AK-WA Connection 2012: Fort Knox, Pogo match funds for center

With less than 1 percent or $175,000 to raise to complete exhibits at the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in Fairbanks, two Interior Alaska gold mining companies – Kinross Gold Corp. which owns the Fort Knox Mine and Sumitomo, which owns the Pogo Mine – joined together to match, dollar for dollar, every gift to the center until the goal is reached. Most of the center’s exhibits opened in 2009; however one section was put on hold until funding was secured. The additional funding was to complete a final section of exhibits, dubbed the “Gateway.” The new section tells the story of life in Interior Alaska, and mining is a part of that story, said Sumitomo Pogo Mine External Affairs Manager Lorna Shaw. “Alaskans depend on the land for every part of our lives – hiking, fishing, camping, playing on our snowmachines – and making a living.” Volunteers from across Alaska helped to raise nearly $30 million in federal ($16.7 million), state ($7.6 million), and private ($4.6 million) funds in order to complete the center with zero debt, making its operating costs affordable. Kinross Fort Knox and Sumitomo Pogo Mine also give generously to education and youth programs in Interior Alaska, including recent pledges of $1 million each to the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ School of Mining Engineering.

by Rose Ragsdale