The 33-Year-Old Tesla Alum Begging His Fellow Tech Bros to Ditch Their Desks and Head Back to the Mines

At the National Gallery of Art, the mining exhibit doesn’t paint the rosiest picture of the industry. Adorning the walls are photos of barren land pockmarked by black-sloped pits and Native Americans standing defiantly in front of refineries. I’m there with Mariana Minerals cofounder Turner Caldwell, a slender, 33-year-old Stanford graduate, standing in front of a portrait depicting two miners, rugged and soot-covered.Turner Caldwell, the CEO and cofounder of Mariana Minerals addresses the crew on site at a mine in Utah.Courtesy of Mariana MineralsWhen a passerby sees me with my phone out recording Caldwell, I explain that I’m interviewing the founder because he owns a copper mine in Utah. I should’ve added that he’s an ex-Tesla acolyte using an $85 million war chest from leading venture c