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Tahoe Resources, Northern College team up for miner training program

Timmins miner takes over from Glencore’s Kidd Operations
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From left are Kidd Operations’ general manager, Steve Badenhorst, Northern College president and CEO Dr. Fred Gibbons, and Tahoe Canada’s vice-president of operations, Peter Van Alphen. (Supplied photo)

Tahoe Resources and Northern College are teaming up to offer training opportunities to students in the college’s underground hard rock miner common core program.

Students enrolled in the 12-week program earn 580 hours of training, including the first-hand experience gained by embedding students into operational crews and following production schedules.

Since its launch in 2016, the school has partnered with Glencore’s Kidd Operations on the program. In total, 60 students, including 12 women and 14 Indigenous participants, from 11 cohorts have completed the program.

“This training program has been a great success for all parties involved and is a great example of how industry and educational institutions can work hand-in-hand to enhance a region’s capacity,” said Christine Heavens, executive director of community, business development and employment services at Northern College, in a news release.

“Our long-standing positive working relationship with Glencore has ensured that our students are developing the necessary skills and learning to use the tools and techniques actually used on the job site. We look forward to continuing the success of this program with Tahoe Canada.” 

Graduates of the program are equipped with a firm understanding of the working environment underground, training certifications, and experience operating mining equipment. As an added value, participants also earn a post-secondary credit that can be applied towards several Northern College programs, including the online mining engineering technician diploma program.

The final program cohort with Glencore is scheduled to start on Sept. 4. Afterwards, Northern College will continue to offer the underground hard rock miner common core program in partnership with Tahoe Canada.

“Tahoe Canada is very excited to continue building on the success of this Program,” said Peter Van Alphen, Tahoe’s vice-president of operations.

“The partnership between the college staff and our skilled trainers will allow us to collectively build on the legacy this unique training opportunity provides, while delivering hands-on learning, leveraging industry-leading tools and technique that will help us build a competitive, safe workforce for the mining industry today and well into the future.”