Invocation: Traco Matthew’s was scheduled – however, President Ken Beurmann did the honors since Traco was not on the call at the time.
Flag Salute: Dr. Schaeffer
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Spoke Guest Editor:
Molly BusaccaMolly Busacca owns and operates Secure Systems, a local alarm company, along with her husband Bruce. A Bakersfield native, she is proud Driller who went on to UCLA and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology with a Business Emphasis. That degree has come in handy while working with her spouse, and raising their now 24 year-old triplets. She has been involved in numerous community organizations throughout the years including the Alliance Against Family Violence, Kern County Tennis Association, American Heart Association and a plethora of school affiliated Parent & Teacher Club Boards. Her passions include travel, reading, a daily run and eating whatever gourmet meal her husband cooks for her.
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Good News & Announcements
South High School will be changing the name of their mascot from South High School Rebels which harkens back to the days of the Confederacy and White Supremacy. This follows the lead of many institutions in the United States that are examining the implications of their mascot and school names. Dr Bryon Schaefer said that this change has been in the making for quite some time. The new mascot has not been determined as of yet.
Paul Harris fact – Paul Harris once slammed a revolving door. Once again proving his creativity and physical prowess.
Covid Connection
Lizette Patterson shared an update on herself and family. The Covid restrictions have brought challenges to her sons who are avid athletes. With the absence of football and soccer they have been busy with home workouts and play station diversions. She was offered a job with a new company last year and came to the realization she could put the same energy and passion into her own venture. She has started “Cazador Consulting”. Cazador translates to “a hunter” and that is what she does all day - she hunts for the employer and employee to find the perfect match! No doubt her drive and passion are sure to make her new business a success!
Fun Fact:Cazadores is one of Mike Willis' favorite tequillias.
Program:
Sheryl Barbich introduced the featured speakers -
Mary Beth Garrison (External Affairs Manager) and Amanda Smith (General Manager), both of
Rio Tinto which is the largest open-pit mine in the United States.
From the early 1900s, US Borax has been a household name. The Borax mine, in consistent operation since 1927, is a landmark on the horizon in eastern Kern County. Today, the business is owned by a world-class mining organization called Rio Tinto. They are a significant employer in our county and an active participant in community needs. Producing 30% of the world’s need for refined “borates," Rio Tinto supplies the materials necessary to produce a wide variety of products including wind turbine blades, heat-resistant glass, fiberglass insulation, and much more. In addition to borates, Rio Tinto's team has discovered lithium in their waste stream; and over the past 2 years, they have been perfecting the process to extract the lithium (from clay and rock) to produce a battery-grade material that is prime for the rechargeable battery market.
Mary Beth Garrison is excited about the work that Rio Tinto does in our community. She has been with the company since 2017 and before that worked in various government and leadership roles in the community. She introduced Amanda Smith, the General Manager, who joined the team at Boron less than a year ago. Amanda is an 18-year employee of Rio Tinto. She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Mining Engineering, and a Masters in Mining Engineering – Blasting. She has served at their operations all over the United States, in Australia, and now in Kern County. This division stretches from Long Beach to Owens Lake employing more than 800 people. Besides being a major employer, Amanda noted that the company is an active partner in the community donating to community programs including food banks, the Boys & Girls Club, homeless shelters – and most recently they gifted $200,000 Moroc Joint Unified School District earmarked to purchase Chromebooks to ensure that students in the community would have access to distance learning during Covid19.
Rio Tinto in Boron is best known for the borates they mine. However, a few years ago they decided to “mine for gold” and realized they had the opportunity to excavate lithium that had been known to be at this location since the 1950s. Using the original notes from this time period they began working on mining lithium. They leaned heavily on the lab facilities and research and development departments they have on-site to work through the seven-stage process to extract this mineral. They produced the first factory-grade product in December 2020. The company is striving to ramp up consistency as well as making it more feasible and profitable. To that end, they have entered a partnership with a small battery company here in California which may lead to an avenue to use the product directly into batteries for commercial and end-user use.
They are also actively pursuing mining lithium in Serbia at the Jadar site. As a global company, Rio Tinto is looking ahead to opportunities to be part of the energy future that will transition to low carbon resources. When asked the longevity of the Boron Rio Tinto site Smith noted that the standard answer is 10 years – and that is the same answer every 10 years! Because of the diversity of what this site holds it has an expanded life of up to 25 years and beyond. This site is destined to continue to be a vibrant part of Kern County’s economic base.
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