Red Lake tries old scheme to solve labor shortage

In mine management circles, it’s known as the good news bad news syndrome. The good news is that flow-through financing and higher gold prices have spawned unprecedented numbers of new mines across the country. The bad news is that there aren’t enough skilled miners to fill the positions created by these new operations.

Around Timmins the number of available miners with small stope and drilling experience is virtually non-existent,” said Mike Amsden, vice-president and general manager, Kidd Creek Mines.

“It’s getting so bad that established contractors are refusing to bid on projects because they haven’t the available personnel,” added Peter Rowlandson, general manager of Giant Yellowknife Mines’ Timmins mine site.

While major producers like Giant Yellowknife and Kidd Creek have stepped up their basic training programs to cope with the shortage of drift leaders, drillers and stope miners, others are looking for alternative solutions.

In northwestern Ontario, for example, where Campbell Red Lake and Dickenson Mines are established producers, the labor shortage has encouraged local mining officials to introduce a pilot program which they think could solve the problem in that region. Training Scheme

Finding that the ability of mining companies to train unskilled employees is limited by the time and number of officials involved, they have opted for a training scheme which utilizes an unused mine site.

Assisted by the Red Lake-Ear Falls District Skills Development Corp., they will offer a 6-week course in common core basic training for hard rock miners at the old Abino mine site in Cochenour, Ont.

The Ministry of Labor now requires all underground employees to take the course. After Dickenson safety and training co-ordinator Dennis Brown examined a number of local sites, the Abino was selected. Equipped with a 300-ft shaft and a number of cross cuts, the property is currently owned by Dickenson Mines.

Sponsored by Employment and Immigration Canada which has agreed to provide $145,000 of the $178,600 needed to finance it, the program is being offered to young men from the Red Lake area who are interested in a career in underground mining. (The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines will be asked to cover the balance of program costs.)

During the 6-week course, scheduled to begin this month, students aged 16 to 24 will be given lessons in mine rescue, first aid and the principles of safety.

According to Mr Brown who is also chairman of the local Underground Hard Rock Miner Training Committee, 15 students have already signed up for the course and they will be supervised by two technical experts who have yet to be hired by the program co-ordinator.

“The graduates of this course won’t be classed as skilled miners,” said Mr Brown, “But it will give them an edge over other potential employees with no previous underground experience.”

While the course isn’t new — it was introduced in British Columbia — Mr Brown thinks it has a number of advantages for both mining companies and potential miners.

“At Dickenson we have a policy of training people without any experience. But with the time it takes and the number of personnel involved, there is a limit to the number of people you can train,” he said.

“Since the students are receiving instruction at a dormant property, the program won’t interfere with mining operations,” he said.

According to Mr Brown, the course could also save Dickenson and other companies substantial housing and accommodation costs. “When we hire skilled miners from places like Timmins, Ont., we usually have to provide them and their families with accommodation which tends to be limited,” he said. Definite advantage

“But the young people taking this course already live in the area. Their families are here and we won’t have to offer additional housing.”

Although the course will give them a definite advantage over outsiders, Mr Brown says management at Dickenson and Campbell have made no commitments to hire any of the graduates. “A couple of new projects — McFinlay Red Lake Mines’ Bateman Twp. and Placer Dome Inc.’s Dona Lake mine — have greater potential as possible employers,” said Campbell manager Stewart Reid.

While strictly a pilot program, the training course will be monitored closely by the Ontario Mining Association which meets later this year to discuss possible solutions to the current shortage of skilled labor.

“We are looking at the possibility of setting up schools at larger mine sites,” said Bruce Campbell, manager technical services, at the oma. But he said its too early to know whether the big companies will support such a move.

“Unfortunately, the days when you could give a guy a shovel and put him to work are long gone,” added Mr Campbell who thinks a scheme similar to the Cochenour course could be applied by smaller companies without the manpower and facilities to train their employees. Federal government

While some of the major Ontario producers are looking at ways to solve the problem created by the glut of new mines, Mr Rowlandson says the federal government should be involved.

“A massive training program is needed to bring more people into the industry,” said Mr Rowlandson who favors some kind of government sponsorship.

“Since new training schemes will reduce unemployment, it’s in the government’s interest to offer some kind of incentives to established producers,” he said.