Blue Mountain Minerals Announces New President
November 6, 2003
Carey Haughy, current Blue Mountain Vice President, Geology and Quality Control, was announced today as the incoming President of Blue Mountain Minerals. Jerry Nielsen, current President of Blue Mountain Minerals, is retiring in April 2004 after 16 years with the company.
"Jerry will be missed by everyone," says Pedro Lizaur, Chairman/CEO of Blue Mountain Minerals. "He has been a pillar of leadership throughout Tuolumne County with a commitment to community service, which stands as a brilliant example of how business can make a difference in our community. We're proud to announce Carey Haughy as our incoming president, who will lead us as we move into a new era for our company. Carey's experience in environmental resource management and compliance will serve to bring a wealth of resources and expertise to Blue Mountain Minerals and Tuolunme County."
Ms. Haughy joins a select group of women in the mining industry as one of just a few women who hold the position of President among natural resource mines operating in California.
Ms. Haughy has a Bachelor of Science in geology (1987) and a Master of Science in structural geology (1989), both from Stanford University. In her 14 years with Blue Mountain Minerals, Ms. Haughy has been responsible for all aspects of geologic work, quality control, laboratory supervision and scale house operations. While working at Blue Mountain Minerals, Ms. Haughy has expanded her expertise and is one of few women in California to hold a blasting license.
"I am honored and excited to be the next President of Blue Mountain Minerals," says Ms. Haughy. "I am lucky and blessed to work with a great team of people and for an outstanding company and community business leader."
Blue Mountain Minerals has been in Tuolumne Count for 16 years and is one of the county's largest employers. Blue Mountain Minerals is active throughout the community, volunteering countless hour to local schools, business, civic and charitable groups, youth activities, churches and community projects, all helping to make life better in Tuolumne County.
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Columbia Elementary School is facing a tough situation. They are in the process of building a new two-classroom wing in order to move children out of the portable buildings. Some portables are presently within a restricted zone of the Columbia Airport flight zone.
During the excavation process, the contractor tried to pry numerous large boulders out of the ground, but they would not be budged. The engineers say the boulders must be removed, but the removal would constitute unplanned work and therefore unbudgeted costs. The contractor, Donniker Construction, estimates the additional charges for the rock removal to cost approximately $52,000. That amount of money is more than the equivalent of one fulltime teacher’s yearly salary. Donniker just doesn’t have the large heavy equipment needed for the job, and would have to bring in from elsewhere a huge excavator to break up the boulders.
Up stepped Blue Mountain Minerals, whose business is breaking rocks, and is located just a few miles from the school. The company offered the use of their equipment, a Caterpillar 235C excavator, with an Allied 785 rock hammer, along with an operator, to try to get the job done. Blue Mountain Minerals won’t be charging the school a dime for this service. Columbia School, however, will pay for the transportation costs to and from the rock quarry.
“We feel it is our responsibility to contribute to the local community, especially in this trying time of budget crunches,” said Carey Haughy, president of Blue Mountain Minerals. “We are grateful to have the opportunity to be a helpful neighbor.”
Not only is Blue Mountain Minerals helping the school with the rock breaking, but the company has committed to donate a portion of the funds from the sale of their aggregate rock materials to Columbia School, such as road base, sand, and fill. These materials will be used in this classroom construction project. The donated monies have been earmarked for several purposes, such as purchasing library books and new musical instruments. The current budget for library books is zero.
Ms. Haughy said, “If there are any funds leftover, after the purchase of the library books and musical instruments, I would like to see that additional money used to startup a Columbia School Foundation. I hope other business leaders in the Columbia community may want to get on board in helping the school also.”