Ted Tsetta spent close to 30 years working at various Northern mines.
He was employed by Subarctic Welding when he heard from a recruiter at the Polaris zinc mine on Little Cornwallis Island, approximately 100 kilometres north of Resolute Bay, in what is now Nunavut (it was still the Northwest Territories at the time).
SA国际影视传媒淚 got a call and I said, SA国际影视传媒楽ure, ISA国际影视传媒檒l go,SA国际影视传媒� ISA国际影视传媒檓 not going to hesitate in the mining industry,SA国际影视传媒� Tsetta says. SA国际影视传媒淚 took that chance right off the bat.SA国际影视传媒�
He remembers his first day of work as a labourer at Polaris was Oct. 5, 1981. He was 19 and pulling in more than $3,000 every two weeks.
SA国际影视传媒淚 got so interested because I grew up in the mines,SA国际影视传媒� Tsetta recalls, referring to the Discovery gold mine, about 85 km northeast of Yellowknife, in an area where his father used to hunt, fish and trap.
In the early 1980s, Tsetta embarked on a mining career with little related training but plenty of ambition. These days, employees require a wealth of safety certifications.
SA国际影视传媒淏ack then you were just given a shovel and SA国际影视传媒楬ere you go. Go dig,SA国际影视传媒橲A国际影视传媒� he says, laughing.
Several years later, he moved over to Con Mine, where he toiled in the assay lab and helped pour gold.
SA国际影视传媒淚 was home every day at 4 oSA国际影视传媒檆lock,SA国际影视传媒� he says of the siteSA国际影视传媒檚 close proximity to Yellowknife.
From there, he went to Treminco ResourcesSA国际影视传媒� Ptarmigan underground gold mine.
But then his voice grows sombre as he tells of an accident that took the life of a co-worker. A pump caught fire 137 metres below the surface and the carbon monoxide overwhelmed the miner.
SA国际影视传媒淲e lost a good friend of ours,SA国际影视传媒� he recalls. SA国际影视传媒淚t was never the same after that.SA国际影视传媒�
Tsetta then ventured back up to the High Arctic, taking a job at the Nanisivik lead-zinc mine near Arctic Bay from 1991 to SA国际影视传媒�95. He drove a truck and worked as an underground blaster. While at Nanisivik, he attained rescue certification.
SA国际影视传媒淲orking at different mines, you get to know underground, surface and the whole operation of the mining industry,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淭he best part of mining back then was hands-on experience. You could do your practical (testing) after that because once you know what youSA国际影视传媒檙e doing underground or surface, writing your exam is easy, itSA国际影视传媒檚 just so easy.SA国际影视传媒�
In 1996, he got another call from Polaris asking him to return. He did, until the mine shut down in 2002.
He wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 alone. He says 34 other members of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation also worked at the mine.
SA国际影视传媒淲e kept hiring our friends,SA国际影视传媒� he recalls. SA国际影视传媒淚 went there first and then I got my colleague (hired)SA国际影视传媒� ItSA国际影视传媒檚 opportunity that the company gave us and we took advantage of itSA国际影视传媒� It was like a family operation. It was the best mine in the world.SA国际影视传媒�
In a 1994 paper titled Participation of the Aboriginal Community in the Canadian Minerals Industry, author D.L. Johnston notes that the workforce at Polaris mine comprised 10 to 15 per cent Indigenous employees over the life of the mine.
SA国际影视传媒淢ore Northerners than southerners have been hired, but most cannot tolerate the family separation and do not stay long. One exception which both surprises and gratifies me is that a contingent of Yellowknife Indians have remained on the payroll for many years,SA国际影视传媒� Johnston wrote.
Tsetta didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have a wife or children to raise, so the burden of being away from home wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 as great. He witnessed the effects of such sacrifices on other miners, however.
SA国际影视传媒淚 seen lots of marriage breaking up at Nanisivik and Polaris,SA国际影视传媒� he says, pointing out that it was sometimes 10 to 13 weeks of straight work at the remote sites SA国际影视传媒� 12-hour shifts, six days a week. SA国际影视传媒淪o a lot of people got divorced from their spouses. It was a long, long contract. The reason why it was like that was because of the cost to fly up NorthSA国际影视传媒� back when we were mining, it was so expensive. We used to fly up with PWA, Pacific Western Airlines.SA国际影视传媒�
For Tsetta, his co-workers at these remote locations were essentially his family. He felt welcomed and respected, he says.
SA国际影视传媒淲e were like brothers and sisters up there. You have no choice. You gotta work with them,SA国际影视传媒� he says, acknowledging that there was the occasional SA国际影视传媒渙ddball,SA国际影视传媒� but those who caused fights or abused alcohol were sent home.
Others departed by choice.
SA国际影视传媒淪ome people didnSA国际影视传媒檛 even last a week or two weeks. It was quite hard on them. They couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 do it,SA国际影视传媒� Tsetta recalls. SA国际影视传媒淭hey said, no, get me back on a plane. I seen a lot of stuff like that.SA国际影视传媒�
He later wound up at the Diavik diamond mine for eight years, where he attained his underground common COR safety certification while working in cementation.
SA国际影视传媒淵ou go as far as you can,SA国际影视传媒� he says of his ongoing learning.
He added that heSA国际影视传媒檚 happy that the NWT Mine Training Society exists now to provide training for young residents of the territory.
SA国际影视传媒楲earning skills and making good moneySA国际影视传媒�
Joanasie Akumalik, an Iqaluit resident, worked at Nanisivik in the mid-1980s while he was living in Arctic Bay, a half-hourSA国际影视传媒檚 drive away from the industrial site.
He started out as a labourer and then left for a couple of years to upgrade his skills at a Winnipeg college. He became a welder. Then he returned to Nansivik in his new role as a tradesperson.
He grew up watching his father follow a similar upward trajectory. His dad was a janitor at Nanisivik and when he became a senior employee, he was able to go through a certification program to be recognized as a custodial engineer, according to Akumalik.
SA国际影视传媒淭hat allowed him to do his job better and earn more money,SA国际影视传媒� he recalls, adding that several of his family members worked at Nanisivik since the 1950s.
Mine life agreed with Akumalik, too.
SA国际影视传媒淚 enjoyed it because I was earning income, and the income was really good,SA国际影视传媒� he recalls. SA国际影视传媒淭hey provided good benefits like free cargo and free trips to southern Canada, so it was all good. They fed us. They gave us accommodation, recreation.SA国际影视传媒�
If he were approached today by young people with interest in pursuing a mining career, he knows what he would tell them.
SA国际影视传媒淚 would encourage them because nowadays, having income is more important to some young people,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淚 would encourage them to further their education and learn a skill, like a trade.SA国际影视传媒�
The mineSA国际影视传媒檚 workforce comprised approximately 70 per cent southerners and 30 per cent Northerners, he estimates.
SA国际影视传媒淭he working relationship was really good because we just worked together,SA国际影视传媒� says Akumalik. SA国际影视传媒淵ou put in hours, you work and then after hours you have recreation. It was a good community.SA国际影视传媒�
Staff from Arctic Bay had the privilege of choosing whether to be driven back and forth to the job site each day or to stay at camp. Akumalik, who was living on his own back then, preferred the latter.
SA国际影视传媒淎nd I donSA国际影视传媒檛 have to get up too early,SA国际影视传媒� he says of the perks of remaining on site.
Like Tsetta, Akumalik was aware of a few miners losing their lives on the job. However, he says there were messages regularly posted on bulletin boards about the number of days since the last accident and other reminders about proper procedures.
SA国际影视传媒淚 felt safe there because they gave us the proper equipment and resources,SA国际影视传媒� he says. SA国际影视传媒淚t felt like every month we had to go through a drillSA国际影视传媒� and it was mandatory that we take St. John (Ambulance) certification every now and then. They were really good on safety.SA国际影视传媒�
The community was generally accepting of the mine while it was operational as it was pumping about $1.3 million in payroll earnings into the community, Akumalik estimates.
SA国际影视传媒淧eople were learning skills and making good money. That allowed them to buy houses or boats or Ski-Doos, ATVs, things like that. It was a good trade-off,SA国际影视传媒� he says.
When it came time for closure, the story changed, Akumalik remembers. Environmentally, he and others became painfully aware of the hazards that a mine can pose when itSA国际影视传媒檚 neglected upon shutdown. Garbage was left lying around and there were fuel spills.
SA国际影视传媒淚t was unfortunate,SA国际影视传媒� he says, adding that Inuit were not in control of any aspect of Nanisivik other than being hired as workers, whereas today, Inuit organizations have a much greater say in setting mining policy.
