Young engineer seeking managerial position in the mining industry

[rifleman]

I worked for the infamous NorthEast Coal Project which is worth Googling by your son. The mining industry is largely headquartered in Vancouver, but many of them, plus Big Oil, are also in Calgary & Edmonton (also known as Ahd-man-chuk!). Perhaps the Vancouver Stock Market can provide you with a list of the various operating and successful resource development companies.

Be aware that your son's personal ethics as regards environmentally correct mining projects can be an issue in Canada, since the Federalés do not have very good legislation in those areas, and as well, enforcement is sketchy. I know: I am not only an engineer with hydrology/debris flow/runoff management experience at that site, but I'm also a biologist several degrees over. I saw, first-hand, as the on-site Environmental Coordinator during the time-sensitive construction period, plus similar experiences at the government Crown Corp, B.C. Hydro & Power Authority (doesn't that sound powerful?), the rampant disregard for any reasonable environmental management that got in the way of "resource development timetables" which were always touted as being so good, and necessary, for the economy. fine, but don't wreck things en-route.

I also contracted to Big Oil in Calgary (Houston North) to work in the Arctic, where there are indeed lots of jobs for those willing to wear all that nice cuddly winter gear!

http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2007/j...thpole11lg.jpg

(Q: but... uhmmm... how do you kiss your wifey goodbye in the morning?)

(Mod: this is just my two bits worth, and good luck to the OP's son! There's always a need for good, ethical young people in any such sensitive resource industry!

[Stubblejumper]

Originally Posted by pigeonhole

His specialization is hydrogeology so I guess wildly he could look for a job in the hydrology sector, I've sent him already hyperlinks with HydroQuebec.
Thanks for the advice anyway, but bear in mind he is just out of school and is only beginning his job seeking right now, which I acknowledge may take months!

The Canadian Land Reclamation Association usually has a pretty extensive list of hydrogeology related jobs on their website.

[rifleman]

Going back to my previous suggestion, I thought more about them and wanted to add in some info for you.

Some years ago (in the late '70s and the '80s) B.C. Hydroelectric & Power Authority had a staff of over 1600 engineers as I recall, all crammed into their downtown HQ building. They had about, oh, ten proposed MACRO-hydroelectric projects in their heads then, most of which have probably been scrapped due to their significant socio-economic impacts and staggering effects on riverine ecology, fish spawning disruptions (that's like calling Hiroshima as a "slight" community "disruption" event...). Look up "B.C. Hydro, Site C" for an example.

But as well, I know they have since taken on the concept of small river "Micro-Hydro" hydro plants, run-of-river stuff, even local turbine wheel setups for the many many B.C. tiny communities who have relied for years on in-situ diesel plants, whose fuel costs and transportation to the generator site have grown. I did the overall environmental impacts & mitigation work on the Bella-Coola small hydro project in, oh I'd say it was 1980 or so? Here.... let me look here on the all-knowing, all-seeing Web...

WOW! They have put in place a technology I was completely unaware of! Hydrogen fuel cells! They also mention other micro-hydro projects too. Boy, am I gettin' old or what?

ARCHIVED - Fuel cells bring clean power to remote B.C. community

As well, when I Googled Bella Coola , the web returned a lot of other related stuff on projects at Clayton Falls, etc. etc. Check them out. A good potential for you to be scrambling around rocks, scratching them with your knife and yelling out, to no-one in particular, "Huzzah! It's quartzite!"!! Or going on free "helo" rides and checking out digitized laptop stored geo-maps and all! Stuff that we geologists get all...excited... about!

Well, best to read up on all of it: the geology work in such mountainous terrain is not insignificant! Then, if you are interested, PM me and I'll try to get in touch with whoever might still work there who also might remember me. If , that is, they don't slam down the phone when they hear my name: "Damn! It's that pesky environmentalist/engineer guy from the '80s! Who'dah thunk he'd ever show up again?"

Seriously. Give me a DM if you want an intro (Phone no. & name) @ BCHPA.