Crystal Stapley

This piece is part of a chapter from Allies and Egos, scheduled for publication in the coming months. But lately, too many things have reinforced exactly why this chapter needed to be written in the first place. So here we are. Operations has a way of teaching people the truth whether they want it or not. The equipment tells the truth. The slopes tell the truth. The turnover tells the truth. The condition of the working face tells the truth. And the exhausted operator doing the job of three...

You ever wake up already tired before you’ve even opened your eyes? Heart beating like you forgot something important. Mind already halfway through the day before your feet hit the floor. Shop. Contractors. Two operators out. The haul truck making “that noise” again. The email you forgot to answer. The regulator call nobody wants to return. That thing that went sideways yesterday somehow becoming today’s emergency too. They call it stress. Out here? It’s what happens when one job quietly...

You’re not looking at bad luck. You’re looking at bad habits, multiplied by water. That’s leachate in training. Hard hat, check. Boots, check. Coffee still hot, check. Good, you’re all in the right place. For those I haven’t met yet, I’m the one who’s about to ruin a few comfortable myths this morning, especially the ones you've been told about leachate. I see a mix here, seasoned operators, a few gray-beards who’ve forgotten more than most folks ever learn, and about a dozen rookies who...