7 - Trades, Transport & Equipment Operators

I got started in mining as an underground mine helper. Next I moved up to working with the skips and cage, which were two separate jobs at the time and they later combined them.

Then I was a crusher operator, which involved blasting. I also drove trucks for awhile, and operated the scoop to fill holes and work with the muck piles.

Note: A skip is a compartment or bin that is used to hoist ore up a mine shaft. A cage is similar to an elevator hoisting workers and materials up and down mine shafts. A muck pile is the blasted rock in a mine operation.