The volunteers from Underground Geology, Surface Exploration and Surface Geology moved a total of 1.1 tons of garbage from the drainage in less than three hours; any items potentially 50 years or older were left in-situ to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Julia Waldsmith believes the project was successful because "it was well organized and that organization allowed us to accomplish a great deal in a short amount of time."
Tom Roman, Vista UG Geology manager, envisioned the project two years ago. He hiked past the drainage often and was disappointed that people willingly bypassed the free Humboldt County Landfill to dump their refuse on the side of the mountain. He decided he could start a project to clean up Winnemucca Mountain one drainage at a time.
There were other successes than just helping remove an eye sore from the community. There were no safety incidents during the event. Cones and signage were placed along the road on both sides of the work area to notify the public that people were working in the area on foot. An EMT was present during the project in case of an unforeseen emergency and Midas HSLP provided a crash bag for the day. Safety is a way of life, on or offsite, and the project demonstrated Newmont employees' commitment to safety.
Mike Robinson, Midas UG Geology manager, felt exhilarated while working and said "there was a lot of camaraderie within the group." The employees helped each other lift larger pieces of rubbish, they laughed together, enjoyed each other's company and helped the community at the same time. It was a great team building exercise.
The team of volunteers positively impacted their community and proved that Newmont values don't stop at the gate. There are still more opportunities to help improve Winnemucca Mountain and Tom Roman hopes to continue this event in the years to follow.
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