EnviroMINE welcomes two new staff members to expand our capabilities with mining projects including Geological assessments to include exploration, slope/mining design, materials testing and project management with permitting efforts.
EnviroMINE, Inc. welcomes Dr. Danny Sims, P.G., C.E.G. as Senior Geologist.
Dr. Sims has been an EnviroMINE associate since 2016, helping our clients with slope design, material characterization, permitting, and general mining advice, and he is now an official family member.
When he first came to the office I was not sure what to think. Here is a guy that has consulted for Rio Tinto, BHP, Freeport McMoRan, Heidelberg Cement, Agrium, U.S. Borax and many other mining and industrial minerals companies at every corner of the earth; was a mining attorney in Arizona for a while; and is now looking for mining work in San Diego.
His Story is one-of-a-kind. A country kid discovered that if he got a degree in geology he could get paid for walking around in the woods looking at rocks. He did that and soon went to Alaska to look for metals. Cominco was impressed and offered to fund his Ph.D. studies. It paid off for everybody as he identified the location of a major zinc deposit while doing that work.
In 1994, he took a job working with a small specialty engineering firm that designs world class open pit and underground mines on every continent. In addition to designing mines, he trained many mine geologists and engineers to collect geological data and analyze it for engineering purposes. He also monitored slopes and directly saved miners by evacuating workers immediately prior to slope failures.
In 2001, he was coming home from a training job in Argentina and was poisoned in a robbery attempt. He decided then to do something different and took a hard turn and became a mining attorney.
He soon went back to hands-on-mining with a focus on exploration. In 2008, he was invited to join a group of top-notch geologists working on exploration and development of the outer limits of the Salton Sea geothermal field. Danny became VP-Geologist and the group drilled many successful wells (costing $8 - $18 million each when completed). This includes the worlds' most powerful well, which can provide power to 50,000 homes.
Our clients greatly appreciate his breadth of mining experience and his problem solving abilities. It should go without saying that he has optimized many of their slopes for safety and improved economics, and he has taught us a lot along the way. He has also evaluated raw prospects for aggregate and limestone potential, performed hydrologic analysis for permitting necessary water withdrawal on BLM land, identified sources of contaminated mine water, and a host of other projects. One talent that he has since performing his Ph.D. research, and that some of our clients have benefited from, is material characterization using petrography, XRD and geochemistry.
Our clients have been pleased with the result of his work. After Dr. Sims' presentation of the results of one material characterization study, our clients was disappointed to hear the conclusion, but a very appreciative and excited that they finally understood the problem and knew how to address the problem going forward.
Cliff Maddocks, former senior engineer with Lehigh Southwest Cement, provided that:
"I have worked with Danny Sims for the last 20 years and consider him an expert in field geology with emphasis on assessment of raw material and slope stability. His assistance has allowed several mine designs to be optimized."
Currently Danny lives in the San Diego area. His interests include gardening, woodworking, and spending time with his family. He is Cub Scout Den Leader.
Kristen Davis has joined EnviroMINE working from an office in Mission Viejo. Kristen will serve as Project Manager for permitting and compliance tasks for a variety of client projects located throughout California.
Prior to joining EnviroMINE, Kristen worked with her father in the family business, Davis Consulting Services. Davis Consulting Services was a land use consulting company that did permitting and entitlements for the mining industry as well as other industrial and commercial industries. Kristen served as project manager on projects such as mining operations, IDEFOs, senior housing, broadcast tower sites, etc. She also worked for the environmental consulting company Conestoga-Rovers & Associates conducting site assessment and remediation work for the petroleum industry. Kristen spent many days working in San Diego County on gas station and former gas station sites supervising the drilling soil borings, installing groundwater monitoring wells and well decommissions.
Kristen attended the University of Michigan where she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Earth Science and Environmental Studies. While at Michigan she played as a goalie on the Varsity Water Polo team.