economic driver for the state of Nevada and expanded that role to being absolutely imperative to our nation as we become less reliant on foreign governments for the minerals our country so desperately needs.

-Wow.

Okay.

So take me back to your entrance into the mining industry.

When was it and in what role?

-Gladly.

I actually have a CPA license.

I'm not a mining engineer.

I'm a very unconventional miner.

But over 20 years ago, I was at a crossroads in my life, and the Robinson Mine, located just outside of Ely, was reopening.

It had been closed for about five years, and I saw an advertisement for an accounting position.

I showed up in a lilac suit, a lilac silk suit, to this mine site, and I was able to get an accounting job there, thinking I'd be there for a couple of years and then find my next step in life.

But it didn't take long for me to recognize how much I respected and valued the men and women doing the hard work at that mine site and, further to that, how important that work was because we were producing copper, which is a mineral that our country needs.

-What stood out to you about those men and women working there?

-Oh, my goodness.

They have so many skills and talents, and they put so much effort into ensuring that the work they're doing is safe, the work they're doing is environmentally friendly, and that they are doing things to progress the industry in a very forward-thinking way.

Many people still view mining as the shovel or the pick.

And when we would have tours come to the Robinson Mine, someone would always say, Oh, are you going to give me my shovel so I can help out?

The only shovels at that site are snow shovels.

Because we're at 6,500 feet, the winter, there's a lot of snow.

The other shovels are five stories high, and they are driven by incredible technology.

They are very efficient.

And so modern mining is so different than the view that many people have of yesteryear.

-Well, and then that makes me wonder why did you bring up the lilac suit?

Because of-- I'm thinking because it's you get messy in mining, but maybe-- -So it didn't take me long to get a whole wardrobe of jeans.

I, in my 20-year career there, I went through several different sets of steel toe boots.

I wore my safety vest to work every day.

I wore my hard hat and my safety glasses.

-Even as an accountant?

-So whenever I would go out in the field, I would have to have all of my PPE on.

But then, as my career transitioned over those 20 years, I had different roles where I did have to wear PPE every single day.

-Wow.

You grew up in Ely.

-I did.

-So you were surrounded by mining, right?

-Well, the time period that was most impactful in my life, the mine was closed.

And I'm always surprised about how little I knew about the mining industry.

-Okay.

So you grew up not having any intention in getting involved in it.

You have talked about the value of taking unconventional career paths.

Is this an example of that?

-This is absolutely an example.

The mining industry today is made up of about 20% females, and that is slowly ticking up.

And I look forward to the day when we don't even have to talk about what the percentage of females are.

But I took an unconventional route.

For the last six and a half years at the Robinson Mine, I was the site's general manager, so I led that team of over 600 men and women.

And it's not typical to have a general manager that's female, and it's not typical to have a general manager that doesn't have an engineering degree.

-What did you learn from that experience?

What was it like when you first stepped into that role?

-So prior to becoming the general manager, I-- We had a chief operating officer, and he sat down with me and asked me what my career goal was.

And I took every ounce of courage I had, but I told him I wanted to become the general manager.

I didn't know what he was going to do with that, but what he did was incredible.

He created a development plan for me where I could become a viable candidate to become the general manager.

So through those different roles that he opened up for me, I was able to get the experiences throughout the mine site and really get to know the men and women in different positions.

For a year I led the site's truck shop, and that's where all of the haul trucks are serviced.

That's where all of the dozers, trackhoes-- The shovel and drill mechanics reside in the truck shop.

So I got to know those men very well and learn what their issues were, how we could help them, and how we could remove barriers for them.

So by the time I became the general manager, I'd had a lot of experiences already around the site.

-Why do you think he did that for you?

-He is a people builder.

And his name is Steve Holmes, and he is someone that I am always grateful for.

When I tell this story within the mining community and I tell them who that was and people know him, they are not one bit surprised, because I'm not the only person he's mentored and created those career paths for.

He's done it for several people.

-I haven't heard that term "people builder" before.

What does that mean to you?

How do you implement it in your own life?

-Well, I feel like it's a responsibility I have.

I need to pay it back for the work that he did to help me, and that's having those courageous conversations with people to see where it is that they want to go and then see how I can help them get those experiences like he did for me.

But how can I provide them the opportunities so that (A) they can make sure that is a direction they want their career to go, but then (B) making them a legitimate candidate in the future?

-I want to talk more about Ely itself.

We have a lot of people that are new to Las Vegas, and so will you describe to them how you get to Ely and what it is like living there?

-I would love to.

I am a fourth generation White Pine County resident.

So is my husband.

He grew up in an agricultural family.

To get to Ely from Las Vegas, you get up on 93 and you head north for about three and a half hours.

There is a shortcut where you can go through Hiko and Lund, and that saves some time and I always recommend that.

My husband and I are raising a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old, and for us, it's important for us to raise our kids in that community, because we feel that it's very safe for them.

We know what a tight-knit community it is, and there's excellent access to the outdoors.

Just this last Sunday, we went and cut down our Christmas tree.

We went with some friends that we've had for a long time.

We had a great meal outside, and we got to enjoy the blue skies.

Came home with our pickup full of, full of trees for some of our family members.

-When you were their age, were you thinking, I'm going to live in this town the rest of my life, or is this a town where people say, I'm getting out of this small town?

-I did get out for about 10 years.

I stayed in the West, but I did leave Ely.

And when I came back, I knew I wasn't going to leave.

-I also understand you are a fan of Nevada history.

-Mm-hmm.

-Any specific aspects?

-Well, I think one of the things that's important to know about Nevada history is how it's intertwined with mining.

Nevada became a state after the silver discovery in Virginia City, and that silver is what financed the Civil War.

And you look through the pivotal points in Nevada history, mining is always there.

Virginia City was viewed as the Silicon Valley of the West because of the advanced mining practices of the time, and we are continuing to lead our nation with many other technological advances.

And many of them are tied to mining, and I think that is important for us all to recognize.

-There are parallels, I imagine, you see between then and now.

I mean, will this be a moment in history for Nevada and its mining industry when, I don't know, 100 years down the road, do you think?

-I certainly hope so.

Today, Nevada is the leading state when it comes to mining.

We produce 70% of the country's gold.

We're home to the only operating lithium mine.

Our 100 mines present-- or excuse me, produce 20 different minerals, and there is the opportunity for more.

And as we identify as a country the mineral needs that we have, Nevada can work to solve many of those issues.

-When you talk about mining, inevitably some people are going to think of the environmental issues it has caused in the past.

Some of the land that has been the sacred land from Nevada's Indigenous people that has been taken, how do you address that?

What is it like being in this role in which you will always have people thinking those things?

-Our industry has to take responsibility and recognize that things have not always been done to the standards they are today, and I never shy away from having those conversations.

But what I make sure to talk about is modern mining and how modern mining is very different than what was done even 40, 50 years ago.

I worked at a mine site for 20 years that is located 10 miles from my house, and that mine site is so focused on ensuring that it's doing the right thing from the environmental perspective and the safety perspective.

And that site has been there for 120-plus years, and they're actually going back and they've been remediating things from that long ago and bringing the land back to the state in which it should be in.

Our operators across the state all have a focus on ensuring environmental stewardship and sustainability.

And so I love to talk about modern mining.

I love to give examples of how companies are going above and beyond and how the way forward is very different than what historical mining looked like.

-And back to the topic of being a woman in this industry, is it difficult to explain to people, to get it through their heads, that that is an asset to have women in your workforce?

-The mine sites across Nevada know how important it is to have diversity.

And when I first became a general manager at the mine site, I honestly got really frustrated when people made such a big deal about my gender, because instead I wanted to be known for being a strong leader, a good problem solver, things like that.

And instead, people were focusing on my gender.

It took me a couple of years.

I wish it hadn't taken that long for me to recognize how important it was for me to embrace that, because for me being visible as a female leader, I was showing that next generation what was possible in our industry.

And I went to the local elementary school.

We were giving bikes to every student who had perfect attendance.

And I had these 4th grade students following me around, wanting to take a picture with me on these iPads.

They were like my mini paparazzi.

And that was my moment when I realized that they could see themselves in me, and so my responsibility was to be visible so they could see it and they knew they could be it.

So I embraced it in a totally different way after that and made sure that people could see the career opportunities available for any gender within the mining industry.

-That's a wonderful memory.

Amanda Hilton, thank you so much for joining Nevada Week In Person.

-Thank you.

♪♪