Apollo Gold Training Sixteen (16) Wahgoshig residents to work underground;
timminspress.com
Thomas Perry Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 10:00
Local News - Residents of Wahgoshig First Nation, 42 kilometres east of Matheson, have begun enjoying the benefits that community elders envisioned when they signed a memorandum of understanding with Apollo Gold in January.
Sixteen members of the First Nation are currently taking basic underground hard rock mining training at Apollo's Black Fox mine.
Dean Dell'Elce, the company's site supervisor and safety and training officer, is teaching the program that will lead to provincial certification for the future miners.
"When they have completed the training, they will be certified to work underground," Dell'Elce said.
"The training they are receiving involves classroom sessions, as well as underground training, and at the end there will be an exam." The course is made up of three modules - induction procedures, general inspection and scaling.
"Since many of them don't have a background in the industry, we are getting into the language of mining, as well as identifying hazards and learning what to do about them," Dell'Elce said.
"There is also a lot of health and safety training, WHMIS and things like that."
Sky Chokomolin stands out from the other 15 students enrolled in the training because she is the only female currently taking part in the training.
"I have been interested in mining for a while," she said.
"I am confident that I can do the work as well as any man."
Chokomolin is serious about pursuing a career in the mining industry and hopes to attend Cambrian College after she has completed the course being offered through Apollo Gold.
She is the first member of her family to get involved in the mining industry, and she hopes to someday become a diamond driller.
"I would certainly encourage other female Wahgoshig members to get involved in this training program in the future," Chokomolin told The Daily Press.
That's a feeling Dell'Elce shares, as well.
"Back when I first began my career in the mining industry (10 years ago) you almost never saw a female working underground," he said.
"Now it isn't all that uncommon and in fact our senior geologist here is a woman."
Student George Sackaney, meanwhile, spent some time working as a line cutter and staking claims in his younger days.
"I thought I would try something new and the mining industry is booming," he said. "This is a good opportunity, we are surrounded by mines and it's good to see our band members getting this chance."
Paul McKenzie is no stranger to the industry, having spent 10 years working at a pair of mines in the area.
The Wahgoshig member is in a unique situation, however, when it comes to the training program.
He is helping Dell'Elce to teach the program and his son, Paul Jr., is one of the students.
"I think this (involvement of First Nation people in the mining industry) has been a long time coming," he said.
"I am glad to see my people getting training in the industry. I think this is going to be the future of our young kids."
Maurice J. Kistavish, Wahgoshig's program manager for lands and resources, sees a two-fold benefit to the memorandum of understanding.
"There's the employment thing," he said. "But there's also having a say about what's going on in our own backyard and being full participants."
The training program had originally been set up for 10 students, but the high demand resulted in it being expanded to accommodate 16 students, split into two groups.
Both Dell'Elce and Kistavish expect that training will be offered to more Wahgoshig residents at some point in the future.
Dell'Elce is also confident that Apollo will provide further training to allow those taking the program to upgrade to a full common-core certification.
Because the Black Fox mine is not currently in production, Apollo Gold is not currently able to offer the explosive training that would be necessary for full common core certification at this point. The memorandum of understanding with Apollo Gold is the third such arrangement for Wahgoshig, which signed similar deals with Abitibi Consolidated in 2000 and with Tembec in 2003. |
