Underground Mining Camp
When you show up for the Underground Mine Training Camp, be prepared to give 100% of your effort every day and to participate fully as part of a well-tuned team. Our training broadens your interpersonal skills and prepares you for a safe, rewarding career in the Mining Industry. You will achieve more than you ever imagined possible and it will change your attitude about your future prospects. It is a pass/fail course and successful completion of the program requires you to step-up and successfully complete tasks that are both mentally and physically challenging. Underground mining is a proud tradition and we team you up with the best instructors that mining has to offer.
The Underground Mine Training camp is 280 hours broken into two 14-day segments of 10-hour days. You will arrive for a two-week period, take a two-week recess, and then return to complete the training in a second two-week session.
The program begins with mandatory MSHA compliance training for Inexperienced Underground Miners and familiarization with mining terminology with an emphasis on mine specific standard operating procedures and completion of forms used at underground mines throughout Alaska and Canada.
Before we cut you loose in the heavy equipment (LHD/Scooptram/ Mucker, Underground Haul Truck, Skidsteer, Man Transport, and Dozer) you will learn operational techniques using the Yukon College's on-site ThoroughTech Cybermine Simulators. The simulators have a moving platform, with sound and visuals that put you into a realistic underground environment. You will learn muscle memory for the levers and gauges, which is important in an extremely dark environment. Once you pass two proficiency examinations, you will complete equipment inspections and light daily maintenance duties and then on to learning to safely operate the actual heavy equipment around our outdoor surface driving arena. You will learn bucket control and signaling, underground haul truck and mucker loading and dumping techniques, and proper speed/RPM, as well as approved start up and shut down procedures and much, much more.
The underground mine training consists of Utility Work, Jackleg Drilling, Introduction to Scaling/Ground Control, and Operation of the Heavy Equipment. Of course safe operating procedures, teamwork and communication, housekeeping and proper tool identification are all an important part of this portion of the training. You will also learn to work independently underground and you will rotate through various job functions in addition to your daily duties, such as Safety Person or Shifter. This develops an appreciation for the demands that those roles play during a workday at a mine site.
Final examinations and exit interviews are conducted one-on-one with each Instructor at the end of the training.
