TIMMINS — Students from all over northeastern Ontario got a glimpse at what a future in mining could look like.
Northern College hosted the Laurentian University Goodman School of Mines for the MineOpportunity Games on March 26, inviting 120 students from Timmins, New Liskard, Kapuskasing, Iroquois Falls, and Kirkland Lake.
“The point of this is for them to learn about the mining sector and what is available in the region, not only from the mining side but also from the supplier side,” said organizer Marla Tremblay, the executive director of MineConnect, an industry organization representing mining service and supply companies from across the North.
“We have a dozen companies here providing a series of questions and an interactive activity.”
With the labour crunch, she said it’s a great opportunity for companies looking for staff as well.
“Awareness is a very important thing to do, to educate our youth about opportunities. People have perceptions about the industry because they don’t know, so we’re trying to help the companies change the message or get the message out about what they do and potentially gain future employees," she said.
Students participated in a board game that sent them around the Northern College gym and the surrounding area. They had to locate booths and ask questions or take part in an activity. Each booth earned them money that could be invested in exploration or stocks.
The team with the most money at the end wins.
“It’s a bit of a cross between Monopoly and the Amazing Race,” said Nicole Tardif, who came up with the game 25 years ago while teaching geology. “Find a booth, ask the question, remember the answer, and bring it back!”
Activities included getting dressed to work underground, a virtual reality fire extinguisher test and identifying minerals and rocks.
“It’s covering quite a bit of the mining industry,” said Tardif, the Goodman School of Mines' program coordinator.
During lunch, students and people working in the mining industries sat together. They learned what the students wanted and what the professionals could tell them about their different careers.
Students from Timmins High and Vocational School said it was an interesting way to learn more about what goes into work at a mine.
“We learned all about the mining experiences and different kinds and types of mining,” said Grade 9 student Rya Ambeau. “We also learned that you’re supposed to stretch before going into mining. I never thought about that.”
Her classmate, Paige Roberge, agreed.
“We learned about different kinds of rocks and how to put out a fire,” she said. “That was cool.”
The event started in Sudbury 20 years ago and has grown to cover many communities in Northern Ontario, including Timmins, North Bay, and Thunder Bay.
Tardif said they’re looking at the digital development of the board game to open the experience up further.
Both students said they weren’t looking at a future in mining for themselves, but the information and stories they heard during the event were really interesting.
“It’s cool. It just isn’t for me,” said Ambeau, who wants to be a sonographer.
