ODDS ‘N’SODS — My first job promotion

I toiled hard and endlessly in the junior ranks of mines and often wondered when I would qualify for a posting to the upper echelon.

Then one day I was summoned to the Big Office. The boss looked over his glasses at me and, after a moment’s silence, asked: “How would you like to be mine engineer?”

I was startled, to say the least, and after pondering for a moment, responded by asking: “What would the duties be and am I qualified for the tasks?” He replied: “The duties would involve co-ordinating the engineering group in surveys, contracts, reports, work studies, mine ventilation, layout and planning, schedules and, of course, reporting to the mine superintendent.” I felt reassured because the same mine superintendent and I had worked together for more than four years. “When do I start?” I asked. He smiled, held out his hand and said: “As of now, and congratulations.” I returned to the office in the headframe building with my head in a whirl. Events were moving too fast. I went to see my superior who laughed when he saw me. “You’ll get used to it,” he said. “The office next to mine is yours from now on, and you move in right away. We’ll make an announcement this afternoon.”

My new desk seemed huge and bare, and for the first time I had a side cabinet and my own drafting table. I organized my goods and sat down behind that desk. Doubts began to flood in.

The phone rang and it was my chief. “We’ll need that shaft layout for the crusher this afternoon,” he said. “Go and sit down with Jeff and go over it. Bring it along for review.” Several more requests followed.

I went home that evening and proudly informed my wife of my new status. She reflected on the news and warned: “I can see some rough spots — you don’t get along with several of the others.”

The next day, the manager, mine superintendent and consultant appeared and directly challenged me. “You’ll have to work on a revised mine plan for the year with equipment, crew, supplies, costs and capital estimates,” they said. “The head man from Toronto will be here in three days and we will have to be ready for full discussions with him.”

“I’ll do my best,” I blurted. “Any specific ideas?”

“You’re as well-informed as anyone here,” they replied.

I toiled night and day for the next few days preparing plans, reviewing crew and equipment performances, estimating costs and discussing with mechanical and electrical crews all their needs.

Not long afterwards, the top brass arrived in my sparse office, where I had assembled all the data. Cordial greetings were exchanged, and then my boss directed me to present my material for discussion. There was, however, no discussion — they listened quietly and in the end the senior man from Toronto queried me. “Do you believe there is sufficient credibility and information to achieve the program, and if called upon could we expect 25% more production from the same scheme?” he asked.

I looked at my boss and replied: “This is a conservative plan and with a few pushes here and there and some more training and ground work in the stopes, I believe we will be very close in our performance. However, I would like to dwell on this further and perhaps have some more standby equipment to ensure overages.”

The vice-president laughed, thanked me and, after shaking hands, departed from the building.

A few days later my boss came and said: “You’re up for a promotion in the fall — to production superintendent. You had better finalize that schedule and get the equipment orders flowing as you will be in the pot to achieve that program. They bought it — hook, line and sinker — and they want you in charge of it.” I nearly fainted.

Such is the road to promotion in mines — a small headache leads to a larger one. Happily, we had an excellent team and set records for the entire group. — S.J. Hunter, a retired mining engineer and regular contributor, resides in Vancouver.