In June, Kinross Alaska recently hosted a safety training class for employees at Fort Knox and Manh Choh who are often in the field. The purpose of this annual training is to provide employees on both the environmental and exploration teams with both firearm and bear safety training to effectively train them on how to respond in the unlikely event of a bear interaction.
During the one-day, intensive training class participants engaged in both theory and practice courses to learn how to effectively use bear deterrents. The participants then had the opportunity to practice on a ‘moving target’ that simulated a charging bear to test their reaction time and appropriate use of their defense items.
In total, 22 employees at Fort Knox and 10 employees at Manh Choh completed the course. A special thank you to Clay Faris, Security Superintendent, Fort Knox, who taught the course at the mine and Alaska based LTR Systems Inc. who taught the class at Manh Choh.
“The safety of our employees is our top priority,” said Clay. “Working in the field and in rural Alaska creates many opportunities to interact with wildlife, and we want to make sure our people are safe and prepared for encounters in the event of an emergency.”
