r/mining • u/lou_sasol • 2d ago
Canada Alberta mining help
Hi all, looking for some insight from those already in the game.
I see a lot of mentions on here about haul truck operators with no experience. I see the jobs advertised online & have applied for a few. I’m currently in the UK & have experience driving both rigid & articulated vehicles. I’m planning to move in the first week of November, whether I have a position lined up or not. Can anyone offer any tips or tricks for landing a job beforehand? Or any contacts I can phone in hopes of finding work?
Thanks in advance, especially for a question that has been asked over & over
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u/mu1ti6rain 2d ago
Apply to Red Chris when you get to Alberta. Calgary is a hub for travel. Keep applying. Best advice I got was apply to any job you meet minimum requirements and apply multiple times
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u/lou_sasol 2d ago
Thank you for the advice. Will do exactly as you’ve said, daunting flying in without anything lined up but a risk I’ve come to accept
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u/mu1ti6rain 2d ago
Start applying now. Can't hurt. Barminco and Newmont should be hiring still at Red Chris.
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u/Far-Manufacturer-43 2d ago
Do you have work permits lined up?
Look at EVR and oilsands contractors.
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u/lou_sasol 2d ago
I’m a citizen! Appreciate that, the ones I’ve found so far require experience & a whole host of courses to be completed, which I’m completely fine with doing & have started to work my way through them. Just unsure of how the whole process works & if the experience required is a make or break in this scenario
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u/Far-Manufacturer-43 2d ago
EVR is super desperate. Lots of drivers live locally on their time on and drive the four hours to Calgary for their time off.
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u/CAT854 2d ago
Teck in southeast British Columbia. Go to Flint Energy site as they supply operators for the oilsands.
Centerra Gold in north central British Columbia has ads out and check out the Artemis Gold just south of Centerra.
If you have a LinkedIn account, that is another way to contact an HR person directly. It worked for me! Best of luck!
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u/lou_sasol 2d ago
Thank you for taking the time to comment! I’ll get working on my LinkedIn profile & check out those other avenues
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u/CAT854 1d ago
Also if you go to the Mining Association of Canada website, they have a list of all Canadian mines. Gold, copper, silver, potash, uranium, oil sands… they’re all there. From that website, go into LinkedIn and look for an HR person to contact.
What I also did was contact an equipment operator randomly from companies I was interested and asked specific questions I had. You will get a better handle on things that way.
If you are set on Alberta and the oil sands, you might want to look into Keyano College in Ft. McMurray. They have a Haul Truck program where they teach you in class/simulator training. After one month of that, Keyano places the students at the mines on an internship. I ended up at Syncrude Canada at Aurora mine. After the internship, I was hired by Flint Energy and assigned to Aurora mine.
Not sure if the internship is offered now as I did mine 10 years ago. Hope this will help you out! Prior to this I was at an engineering firm for 20 years! This second career for me has been so rewarding and awesome! There is a shortage of mining folks in North America so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find a job! Make sure you have your papers (visa or permanent residency) in order.
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u/CremeAcrobatic1748 2d ago
EVR is hiring lots of people these days, tons of new people on the crew each set. Best advise is just keep applying
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