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Pogo’s youngest miner sets strong role model for youths
BY LEE LESCHPER Nikola Maccabee might be the newest, and certainly one of the youngest underground miners in Alaska. And, he loves his job. His story is cause for optimism as more projects are on the way in Alaska and there’s going to be op- portunity for the next generation of miners. Today at 19, he’s an under- ground miner at Alaska’s Pogo Mine, owned and operated by Northern Star Resources Limited. He was born and raised in An- chorage. His father likewise grew up in Alaska, while his mother grew up in Belgrade, Serbia. He was raised loving the Alaskan outdoors — and hard work. “I’m used to being outdoors. I’m LS`Y_P]LYOʭ^SP]4ɪX`^PO_ZMP - ing out in the middle of nowhere.” He also grew up with commer- NTLW ʭ^STYR bZ]VTYR ^`XXP]^ ZY his family’s set net site on the Ke- nai. 9TVZWL]PʮPN_^ZY_SPWTQPNSZTN - es all teens make and why mining was a good option for him — and should be for many others. “I was looking for something OTʬP]PY_ɮ 9TVZWL ^LTO ɭ4ɪaP YPaP] been book smart. I like hard work and know what to do with my hands and to problem-solve right there. I wanted to run with that, in an in- dustry that would let me do that. “I also wanted to be able to do that in Alaska. I wanted to stay and work in Alaska. School was not re- ally for me. I’m a hands-on guy, not sitting down with a textbook.” The opportunities mining in ,WL^VLZʬP]PO^PPXPOL[P]QPN_ʭ_
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“Once I heard that, I just ran with it,” Nikola said. “And now I’m here.” “Here” is Nikola now working as an underground miner for Northern Star Resources at their Pogo Mine. It was a quick trip. He graduated from King Career Tech High School in Anchorage TY 8Ld ,Q_P] L ʭYLW ^PL^ZY ʭ^S - ing with his family on their set- net site near the Kenai in June and July, he enrolled in the University of Alaska Mining and Petroleum Training Service program (MAPTS) in August. After completing that
six-week intense training, he was ready to go to work. Nikola praises the training and hands-on experience he got at MAPTS. “So, in school you are working, and showing what you can do, and the instructors and director see that and hear about what you can do,” Nikola said. “Northern Star came (to MAPTS training center) when (Sen.) Lisa Murkowski came to our school and I got introduced. I was talking to them, and the di- rector was encouraging me to stay in touch.”
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The Alaska Miner
January 2020
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