Kinross Fort Knox is to donate close to $1 million to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to help mining engineering research that they are carrying out. The monies will fund graduate research projects as per the dean of the college of Engineering and Mines. Projects that focus on real world mining challenges in Arctic conditions will also benefit from the money.
The Canadian company established the endowment last year with a $25,000 gift. UAF Professor of Mining Engineering Rajive Ganguli said that each year three students will benefit from the funds they award. Kinross operates a gold mine in the north of Fairbanks and will contribute the money over the next three year period.
The company has been mining at the Fort Knox mine since 1998. The mine is located 25 miles northeast of the city of Fairbanks. The Canadian company employees 500 people from the city and this year saw it pouring its five millionth ounce of gold at the mine.
Tye Burt, Kinross Gold President and CEO said that education was a major area of focus for Kinross, and they were pleased to support the next generation of mining engineers in Alaska by providing the UAF with a steady source of research funding over the next three years.
Employing 7,500 people worldwide the company has gold mining assets in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Mauritania, Russia and the United States. It is dually listed n the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange.