On April 30, I will be leaving my home in Vancouver to go work in a northern Albertan coal mine. Currently, I am a Mining Engineering student at the University of British Columbia. In this blog, I will be reciting my university history and giving some information about the mining industry.
When I graduated from high school, I applied to two universities: UBC and McGill. Originally, I wanted to become a civil engineer, and McGill accepted me for chemical (I am very happy that I did not choose chemical). At UBC, all of the engineers congregate and attend the same classes - for the most part. For the first term of my first year, I never considered which department I would choose, nor why I should choose any specific department, though the majority of my friends were set on becoming civil, electrical or mechanical engineers. In the second term, all of the first year engineers were put in a class that was meant to explain and describe the different faculties. Needless to say, it was worth zero credits, and I rarely attended. I didn't see the mining presentation, although, I heard that it was quite good.
Around this time last year, it was time to submit my faculty preferences, and I chose Mining as the #1. I didn't really know why, maybe it was because some friends of mine had decided on it (all of which changed their minds later), or maybe because they get payed the most (although I am not one to care about money much at all). I really just made the decision based off of a gut instinct. It was like my body was telling me to choose mining over civil, even though I knew very little about mining and its respective industry.
Now, finishing my second year at UBC, I am very happy with my choice and I have an 8 month co-op work term ready with Grande Cache Coal. It seems that mining engineers are still in great demand, and it looks like they will be for many years to come. One must only look at the prices of copper, platinum, gold, etc. to realize that the mining industry is booming.
- The price of copper is ~ 5-6 times higher now than it was 10 years ago.
Additionally, the industry is much more modern than I had thought it to be, and it is very safe in Canada. Recently, my year conducted a survey - answered mostly by students - that measured the public opinion of the mining industry, and it was quite shocking. The general public opinion was extremely critical on the industry and believed it to be unsafe, unfriendly to the environment, and many answered that it wasn't very important for the economy. The other key information gathered was that only about 5-10% of the sample (700 people) could actually name a running mine, and a low percentage could name a mining company. Of course, my opinion of the industry is very different from the vast majority, and I am irritated that so many, uneducated, people are so overcritical of the industry. I feel that it is important for people to have a more accurate understanding of what is really going on.
I'll be out of town for eight months, and will probably have a lot of time for starcraft (if the internet is semi-decent where I am going). I just felt like conveying some information along to all my fellow TL buddies
i work in scrap metal. i buy shit, take it apart and sell it. i love hauling in 4000 pounds of copper for 3.60 a pound. gl with your mining endeavors bro
Those pictures of mines look awesome. Kind of like elaborate crop circles, but in Canadian tundras. Mines in the US (and other countries im sure) are actually incredibly unsafe. There are always news stories about them. What is the Canadian secret to safe mines?
I thought mining was supposed to be pretty dangerous too, along the lines of construction work. Of course they're not lighting sticks of dynamite and throwing them 10 feet into a mine and then plugging their ears but it's still a big heavy machinery job, right? Like constructing tall towers and such is a pretty dangerous job IMO, I think of mining as being along those lines. Am I wrong?
On April 20 2011 08:08 Hawk wrote: what safety measures are in place that makes Canada better than another developed country with mines??
and when you say mining engineer, what does that entail?? Is that the basic level of education required of all miners, or is that for advanced stuff??
this all sounds pretty interesting, gl!
I was wondering this as well, can you elaborate more on your job? Are you actually going to be down there operating machinery etc. or are you going to be doing more of the behind the scenes planning/geological analysis ? Best of luck seems like you are happy with where you're going that's all that matters.
On April 20 2011 07:26 redoxx wrote: Those pictures of mines look awesome. Kind of like elaborate crop circles, but in Canadian tundras. Mines in the US (and other countries im sure) are actually incredibly unsafe. There are always news stories about them. What is the Canadian secret to safe mines?
I think the biggest thing is that there is a severe lack of workers. The companies are trying to make it as attractive as possible for new employees. As such, all of the companies have a heavy focus on safety and give good health benefits (in addition to our Canadian health plan )
On April 20 2011 08:08 Hawk wrote: what safety measures are in place that makes Canada better than another developed country with mines??
and when you say mining engineer, what does that entail?? Is that the basic level of education required of all miners, or is that for advanced stuff??
this all sounds pretty interesting, gl!
Think of a mining engineer as a sort of mixture of civil and geological. It's for advanced work (4 year degree taking heavy course loads) and since I'm only in second year, I'll be learning a bunch on site before I begin working seriously. For now, I will be working underground, likely doing testwork, but I will be cycled around to other jobs - like surveying, short term mine planning, etc.
On April 20 2011 08:28 Turgid wrote: I thought mining was supposed to be pretty dangerous too, along the lines of construction work. Of course they're not lighting sticks of dynamite and throwing them 10 feet into a mine and then plugging their ears but it's still a big heavy machinery job, right? Like constructing tall towers and such is a pretty dangerous job IMO, I think of mining as being along those lines. Am I wrong?
Yes there is some BIG machinery at almost all mine sites, however, the drivers are trained well. In open pit mines, everything runs around the haul trucks so that the maximum amount of ore can be mined per day, so everybody knows their routes. It shouldn't be dangerous. Of course it can be dangerous on the work site, just as any primary industry will be, it's just not near as dangerous as people suspect (although I'm hearing bad things about the mines in the states now :S )
On April 20 2011 08:56 WAAA wrote: Hmm, interesting I'll follow if I remember to check up on it. Lots of money in the mines, do they need civil or geotechnical guys?
Geotechnical (geological at UBC) is actually in VERY high demand right now. I don't think I know a single person in the 2nd year geological engineering that doesn't have a summer job locked up. Civil is also always needed, but there are a lot more civil engineers to choose from than mining or geotechnicals.
Holy fucking hell... Yeah I'm pretty sure it'll be nothing like that. Watching that tunnel collapse made me cringe. Mining engineers on that site should be fired and sent back to school... god damn.
Holy fucking hell... Yeah I'm pretty sure it'll be nothing like that. Watching that tunnel collapse made me cringe. Mining engineers on that site should be fired and sent back to school... god damn.
It's a TV show on Spike. Do not take anything this show displays as what actually happens anywhere.
Edit: This is the TV channel that brings you educational programs like MANSwers. (An amazing show filled with big breasted babes, but otherwise devoid of anything useful)
Holy fucking hell... Yeah I'm pretty sure it'll be nothing like that. Watching that tunnel collapse made me cringe. Mining engineers on that site should be fired and sent back to school... god damn.
It's a TV show on Spike. Do not take anything this show displays as what actually happens anywhere.
Edit: This is the TV channel that brings you educational programs like MANSwers. (An amazing show filled with big breasted babes, but otherwise devoid of anything useful)
I heard "from the same makers as The Deadliest Catch". I always thought that 'The Deadliest Catch' was a pretty truthful show - being on the discovery channel and all - but I could be wrong. I'd have to be a vegetable before anybody could make me watch that snoozefest.
I'm in civil, but I've taken some intro to geotech, surveying, and other semi-related classes. I also applied to Grande Cache Coal for a co-op position, but got turned down because I'm not actually in mining engineering.....
One of the only times I regret being in Civil..... It seriously looked like it would have been an awesome place for a placement. Especially since it's only about a 1 hr drive from family of mine lol.
EPT
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