Kent J McGrew

Kent McGrew, born at the end of WWII and raised by immigrant grandparents in the Sacramento Valley, began his mining career by accident at the age of fourteen. His father, the mechanical genius, was drawn into mining partnerships, building small processing plants for a share of the action. Having lost their ass three times by the time he was nineteen, he finally struck it rich enough to land at Montana School of Mines where he miraculously earned a Master's Degree in Mineral Dressing...See more

Kent McGrew, born at the end of WWII and raised by immigrant grandparents in the Sacramento Valley, began his mining career by accident at the age of fourteen. His father, the mechanical genius, was drawn into mining partnerships, building small processing plants for a share of the action. Having lost their ass three times by the time he was nineteen, he finally struck it rich enough to land at Montana School of Mines where he miraculously earned a Master's Degree in Mineral Dressing Engineering despite two years of hard living in Butte, Montana, working underground in the copper mines, and a three-year interlude in the US Army. To the credit of his first wife, Sandy Louch - the girl down the street, he aced the last three years of his education. All in all, he remains working at his profession for sixty years going to every continent on the planet except Antarctica, where he literally missed the boat due to a crashed tour plane the week before he arrived in New Zealand. From the tops of the Andes to the jungle and savannas of Africa to being part of the first delegation into China, Mr. McGrew has spent his days in the mastery of the science of his profession, solving mining and environmental problems. When asked where he is from - North America, when asked where he works - Everywhere. Simple answers to complex questions. Bogged down in technical papers, in the late '80s he created the pen name "Auntie GEM" (GEM is the acronym for Government, Education, and Mining - a subcommittee of the Society of Mining Engineers). His articles were carried by the Lead Daily Call and mining advocates syndicated the popular articles to all the weekly newspapers across North and South Dakota. Auntie educated readers in a humorous way about various aspects of the mining process blending in the rich the history of the area, helping to ease the tension of anti-mining initiatives in South Dakota at that time. Although "Auntie" probably wouldn't have approved, he also published in 1994 his Five Axioms of Mining Scams, several of which appear in Dragon Tooth Gold along with some new scams his research has uncovered along the way. Mining in South Dakota abruptly ended for him upon learning that Aspen trees contributed to his late, but unlucky find, of asthma. But at least it wasn't tuberculosis. Still, a friend suggested Arizona for its good air, and 30 years later he is still living under, above and around the mining district of Congress, Arizona with his beautiful wife, Sally. And he continues to mine, mentor and teach, a man in love with his profession. He was actively involved in the construction of Congress Elementary in 2000 and still works at the administration of the school district, bringing quality education to the children of rural Arizona. Besides the refreshing break from fifty years of technical writing to bring his readers Dragon Tooth Gold, he now trolls the library for each nugget of gold mining fact as he continues his quest to bring readers with him to his beloved American West. See less