The more we dig, the more we all learn

Once upon a time, not so many years ago, mining was a laudable calling. As a child I tapped my foot as Tennessee Ernie Ford sang about mining "16 Tons" of coal a day, and Jimmy Dean serenaded us about the heroic act of "Big Bad John" in saving his fellow miners. Even before that, I sat around many a campfire and sang (off key) about "My Darling, Clementine." In the pre-World War II days when the A. J. Mine in Juneau was stamping away at the gold-laden quartz that was being harvested from the earth, the mind-numbing drone was "the sound of a full lunch pail."

Somehow, however, tales of the heroic acts of individual miners and the recognition of the contribution that mining companies have made to the economy has tailed off over the past few generations. Abraham Lincoln wisely saw the virtue and benefit to the nation of a strong mining industry and said, "Tell the miners from me, that I shall promote their interests to the utmost of my ability; because their prosperity is the prosperity of the nation..." Yet, somehow, this prescience has come to fall on deaf ears.

Basic industries in America, in general, have lost favor, and the contributions of America's once-great mining industry have been derided, if not forgotten. Certainly, everyone wants electricity, plumbing, jewelry, cars and computers; but, the intellectual disconnect between where the raw materials that make such products possible come from and the endemic availability of the end products has become palpable.

In this context, however, it is notable that there is at least one modern effort in place to correct the informational deficit.

About two and a half years ago, the Northwest Mining Association kicked off a new, unparalleled program to underscore the role of mining in today's world.

This program goes under the name of "The More You Dig - It All Starts with Mining" and is designed to take advantage of the electronic tools available over the Internet which are used incessantly by the Connected Generation.

Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and YouTube are where the next round of American leaders is getting its information and that is where The More You Dig has made its home.

The More You Dig is the creation of an up and coming superstar who uses this platform to bring relevant information to college students and Capitol Hill staffers using the communication tools upon which they rely and the terms they can embrace. Isabelle "Izzy" LaBranch has made it her mission to travel to campuses across the West and meet with students to share with them the basic facts that nothing in their lives would be the same without the products they depend upon and the mined products of which they are made.

Izzy is coming to Alaska in March to meet with students at the University of Alaska, both at the Anchorage and Fairbanks campuses. She also will be attending the Alaska Miners Association Spring Conference in Fairbanks to meet with the miners there. Her message is as simple as it is important. We are all dependent upon the availability of mined goods in America and throughout the world, and that mining is an industry critical to our well-being in countless ways.

Notably, one of Izzy's campaign objectives is to also educate college students about the career opportunities in the mining industry. The mining industry is the only American industry to add jobs since the 2008 recession and in January 2012 alone, hiring has increased 13 percent. According to the recently released McDowell report, mining jobs in Alaska now pay an average annual salary of US$100,000, so she will be speaking to this audience not only to remind them of what mining provides but also to let them know that the industry offers them high-paying career opportunities.

The More You Dig has a website that everyone associated with mining should become familiar with, http://www.themoreyoudig.com. On that website inquiring minds can get accurate information about developments in the mining industry, and because of the uniquely interactive nature of the Web, it is a forum that can be used to facilitate direct communication between those who get their hands dirty and those who think electricity comes out of a hole in the wall.

Izzy will be making a limited number of appearances in both Anchorage and Fairbanks during her visit. Miners and anyone interested in the mining industry would be well advised to reach out to her while she is in town. The story she has to tell and its relevance to our industry is significant.