On Monday, April 22nd, the Exploring Careers class went up to the Manh Choh Mine near Tetlin. Manh Choh, Kiewit, and Black Gold are all working together on this project. This is the 2nd field trip the class has been on. Tok and Northway both co-opted into going on this trip. The mine is about 25 miles away from the highway and also a 30-45 minute drive. The mine is an Open Pit mine, so not underground. At the open pit mine, the students learned how the gold got to the land, the ore that they were looking for, the jobs that are used at the mine, how many of the Black Gold trucks go back and forth between Fort Knox, Alaska to the Kinross Manh Choh mining site, how the trucks are weighted, etc. It was an amazing experience for the exploring class and a good intro to students who want to go into the mining industry.
Holly Beeman, a junior, noted that she “enjoyed being able to physically see the action happening rather than just pictures.”
“It was cool,” said sophomore Landon Wilson.
Ben Jennings, also a sophomore, agreed with Landon. “It was pretty at the mine, a very beautiful environment,” he said.
The beautiful environment was a common opinion amongst the students. Junior Bridgette Thomas said, “The view was pretty. It was kinda cold because of the wind. I wish we could have seen more at the mine. I would like to go back and have a job there.”
It seems like future employment opportunities are on the minds of more than one junior. Tenyelle Gunter added, “I enjoyed going to the mine, it taught me more about the jobs involving mining. It was clear and big, I felt something once we got up there. I don't know how to explain it, but after high school, I would like to get into mining. This is such a great opportunity for me and my other classmates.”
As I also went on this trip, I had a really good trip and getting the experience was amazing. I was so thankful to be getting to do all these tours. The view at the Manh Choh mine site was amazing, it was so beautiful. I enjoyed all the talks with the higher guys in charge. And getting to experience the huge haul trucks was such a blast to see. And getting to see the Black Gold truck getting loaded with rocks was amazing. I enjoyed all parts of this experience. I'm thankful we got to experience all this at a young age.