FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 9, 1999

Fairbanks, Alaska- In 1908, six years after Felix Pedro stumbled in from the creeks with a little yellow metal that would change history in Interior Alaska, the gold rush town of Fairbanks was thriving. Two hospitals, a bookstore and a newspaper office filled the little community on the banks of the Chena River.

While miners, sourdoughs and cheechakos stampeded the town, Frederick Arthur Kubon was born. He grew up in the Golden Heart City and graduated with a degree in mineral engineering from the college that would become the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Before he passed away last June, Kubon enjoyed a mining career that spanned from California to Nome.

But Kubon never forgot his Fairbanks roots. Through a generous donation from his hard-earned poke, the Alaskan sourdough has now secured a part of his alma mater's future.

Last Friday, UAF Chancellor Marshall Lind accepted a $2 million donation from Kubon's estate during the Alaska Miners Association annual meeting in Anchorage. Funds will be used to establish an endowment to provide scholarships to students in UAF's School of Mineral Engineering.

Kubon graduated from the school in 1932, then worked in Nome and Fairbanks for the U.S. Smelting, Refining and Mining Company. In 1937, Kubon served as Nome's mayor before venturing to the Lower 48. Nine years later, Kubon married his college sweetheart, Inez, while both were in Nevada on terminal leave from the U.S. Navy. Together they mined the fields of the California desert foothills before returning to Nome in 1949.

When the USSR&M Co. ceased mining activities on the Seward Peninsula in 1961, the couple moved to Sequim, Wash., where Kubon continued mining for the next 15 years before retiring.

Kubon's field of study dates back to UAF's beginnings. Historically, mining education in Alaska has always been tied to the school. During the early part of this century, Alaskans lobbied for a state college focusing on agriculture and mining because they believed scientific methods developed in both fields would help the territory stabilize its young economy.

Founded as the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, UAF offered mineral engineering as one of five fields of study when it opened its doors to students in 1922. Since then, UAF graduates have been instrumental in the development of the State's natural resources, including gold, oil, zinc, coal and other major minerals. In addition, the school's graduates have become managers and administrators in major corporations as well as state and federal governments worldwide.

Today, nearly a century after Pedro's discovery, the pick and ax have been replaced by modern tools to detect and extract Alaska's mineral resources in an environmentally sound manner. Geologists now use laser dating techniques on rocks to find veins of gold, and scientists scour satellite images to locate mineral deposits from space.

Students funded by Kubon's endowment will continue using new technologies on current research like enhancing gold recovery from sluice boxes between 20 to 50 percent and upgrading low-rank coal to use in oil-fired furnaces.

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