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BY LEE LESCHPER I was born and raised in Anchorage, AK and cur- rently live out in Chugiak, Alaska. In the ‘70s My fa- ther and his best friend drove the Alcan up to Alaska in a beat-up old van with just his dog and his favorite rocking chair and that turned into the beginning of our families start in Alaska. 4R]Pb`[NLX[TYRʭ^STYR^bTXXTYRTY-TR7LVP every summer and riding the zipper at the carnival during Fur Rondy. Years and years later, I am happi- ly married to my husband, Brian and we have a very smart, creative and funny teenage boy, Trevin who is in 8th grade this year. Outside of work, I still love _ZRZNLX[TYRʭ^STYRLYO^bTXXTYRM`_LW^ZWZaP MPTYR N]PL_TaP bT_S [LTY_TYR OP^TRYTYR ʮZbP]^ LYO more recently getting into gardening. I also really love watching and dancing to live music! 4LX_SP7LYOLYO:ʯNP8LYLRP]QZ]8TWW]ZNV=P - ^Z`]NP^4YNbSTNSXPLY^4bPL]LWZ_ZQOTʬP]PY_SL_^ depending on the day! I started with Millrock almost 9 years ago as a temporary employee with absolutely no experience in the mining industry. I was lucky enough to begin my introduction into mining and exploration with an experienced team of respected professionals. When I look back and see how much knowledge and experience, I have gained throughout my years I am really grateful. Who was your mentor in this industry and what did they teach you that remains true today? ?ST^T^LSL]O\`P^_TZY_ZLY^bP]bT_SU`^_ZYP[P] - son. I started in this industry with no experience in geology, exploration or mining, I was a complete blank slate, but I wanted to learn. Sometimes there comes LY Z[[Z]_`YT_d _Z U`X[ TY SPLOʭ]^_ LYO L^ ^NL]d L^ it was, I did it and I am and will always be thankful for those that helped me. Gregory Beischer and Phil St. George believed in me and gave me a chance and I wouldn’t be here today in this position if it wasn’t for them both. Kyle Negri, the OG of Millrock, man — I have really learned so much from him, not only is he one of the most intelligent, professional, most genuine person I have ever worked with, he has always made _TXP_ZLY^bP]XdXLYd\`P^_TZY^LYO^SZbXP_T[^ and tricks that have made my job go so much more smoother. The next few years I did a lot of my own ]P^PL]NS ^_`OdTYR L^VTYR \`P^_TZY^ LQ_P] \`P^_TZY^ short course after short course, online webinars etc. to teach myself about land management here in Alaska as well as Canada and Mexico. I wanted to grow, I wanted _ZPcNPWTYXdʭPWOLYO4\`TNVWdQZ`YOZ`__SL__SP]P were not a lot of people out there that do what I do. So,
I pooled all the knowledge from everyone I knew and trusted, from geologists to mining attorneys. Ramona Monroe from Stoel Rives, I can’t tell you how many hours we have spent on the phone, hashing out issues, reading and re-reading over state regulations and stat- utes, she is always my go- to person and she gives the
best advice, even if it isn’t about mining!
What lessons have you learned that you want to share with new miners? Make sure to do a thorough due diligence! As a Land Manager, this is one of most important parts of my job and any new miner or explorer should know the history of your land, be familiar with the States reg- ulations and be sure to get involved! AMA is a great resource; the breakfast meetings and the State Over- sight Committee meetings are both very informative! What was one experience you will never forget? ;]ZMLMWd Xd ʭ]^_ ,8, .ZYaPY_TZY TY bSPY they were still at the Sheraton Hotel. I was shocked and inspired at the same time. As a lifelong Alaskan I really had no idea how much this industry meant to so many of my fellow Alaskans. You could just feel the excitement and comradery in the room. It really opened my eyes and made me feel like I was becoming a part of our Alaska mining family! What do you love most about this business? The people, hands down. I have met so many won- derful people in this industry, some have become great friends. Where do you see mining in Alaska in 50 years? I hope we continue to work on State regulations and statutes that have been creating ongoing issues for Alaska miners and explorers. I really see a need for some major changes and if we can all come together and work out these issues, I think mining in Alaska can be very prosperous for all of us and be a great place for future investments from around the world. What do you see as our biggest challenges? And oppor- tunities? I already mentioned issues with our state regula- tions, which I really do think is a big challenge, but I
The Alaska Miner
October 2019
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