Ian Ball has been gaining a lot of attention lately for his success in mining despite his youth. Ian is the new President of McEwen Mining.
"Lately, the 32 year old has been spotted driving a 100-tonne haul truck at the silver mine he discovered in Mexico, and the Bay St. hotshot makes a nice allowance for his work in this field, too. But the road from junior rock picker to the top floor of Brookfield Place as the new president of McEwen Mining Inc. took a number of twists and turns — not the least of which is that he never planned on getting into the gritty gold mining game in the first place." reports Lisa Wright, The Toronto Star.
Innovation: “We did things differently in order to make this discovery and there are many opportunities to innovate in mining still,” Ball says, looking over at the shiny silver rock sample that sits in his office.
“The mining industry is so slow. It’s like having your feet in cement.
“We need to fundamentally change the industry. We have to think differently to expand our profit margins,” he says.
He points to new innovations like electric rather than diesel haul trucks to cut mining costs in half and leave a smaller environmental footprint, and new processing technologies that will produce gold for less."
Let's hope McEwen Mining keep this innovative culture alive and thriving. Read the complete story here.