By Shane Lasley
Mining News
Pogo owner donates $1.5M of PPE to Alaska
Safety gear will help Interior and rest of state safely re-open North of 60 Mining News – May 22, 2020
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Last updated 9/26/2020 at 2:30pm
Northern Star Resources Ltd.
Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation VP Joe Faulhaber; Pogo Operations General Manager Jim Coxon; Fairbanks Unified Command Joint Incident Commander Clint Brooks; Foundation Health Partners Director of Facility Operations Keith Fehr; Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation President Jeff Cook; and Foundation Health Partners CEO Shelley Ebenal with N95 masks, isolation gowns and other PPE donated by Northern Star Resources.
Northern Star Resources Ltd., owner of the Pogo gold mine, has donated more than US$1.5 million of medical personal protective equipment to communities throughout Alaska, with a focus on the greater Fairbanks and Delta regions.
"This is the largest donation we've received from private industry," said Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. "We are extremely grateful to businesses such as Northern Star which have stepped up, provided procurement and logistics expertise, and donated $1.5 million to source and transport important medical PPE to help fellow Alaskans."
The Alaska Department of Health & Social Services is assisting Northern Star to distribute some of the 12,500 isolation gowns, 100,000 N95 masks and 400,000 ear loop surgical masks to areas outside of Interior Alaska where Pogo Mine is located.
Supplies destined for Interior communities will be distributed by Foundation Health Partners on behalf of Northern Star.
Pogo worked closely with the local medical community, including the Interior Alaska Unified Command, to identify the medical PPE items in most need.
Northern Star Resources Ltd.
Alaska Department of Health & Social Services Warehouse Manager Karl Edwards offloads a pallet of medical PPE.
"We have a number of providers, dentists and others trying to re-open who were unable to procure PPE when mandated to close. This will help the community get back to business and support the entire medical community until supply chains improve," said Keith Fehr, planning section chief for Interior Alaska Unified Command, which was formed in response to COVID-19.
Australia-based Northern Star Resources hopes the PPE donation will allow Alaska businesses to safely resume operations.
"We are committed to helping and strengthening the communities in which we operate," said Pogo General Manager Jim Coxon. "We aim to prepare and protect our frontline caregivers in Interior Alaska and across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also hope that these supplies will help bolster the Alaska economy by allowing community businesses and non-profit organizations to safely re-open."
The medical PPE donated by Northern Star are currently being distributed throughout Alaska.
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