The Ontario Mining Association (OMA) is enlisting the help of a new ally in the ongoing quest to recruit workers to the mining industry: teachers.
In April, the organization, in co-operation with Mining Matters and the Canadian Ecology Centre, hosted a group of high school educators at Agnico Eagle's Detour Lake Mine to get a first-hand look at what it's like to work there.
It's part of the OMA's greater marketing campaign, This is Mine Life, that’s geared toward creating awareness among youth about the benefits of careers in the sector, including stable work and good pay.
"We came to the conclusion that we do have to get to educators, and what's the best way to immerse educators into the sector? Bring them to mines and take them around so that they understand what mining is all about and what it means to be a young person working in a mine,” said Priya Tandon, the OMA's president.
“So, really, interacting with some of those haul truck drivers and mechanics and operators and mining engineers.”
Mining labour shortages and workforce planning have been top of mind for the OMA for some time, Tandon said, and the organization's recently released report, State of the Ontario Mining Sector, indicates it has good reason to be concerned.
The report found that Ontario's mining industry directly employs 22,000 people, with an average annual salary of $150,000. But retirement age is nearing for a large portion of those workers.
“We've seen that 21 per cent of workers right now are over the age of 55,” Tandon said. “So we're losing those super experienced people and needing to replace them with that youth pipeline.”
In addition to attracting youth, the OMA sees Indigenous people as a ready source of workers.
Throughout 2023-2024, 12 per cent of the mining workforce identifies as Indigenous, compared to 3 per cent across Ontario's overall workforce.
Watch below to get an insight into the educator tour at Detour Lake Mine:
During the educator tour, North Bay-area high school teachers with the Near North District School Board travelled to Detour Lake, located about three hours north of Cochrane, where they lived at the mine camp, toured mine operations, and spoke directly with workers.
The open-pit mine, which processes 700,000 ounces of gold a year, employs 1,500 people, plus contractors, according to general manager Michelle Moore. Yet they're looking for more.
In particular, the mine needs tradespeople — heavy duty mechanics, millwrights, crane operators — and those in technical roles, like geologists, geotechnical engineers and mine engineers.
“We know that enrolment in all of those is continuing to decrease, but the role of mining in Canada is increasing,” Moore said in a compilation video of the tour.
“Opening the doors to the educators here is very important because it's very hard to understand mining until you see it.”
"You really don't know what you don't know,” agreed Chris Walking, a principal with the board, speaking in the video. “And, as a group of educators, when the mandate is to develop pathways into apprenticeships and skilled trades, it's difficult to do that when you don't have on-the-ground experience.”
Touring Detour Gold Mine gives educators a “rich opportunity” that can't be replicated in a classroom, he added.
Tandon said work is ongoing to reshape public awareness of how the industry has changed from its earlier days when it was considered dirty and dangerous.
The message today is that mining brings economic prosperity, but companies are also focused on mining in safer and more environmentally sustainable ways, Tandon said, core values that are attractive to youth.
“There's a legacy of the way mining was done decades ago, and it's very, very different now,” she said, praising companies like Agnico Eagle for opening their doors to educators.
One interesting statistic gleaned from Ipsos polling by the OMA: 39 per cent of Ontario youth, or 1.9 million, said they would consider a career in mining, and more than 90,000 of respondents came from Northern Ontario.
But there was also increased interest in youth hailing from the 416 area code in Toronto.
“I'm not that surprised by it, because mining has been so top of mind right now, from a government perspective, in the news, in the media, given everything going on from a geopolitical perspective,” Tandon said.
“And so perhaps it's getting the attention of more youth, and that's a good thing.”
