HAY RIVER - Wolf Schleiss said there are a few very basic requirements for someone to become a geologist.

"You'd obviously have to like rocks," said the senior geologist with Tamerlane Ventures Inc., which is working to open a lead/zinc test mine 48 km east of Hay River.

Wolf Schleiss, a geologist with Tamerlane Ventures, displays drilling samples. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Schleiss said he became interested in rocks in Grade 6 when a teacher created a display of samples from the Western United States.

"I was just intrigued by it," he said.

Schleiss said a geologist also requires an inquisitive mind.

A geologist must be able to figure out how rocks fit together and find clues about how geological processes occurred.

"You have to be kind of a detective," said Schleiss, who has been working as a geologist since 1982.

Geologists also have to like working out of doors for long hours, he added.

Schleiss said there is currently a lot of opportunity for geologists.

"Right now, we're in a boom," he said, adding metal prices are high.

One other aspect of being a geologist is seeing a lot of the world.

"You have to enjoy travelling," Schleiss said, adding being a geologist often involves extended periods of time away from home.

He has worked in Russia, Eastern Europe, India and several provinces of Canada.

Schleiss, 49, has been working in Hay River since October. He usually spends four or five weeks in the community and returns to his home in Washington state for a week.

When he is not in Hay River, he is replaced by an engineer.

Schleiss runs the newly-established Tamerlane Ventures office in Hay River and manages a drilling program in consultation with his managers in the South.

That makes Schleiss the most visible face in Hay River of the much-anticipated mining project.

When he goes into a grocery store, he is often asked by people when the project is going into the production stage.

Schleiss has also accepted a lot of resumes from people interested in working on the project, even though it has not yet reached the hiring phase.

During some weeks, he has received at least one resume a day, he said.

Schleiss said he is out at the drill sites every day and will continue to be involved when the test mine goes into operation.

"I'll be involved in the whole nine yards," he said.

When the mine is in operation, he will be responsible for such things as sampling and grade control.

Schleiss studied geology at the University of Wisconsin and earned a masters degree in the field at Michigan Technological University.

Tamerlane Ventures is currently seeking land use and water use permits for the test mine from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board.

It is hoped construction of the test mine will begin in the late summer or early fall. It will take about a year to construct.

If the pilot project is successful, Tamerlane is looking to mine a further 70 million tonnes in deposits on the Pine Point property on both sides of the Buffalo River over 20 years. The project would employ 250 to 400 people.