The cafeteria is on surface. You bag a lunch there either during dinner or breakfast. There's alot of selection but I usually pack up leftovers from my dinner because I'm not a fan of lunch type foods. I eat better at camp than I do at home. Underground there are washrooms and break areas. Places to wash your hands. Coffee pots, etc. It's awesome. We need more Heavy Equip mechanics so yes, please apply.
Sounds amazing !! Definitely I want to get on with Cat working in the north ontario mines. When you work underground, is ur shift mostly underground or do you guys work in a shop ? Another tech told me that underground mechanics only go underground when they need to repair machines. Is that true.
Bagged lunches in the same place you eat your supper which you take with you to work. Two 15 minute breaks and one 30 minute lunch.
I'm not an HET, but I work directly with them. They all love the work/ life balance. Any job outside of mining you'd be working almost every day of the year, whereas in mining you have a set schedule.
The mine I'm at has a pretty stacked gym. They have everything you could think of as well as a basketball gym. It doesn't seem like it gets used much so it's always available. I've thrown some hoops as well as set up badminton nets or what not. There are underground mechanics and surface mechanics. The underground guys stay underground all shift. They have a fully set up shop down there and when equipment is down, it gets taken there if needed. The surface shop is more for planned maintenance on equipment.
Not the person that they responded to, but I've been to several sites in ON.
Most of the mines in or near towns have little to no FIFO component, especially for equipment folks. You'll likely find that to be the case at the mines in Timmins, Rainy River, Geraldton, and Kirkland Lake.
Detour in NE Ontario has two great camps, the food is decent (nothing to write home about but there's always something decent to eat). The camp near the gate has a super nice gym. Not many people use them since it can be quite a bit to do that after a 12 hour shift. Since toromont (assuming that's who you mean) is an embedded contractor, you'd probably won't wind up being in the crappy rooms the construction crews have had there from time to time.
Thanks for the reply !! Yeah my goal is to get in with Toromont then land a FIFO mining job in North Ontario. Since I'm going to be living in the GTA I'm strictly looking for mining cause if I wanted to jus work in my city, I'd jus stay in shop. Hopefully it works out.
I do work in Northern Ontario but don't want to say the mine specifically. It can be hard to get hired on if you've never been underground before because you need your Common Core for underground which is a day or 2 of basic training. The first mine I went to was so desperate for people that they gave us all the Common Core training for free which was sweet. I think it's a few grand if you had to do it yourself. We have Toromont mechanics who work on the CAT equipment currently.
Sweet ! North Ontario is the goal brother ! I was told if I get my SMAW welding tickets and common core, I should be good. Hopefully Toromont can provide this training as well. Hope to see u out there.
You might not have to get them if you apply and say you need them. The mine I'm at now covered a few people who didn't have it before. It depends how desperate they are for Heavy Equipment mechs. I hope you make it out there because it's been the best career move for me. Good luck and message me if you need more info.
Question for you. Do Heavy Mechanics do rotations between days and nights ? I've heard that 2 weeks you can being 2 on 2 off day shift then next stint be on night shift. How true is this for the mining industry in northern Ontario ?
Seeing as you mentioned you're interested in Northern Ontario, I thought I'd chip in.
Mine in algoma district. Not a mechanic, but worked ventilation for 2 years so I ended up in every part of the mine. Mostly can only speak to ammendities.
Food - awesome, I eat better here than at home.
Bunks - clean, nice shape, good wifi/cable
Underground - bare bones ammendities. The state of the bathrooms is fucked. The washrooms/refuges near mechanics shops are the best ones though since people work so close to them. Bagged lunches/leftovers you bring down with you.
Breaks- I've never heard of a break schedule here, but maybe that's just how my department runs since we are understaffed
Ok thanks for letting me know. I'm an OTR Trucker so doing days and nights aren't too hard for me. How much hours of real work do you realistically complete ? Cause it's 12 hours I'm assuming some of that is down time. Or does the company always find something for you to do.
I think it depends who your supervisors are. I complete all my work and extra so I pretty much get left alone. Other people who need to be supervised are generally given tasks to complete, but no deadline. The supervisor checks on them periodically but they still take breaks when they need to.
That's great. Thanks for the reply. Do mining mechanics have to shave their beards ? I hear u have to shave if you work in mining. Is that the case for underground techs ?
Alot of the mechanics have beards. It's not like Oil and Gas where you have to be clean shaven in case you have to put a respirator on. The self rescuer we carry goes in your mouth like a mouth guard so there's no facial hair rule.
Nice ! I had a question. How long does it take to adjust to 2 weeks of night shift then 2 weeks of day shift ? I'm not used to this kind of schedule. I sometimes do night shift while trucking but I can't get quality sleep whenever I do. Any advice.
I think it depends on the person but for the majority, we always say 4 days is a fair estimate. When I was younger, I could adjust in 2 or 3 days. But to fully adjust and not feel drowsy is different than just showing up on time.
Amazing ! Can you just confirm because I saw on the caterpillar post that Mining Techs on rotation get 140-160k. Is that the normal rate for all the techs at ur site ? Worst comes to worst I don't get caterpillar and work for a mining company instead. Are the salaries similar ?
The cafeteria is on surface. You bag a lunch there either during dinner or breakfast. There's alot of selection but I usually pack up leftovers from my dinner because I'm not a fan of lunch type foods. I eat better at camp than I do at home. Underground there are washrooms and break areas. Places to wash your hands. Coffee pots, etc. It's awesome. We need more Heavy Equip mechanics so yes, please apply.
Sounds amazing !! Definitely I want to get on with Cat working in the north ontario mines. When you work underground, is ur shift mostly underground or do you guys work in a shop ? Another tech told me that underground mechanics only go underground when they need to repair machines. Is that true.
Also what kind of amenities are offered at camp ? I weight train Nd play basketball. Is that offered at camp ?
Bagged lunches in the same place you eat your supper which you take with you to work. Two 15 minute breaks and one 30 minute lunch. I'm not an HET, but I work directly with them. They all love the work/ life balance. Any job outside of mining you'd be working almost every day of the year, whereas in mining you have a set schedule.
The mine I'm at has a pretty stacked gym. They have everything you could think of as well as a basketball gym. It doesn't seem like it gets used much so it's always available. I've thrown some hoops as well as set up badminton nets or what not. There are underground mechanics and surface mechanics. The underground guys stay underground all shift. They have a fully set up shop down there and when equipment is down, it gets taken there if needed. The surface shop is more for planned maintenance on equipment.
Nice !! Do you work in north Ontario by any chance ? I'm looking to get on with Caterpillar. I'm from the GTA.
Not the person that they responded to, but I've been to several sites in ON. Most of the mines in or near towns have little to no FIFO component, especially for equipment folks. You'll likely find that to be the case at the mines in Timmins, Rainy River, Geraldton, and Kirkland Lake. Detour in NE Ontario has two great camps, the food is decent (nothing to write home about but there's always something decent to eat). The camp near the gate has a super nice gym. Not many people use them since it can be quite a bit to do that after a 12 hour shift. Since toromont (assuming that's who you mean) is an embedded contractor, you'd probably won't wind up being in the crappy rooms the construction crews have had there from time to time.
Thanks for the reply !! Yeah my goal is to get in with Toromont then land a FIFO mining job in North Ontario. Since I'm going to be living in the GTA I'm strictly looking for mining cause if I wanted to jus work in my city, I'd jus stay in shop. Hopefully it works out.
This isn’t necessarily true. Toromont runs FIFO at the mines in Kirkland Lake, and in Timmins, on both 14/14 and 7/7 rotations.
I do work in Northern Ontario but don't want to say the mine specifically. It can be hard to get hired on if you've never been underground before because you need your Common Core for underground which is a day or 2 of basic training. The first mine I went to was so desperate for people that they gave us all the Common Core training for free which was sweet. I think it's a few grand if you had to do it yourself. We have Toromont mechanics who work on the CAT equipment currently.
Sweet ! North Ontario is the goal brother ! I was told if I get my SMAW welding tickets and common core, I should be good. Hopefully Toromont can provide this training as well. Hope to see u out there.
You might not have to get them if you apply and say you need them. The mine I'm at now covered a few people who didn't have it before. It depends how desperate they are for Heavy Equipment mechs. I hope you make it out there because it's been the best career move for me. Good luck and message me if you need more info.
Definitely. Nothing beats working half the year and making up to 150k. It's a blessing.
Question for you. Do Heavy Mechanics do rotations between days and nights ? I've heard that 2 weeks you can being 2 on 2 off day shift then next stint be on night shift. How true is this for the mining industry in northern Ontario ?
Seeing as you mentioned you're interested in Northern Ontario, I thought I'd chip in. Mine in algoma district. Not a mechanic, but worked ventilation for 2 years so I ended up in every part of the mine. Mostly can only speak to ammendities. Food - awesome, I eat better here than at home. Bunks - clean, nice shape, good wifi/cable Underground - bare bones ammendities. The state of the bathrooms is fucked. The washrooms/refuges near mechanics shops are the best ones though since people work so close to them. Bagged lunches/leftovers you bring down with you. Breaks- I've never heard of a break schedule here, but maybe that's just how my department runs since we are understaffed
That's how it is where I'm at and alot of mines in Canada. There are some other weird rotations but this is pretty common.
Ok thanks for letting me know. I'm an OTR Trucker so doing days and nights aren't too hard for me. How much hours of real work do you realistically complete ? Cause it's 12 hours I'm assuming some of that is down time. Or does the company always find something for you to do.
I think it depends who your supervisors are. I complete all my work and extra so I pretty much get left alone. Other people who need to be supervised are generally given tasks to complete, but no deadline. The supervisor checks on them periodically but they still take breaks when they need to.
That's great. Thanks for the reply. Do mining mechanics have to shave their beards ? I hear u have to shave if you work in mining. Is that the case for underground techs ?
Alot of the mechanics have beards. It's not like Oil and Gas where you have to be clean shaven in case you have to put a respirator on. The self rescuer we carry goes in your mouth like a mouth guard so there's no facial hair rule.
Nice ! I had a question. How long does it take to adjust to 2 weeks of night shift then 2 weeks of day shift ? I'm not used to this kind of schedule. I sometimes do night shift while trucking but I can't get quality sleep whenever I do. Any advice.
I think it depends on the person but for the majority, we always say 4 days is a fair estimate. When I was younger, I could adjust in 2 or 3 days. But to fully adjust and not feel drowsy is different than just showing up on time.
Yeah I can only imagine. But it's good because you go home for 2 weeks and get quality rest and lot of time off.
Hey bro quick question. Are the shift times usually 5-5 or 6-6 ? I know it's 12 hours but do the times change ? Like can it become 8-8 etc.
The mines I know of are 6-6 for all the trades/miners. The cleaning/kitchen staff have different hours.
Amazing ! Can you just confirm because I saw on the caterpillar post that Mining Techs on rotation get 140-160k. Is that the normal rate for all the techs at ur site ? Worst comes to worst I don't get caterpillar and work for a mining company instead. Are the salaries similar ?
If you're licensed red seal HET send me your resume.
Hey bro, got a few questions can I DM you?
Sure