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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 9, 2012 22:51:38 GMT -5
M7W2D4- semi-private
Victoria Raines sits in the waiting room of the impromptu office at a fairly recently begun monazite mining operation. She is dressed for business in a smartly cut black pantsuit and a brilliant purple silk blouse that makes her violet eyes pop. She busies herself perusing the mining company's financials on her tablet while she waits for her assigned guide.
Of course, she knows who that guide will be. He's the entire reason she's here.
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 10, 2012 18:55:16 GMT -5
The door opens, and in walks the young corporate flunky who has been assigned to see to Victoria's needs, followed by a slightly older, definitely more weather-beaten man. Maxwell Hurd, the assigned flunky, nervously greets Victoria Raines.
"Sorry I took so long; it's a bit of a drive from the front gate" he says, brushing a lock of sweat-dampened hair back from his forehead. Maxwell's boss has impressed on him the career-critical importance of making a good impression on Ms. Raines, and not screwing up the presentation that the CEO of American Rare Earths, Inc., has made by some social faux pas. He indicates the broad-shouldered man behind him. "This is Donal Costigan, the mining engineer you sent for. Mr. Costigan, this is Ms. Victoria Raines, of Kaonic Technologies."
The heat of the California desert doesn't seem to have affected him as much as it did young Maxwell, though he persists in wearing his sunglasses indoors. He smiles and holds out a hand to shake. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Raines. Ah understand you want me to give the operation a look-see with you as well as filing my own report?"
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 11, 2012 0:01:41 GMT -5
"Kao-Nic," Victoria says, softly correcting Mr. Hurd's pronunciation. She stands and takes Costigan's hand. Shades will find her grip both firm and strong, perhaps more so than he expected.
"That is correct Mr. Costigan. I am a firm believer in independent assessments before making an investment in an asset such as this. Research tells me that your skills are best suited to the task at hand. I do hope you can live up to your promise."
"Shall we?
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 12, 2012 9:16:30 GMT -5
Costigan's grasp is also firm, but gentle; he's in the habit of being careful with his grip when he shakes hands. If he is surprised by Ms. Raine's strength, he does not show it--though much may be hidden behind those mirrorshades. It strikes him that Victoria Raines is remarkable and fascinating.
He prolongs the handshake perhaps longer than he should, and then says, "Yes, yes, we should."
Costigan hesitates for a moment. "Ma'am, it's pretty dusty out there; did you want to change before we toured the operation?"
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 12, 2012 19:51:19 GMT -5
Victoria Raines is also much older than Mr. Costigan. Not quite old enough to be his mother, at least Which is good, because she's already one of his fathers, and if he starts crushing on her, that would make for one hell of a Lifetime movie script.
"I will be fine, Mr. Costigan, though I appreciate your concern. I already took advantage of the wait to change shoes." Indeed she is wearing very serviceable work boots instead of her typical heels. The heels are now tucked into her fashionably large purse.
"Now, where would you suggest we begin?"
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 13, 2012 18:25:09 GMT -5
"Ah reckon we should start at the bottom, and the beginning--the pit. Monazite's comes in alluvial deposits, and this here prehistoric beach is a good place to dig it out," he says, holding open the door of an open-topped utility truck that resembles a Jeep. "Water's hard to come by this far out in the Mojave, so hydraulic sluicing's not really an option. They just dig it out the old-fashioned way, with diesel shovels and dump trucks."
He'll hold the door for Victoria until she's settled in (assuming she does), then run around to the driver's side and get the truck rolling. Costigan will drive very slowly and carefully down the haul ramps; it wouldn't do to roll off into the pit with the CEO of Kao-Nic because of his sloppy driving. It will be obvious that Costigan is not comfortable driving a Jeep, and his turns, stops and starts are abrupt and clumsy. He tends to oversteer and brake late. His driving is not improved by the awareness that this very interesting woman is right there, looking over his shoulder and seeing every mistake his makes.
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 14, 2012 20:01:05 GMT -5
"As you say," Victoria says as she climbs into the vehicle and settles herself besides Costigan.
She positions herself so that she is half turned in her seat, which enables her to observe Costigan along with the mine. The very faintest of smiles hovers on her lips.
"You are nervous Mr. Costigan. Do I make you so?"
It is not an unusual emotion for her presence to kindle in others, especially men of power. Victoria Raines is possessed of quite the intimidating presence.
"I do not wish to have this assessment colored by emotional response. I hope you understand this."
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 14, 2012 20:13:59 GMT -5
Donal Costigan brakes to a halt abruptly. "Ma'am?" he asks with a rising inflection. "Ah don't have any biases for or against this here company or operation, if that's what you mean. Facts are facts, and Ah'll call 'em like Ah see 'em."
He jerks his door open and steps out; they're deep in the pit. "The truck oversteers a bit, and you might have noticed there aren't any guardrails here. It wouldn't look real good if Ah accidentally drove us off a cliff, Ms. Raines."
Costigan lies; his pride won't let him admit he's a lousy driver, and that Victoria is very distracting and unnerving. He comes around to the passenger-side door and opens it for Ms. Raines.
"We're below the anhydrite layers here and into the larger particulates and gravel, which is where they find the monazite gravels," he says, pointing at the side of pit. He walks up to it and pulls out a particularly shiny bit of gravel and hands it to Victoria. "That there's monazite crystal. Along with rare earth phosphates, they frequently extract zircon and thorium as by-products. Don't wear it as a keepsake, there's a good chance it's slightly radioactive. Should be okay for a desktop trinket, though."
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 14, 2012 21:14:40 GMT -5
"Of course," she murmurs at Costigan's explanation. She thanks him when he opens the door for her, even as she mentally chafes at the doing. Victoria is powerful, independent, and used to doing for herself. She understands the traditional roles of human males and females are rather engrained, and she understands the need to occasionally cater to the more polite of those rules. But oh, how it irks her to do so!
She turns the bit of gravel about in her fingers. "I am familiar with the properties of the material. It's radioactive qualities are one of the reasons I find it so interesting."
"You have looked over the mine's earnings reports, yes? How would your rate the yields?"
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 15, 2012 18:55:39 GMT -5
Costigan thinks for a moment. He's on steadier ground here, talking about what he knows. "They run a fairly tight ship hereabouts; ARE sells the anhydrate overburden they strip off to the borax processing plant down the road, and does the initial processing of the gravel on site. Gravel has a fairly good concentration of monazite and other marketable minerals--better than the old North Carolina pit, though not quite as good as that big Brazilian mine."
He risks a glance at Victoria, meeting those intense violet eyes. Costigan realizes with a start that she's actually taller than he is. He clears his throat. "The main constraints Ah see--and you've probably got financial experts that can give you a better breakdown than Ah can--are one, whether or not the Chinese keep on not exporting; two, what the UMW boys decide 'bout the upcoming contract talks, and three, what the price of diesel does. What Ah can tell you is that mah observations, and the tests Ah've run, indicated that this here alluvial bed is about as rich as Mr. Hurd's little Powerpoint show said it was. 'Course, he glossed over the other issues that Ah just mentioned that are worryin' him, or should be worryin' him or Timothy. Ah reckon that's why Timothy wants your investment--he's hoping you can help him cut energy costs for his machinery and find a way to make the union happy."
----
Timothy being the first name of the CEO of ARE, Inc.
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 15, 2012 22:07:06 GMT -5
"If KTech invests in this effort, we will certainly be investing more than funds. Their equipment is dated. We can provide them with the equipment of tomorrow," Victoria says, meeting Costigan's look with her own even one. The very slightest of smiles hovers on her lips.
"You did not answer my question from earlier, Mr. Costigan, not truly. Do I make you nervous?"
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 17, 2012 11:07:59 GMT -5
Costigan glances away from that compelling gaze. "Well, ma'am, Ah reckon it wouldn't be professional of me to answer that one way or t'other."
He's not a good liar, but Costigan does know how to keep silent and say little. Or so he believes.
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 17, 2012 23:45:21 GMT -5
"That in of itself is an answer, Mr. Costigan. For that is twice you have evaded. Were the answer no, you would not hesitate to say as much." Victoria's tone holds no censure or amusement, though her slight smile remains.
"You must understand, Mr. Costigan, that it is not any bias for or against this company that I fear from you. I researched you most thoroughly and I know that you are quite the professional. However, I do not wish my presence to be a distraction to your assessment."
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Hellbender
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Post by Hellbender on Mar 18, 2012 15:46:25 GMT -5
Costigan smiles and holds the passenger door open again. "Well, Ah think you've caught me out. To be honest, you're a formidable woman, and a mite intimidating." He stops speaking for a moment, looking for the right words.
"That's not usual for me, ma'am. CEOs of whatever gender don't usually unnerve me; it's always a professional relationship. This should be, too. And it is." He stops talking abruptly, having said far, far too much.
In a lighter tone of voice he continues, "Our next stop is the on-site processing plant, where they grind it into a slurry and process it with lye to extract the phosphates."
----
All mining/engineering jargon in these posts is courtesy of Wikipedia and/or Making Slag Up.
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Post by Victoria Raines on Mar 19, 2012 12:42:18 GMT -5
Victoria settles herself back into the Jeep, once more thanking Costigan for the niceties.
"The plant is of concern to me. As mentioned, we would be making an investment of equipment as well, and I need to make a proper assessment. Also, I wish to examine the working conditions. One can tell much about a company by how it treats its employees."
She turns slightly in her seat so that she can look at Costigan.
"Speaking of such matters, there is another mining endeavor which we will be pursing in the very near future. It will necessitate having a professional such as yourself in a full time position."
"You may consider yourself to be in the midst of a job interview, if you are so inclined."
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