Earlier this year, we lost an amazing team member to COVID-19. Ken Assmus was our senior GIS specialist, a dear friend to many, lifelong advocate for education, avid nature photographer and hummingbird expert.
Ken worked for Midas Gold for 12 years. He helped recover, catalog and digitally capture literally truck-loads of maps and figures from historic records recovered for the Stibnite Gold Project site. His attention to detail was as crisp as his artistry in preparing maps and presentations and his understanding of the best way to get a point across was unmatched.
Ken traveled extensively around Valley County, in and around north Idaho, and around his home town in Spokane, Washington doing community outreach in classrooms and leading field exercises. He taught young students about how minerals were formed and what we use them for today. He was a regular at teacher’s workshops and the “go to person” for many teachers when they developed their own earth science curriculum and training programs.
Ken’s love for learning was contagious. He was constantly volunteering in classrooms, providing educational resources for teachers or helping Boy Scouts earn their Mining in Society Merit Badge. He also served as a board member for the Northwest Natural Resources Institute, a non-profit dedicating to helping educators and students gain a deeper understanding of the important role agriculture, mineral, forest and water resources play in each of our lives. He made a huge impact on our team and in the lives of many students across the Pacific Northwest.
Over the last month, our team has been searching for the right way to honor Ken. And we finally found it.
In his memory and in his honor, we are launching the Ken Assmus Memorial Scholarship for Academic and Community Achievement.
This annual scholarship will be awarded to one graduating high school senior who stands out for their academic performance and community achievement. Applicants must be from one of the schools eligible to apply for the Perpetua Resources Community Scholarship. The Ken Assmus Memorial Scholarship for Academic and Community Achievement is $4,000 and must be used to further education at a university, college or trade school.
Ken was a fierce advocate for continuing education.
Any opportunity he had, he encouraged students to push themselves. He helped students recognize their full potential and made some of them realize the opportunities available to them. We hope this scholarship will help continue his work and make higher education more accessible to a deserving senior.
Ken, we hope we can help carry on your legacy.
If you were not lucky enough to know Ken, we hope you will take a few moments to read a blog series he developed for us on hummingbirds. He spent time volunteering at Rudeen Ranch, where he helped capture, band, photograph and release hummingbirds in order to research their growth and migration patterns. The blog series showcases his knowledge, stunning photography and gives you a glimpse into the truly remarkable person Ken was.
It is Hummingbird SeasonThe Rufous HummingbirdHummingbird Research in Idaho
If you would like to learn more about the Ken Assmus Memorial Scholarship, please view our 2021 application here.
Just like the name indicates, the hills of the Stibnite Gold Project site are rich in a variety of minerals. In addition to gold, silver and tungsten, the area is also well known for its deposits of antimony – sometimes referred to as stibnite. Antimony, is a key ingredient to powering our lives and the…
As the Stibnite Gold Project continues to move through the permitting process, we want to make sure we are fully ready to move forward with site restoration and mine redevelopment once our plan of restoration and operations is approved. An important part of this process is understanding the structure of the soil and underlying bedrock…
SUPPORT THE STIBNITE GOLD PROJECT TODAY – WRITE TO THE U.S. FOREST Valley County residents, and Idahoans from other parts of the state, can play a big part in permitting the Stibnite Gold Project (the Project). Public input is critical to the permitting process and it is something federal and state regulators will weigh heavily…
By Dr. Allen Alper, PhD Economic Geology and Petrology, Columbia University, NYC, USA We spoke with McKinsey Lyon, VP of External Affairs, and with Chris Fogg, Investor Relations Manager, of Perpetua Resources Corp. (Nasdaq: PPTA, TSX: PPTA). Perpetua Resources, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is focused on the exploration, site restoration and redevelopment of gold-antimony-silver deposits in…
Every year, Idahoans come together for one day in May to support our state’s great nonprofits. Idaho Gives is a reminder that when we come together we can do amazing things. At Midas Gold, we are grateful to stand with our fellow Idahoans and support some of our favorite charities. The organizations we are supporting…
The following is a guest blog written by Debra Struhsacker. Debra is a hardrock mining policy expert with over 30 years of hands-on expertise with environmental and public land laws and regulations pertaining to mineral exploration and mine development. She is one of the founders of the Women’s Mining Coalition and currently serves on the…
Ken traveled extensively around Valley County, in and around north Idaho, and around his home town in Spokane, Washington doing community outreach in classrooms and leading field exercises. He taught young students about how minerals were formed and what we use them for today. He was a regular at teacher’s workshops and the “go to person” for many teachers when they developed their own earth science curriculum and training programs.
Ken’s love for learning was contagious. He was constantly volunteering in classrooms, providing educational resources for teachers or helping Boy Scouts earn their Mining in Society Merit Badge. He also served as a board member for the Northwest Natural Resources Institute, a non-profit dedicating to helping educators and students gain a deeper understanding of the important role agriculture, mineral, forest and water resources play in each of our lives. He made a huge impact on our team and in the lives of many students across the Pacific Northwest.
Over the last month, our team has been searching for the right way to honor Ken. And we finally found it.
In his memory and in his honor, we are launching the Ken Assmus Memorial Scholarship for Academic and Community Achievement.
This annual scholarship will be awarded to one graduating high school senior who stands out for their academic performance and community achievement. Applicants must be from one of the schools eligible to apply for the Perpetua Resources Community Scholarship. The Ken Assmus Memorial Scholarship for Academic and Community Achievement is $4,000 and must be used to further education at a university, college or trade school.
Ken was a fierce advocate for continuing education.
Any opportunity he had, he encouraged students to push themselves. He helped students recognize their full potential and made some of them realize the opportunities available to them. We hope this scholarship will help continue his work and make higher education more accessible to a deserving senior.
Ken, we hope we can help carry on your legacy.
