New and Renewing Members
ARE Rockstars Prepares Future Workforce
By Elizabeth Freeman, Alaska Resource Education STEM Educator Alaskans pride themselves in the ability to solve their own problems. We are not keen on handouts, but hand ups and we know the power we have when we come together as a community. Just like the rest of the country, Alaska has seen a steep decline in qualified job applicants since the pandemic began. In true Alaskan form, we did not wait around for someone in D.C to give us the answers and the help we desperately needed. Instead, we banded together and worked hard to create long lasting solutions. The mining industry is no stranger to worker shortages and uncertain drilling seasons due to a lack of trained local hires. To address this on a micro scale, Alaska Resource Education chose to pilot ARE Rockstars with the help of local Alaska mining companies. ARE Rockstars is a six-week program centered around training senior high school students to become qualified core technicians, soil samplers and core cutters, three positions that are often in high demand but lack consistent applicants. ARE has partnered with Kusilvak Career Academy (KCA) for delivery of this program. KCA is a residential school located in Anchorage that serves rural Native students exclusively from the Lower Yukon School District (LYSD). High school students from the 10 LYSD schools attend KCA in Anchorage for a semester or longer. ARE’s partnership with KCA allows for these students to be exposed to a variety of resource industry careers, which prompted the idea of creating this unique workforce development training program. The program is scheduled to commence March 20, 2023, completing with a graduation ceremony for the participants on April 26, 2023. ARE Rockstars will bring in guest speakers from multiple exploration and production mines across the state. The cultural significance of these projects will also be discussed along with the potential financial gains they bring. The program will take place at KCA and the Alaska Geological Materials Center, both of which are true gems in our community. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be interviewed by local mining companies with the goal of receiving conditional job offers. In addition to impactful guest speakers, the students will receive their own core (thanks to the Pogo Mine) to practice various skills alongside geologists and other trained professionals from ARE, and Yukuskokon Professional Services. Once the program is complete,
Thank you to all the AMA corporate and individual members who joined or renewed their membership to the association in November and December. You make AMA possible! Corporations
Dennis McDowell Kelly Moore Frances Olson Shaun Patterson Jessica Pickett Cole Sullivan Mike Vande Guchte Dia Gix & Fred Wolowic Mark Zellman
Evan Gearity Robert Hafner Ronny Harvey Dale Henkins Mark Henspeter Nicholas Klescewski Andrew Lee Nathan MacDonald Shirley McCaa
Michael Page Damon Petracol
Greenstone Station Inc. Pacific Rim Chemicals Sullivan Water Wells Valdez Creek Mining
Individuals Joel Ballou Chris Brown John Cioffoletti Christy & Bob Fowler Kevin Fox
Professionals Samuel Billin Peter Frantz
Not yet a member of the Alaska Miners Association? Or have not yet renewed your membership? Renew today so you don’t miss a single issue of The Alaska Miner or the 2023 Alaska Miners Handbook and Service Directory, available only to AMA members. Call or email Jennifer Luiten, Membership and Fundraising Director 907-270-9232; jennifer@AlaskaMiners.org.
TEMSCO
J.P. TANGEN Attorney at Law (P.C.) ALASKA’S MINING ATTORNEY FROM PROSPECT TO RECLAMATION
907-222-3985 Toll Free 877-414-3985
HELICOPTERS, INC.
P.O. Box 297 · Hansville, WA 98340 jpt@jptangen.com · skype: jptangen www.JPTangen.com
TIMBER EXPLORATION MINING SURVEY CARGO OPERATIONS
Serving all of Alaska since 1958
Rainer Trucking Inc. P.O. Box 72905 Fairbanks, AK 99707 EMAIL rainertruckinginc@yahoo.com PHONE (907) 457-2000 FAX (907) 455-4614
2 to 14 Axle Combinations Licensed & Bonded Lowboys
students will have a greater understanding about the incredible opportunities that exist in and around their region and gain useful skills they can utilize after graduation. ARE would formally like to thank the following companies for their direct involvement with everything from logistics to curriculum and continued support as we work to create viable solutions to the workforce development challenge. ARE extends a heartfelt thank you to Kusilvak Career Academy, Ambler Metals, Northern Star, Nova Minerals, Oriented Targeting Solutions, and Yukuskokon Professional Services, LLC. Elizabeth Freeman speaks about Alaska Resource Education at last year’s Mining Day. ARE Rockstars is a six-week program centered around training senior high school students to become qualified core technicians, soil samplers and core cutters.
Flats Vans
TEMSCO Helicopters, Inc. PO Box 5057, Ketchikan, Alaska 99901 Phone 907-225-5141 Fax 907-225-2340 www.temscoair.com
Rainer Equipment Inc. 2552 Steese Hwy. Fairbanks, AK 99712 PHONE (907) 457-8109 FAX (907) 457-2014
Mining Salvage and Reclamation
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February 2023 I The Alaska Miner I www.alaskaminers.org
www.alaskaminers.org I The Alaska Miner I February 2023
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