Cambridge Bay (Apr 03/06) - Kevin Komaksiut enjoys working with his hands and going out on the land, but his real love is for his family.

"Your relatives are important," said the 20-year-old Cambridge Bay resident. "They help make it easier to learn from your mistakes."

Living with his parents, he does what he can to help out, including taking regular turns looking after his baby sister Kyla.

Lately he's also been doing a lot of thinking about his future.

"Right now I spend a lot of time trying to keep my Ski-doo running," he said.

It's opened his eyes to options for his future and perhaps a trades apprenticeship.

"I really like to tinker with my hands," he said. "My cousin, Keith Atatahak, and I put a 700cc engine in a machine that used to have a 500cc engine - you wouldn't believe how fast it went."

It really surprised him how easy it was to do the job.

"We thought we were going to need a computer to line everything up," he said. "But it went together no problem."

With Tahera's Jericho diamond mine starting to produce gems and Miramar's proposed Hope Bay gold mine moving through the permitting stage, it also has him thinking about a potential career in mining.

"I think I'd like to go to work for Miramar," he said. "Maybe as a core splitter or doing camp maintenance."

Having a number of relatives already working for the Vancouver-based mining company makes it a much more attractive prospect for him.

Either way, he said he's excited about the future for Cambridge Bay that's being created by mineral exploration.

"There's so much going on right now," he said. "It's something new for up here."