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Hectic initial year for mining school

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.

Rob Penner has one word to sum up the first year of operations at the Northern Manitoba Mining Academy. 'Exhausting,' said Penner, acting director of the small but innovative learning institute. The adjective certainly fits. Since officially opening in September 2012, the academy has trained 40-plus students without even factoring in shorter, safety-related courses. Students have taken hands-on learning in diamond drilling, mineral sciences and field skills. Some of the students in the mineral exploration technician class didn't bother finishing the course, but with good reason: they were able to find jobs in their field. Starting next week, the academy will begin offering underground mining training utilizing an electronic simulator that mimics subterranean equipment. Most courses rely on partnerships with industry and other schools given the academy's limited budget and staff. Thomas Ross of Sandy Bay, a student in the current mineral technician program, is excited about his future in this career. 'It's travelling _ that's a good reason right there (to enter the field),' he told the Winnipeg Free Press. 'I've never been out of Saskatchewan, except for Flin Flon.' See 'Most' on pg. Continued from pg. As a First Nations student, Ross has plenty of company. Of the students to have attended the academy so far, an estimated 75 per cent have been aboriginal. Some have come from as far away as Pukatawagan, Norway House, Cumberland House and Opaskwayak Cree Nation. The influx of students from throughout the region has created a dilemma: where do all of them stay? So far the students have been residing at the Northlands College dorm in Creighton, while others stay at the Friendship Centre hostel. 'We're basically scrambling to put them up wherever we can,' Penner said. 'It's not an ideal situation, but we're also sort of in a catch 22 _ not quite having enough students that you can afford to have a residence, but without a residence you can't keep attracting students.' Given the strong interest from aboriginal students, Penner has fielded requests from First Nations to have programming offered right in their communities, but he's not sure that is always the best approach. 'I think we can entertain doing community-based programming, absolutely,' he said. 'But it's not the end-all. I would really like to see us doing that to build some knowledge of what is out there within the community, but then having programming (in Flin Flon) or in Thompson or wherever. 'But forcing somebody to move out of their community for a period of time, whether that's a short period or a longer period, (makes sense) so that they're better prepared for the fact that they're going to have to go where the work is. The work isn't coming to them unless they're fortunate enough to live in a community (where) their economic plan dictates that they would like to develop something.' Such debates aside, the 3,500-sq-ft academy is forging a strong reputation within the field of mining education. That includes involvement in academic research on topics such as geophysics and the formation of ore bodies. There has also been plenty of work and cooperation with other colleges and universities. Penner wants the academy's profile to continue growing, but at a manageable pace. 'I don't want us to expand so fast that we can't support what we're doing, and that's part of my concern with even what we're doing now,' he said. Penner said a positive article on the academy that appeared in Monday's Free Press is a mixed blessing. 'This news in the Free Press is wonderful,' he said. 'But I know what's going to happen is that the phone is going to start ringing because people throughout the province are going say, 'Well can you do this, can you do that?' and that sort of stuff. All of which may be really neat opportunities, but until we get enough resources I don't even want to fool people into thinking that we can go out and do all these (other) things. Because just doing what we're doing now is keeping us going full tilt.' Which isn't to say that everything has gone according to plan at the academy, situated on Hart Avenue near the Whitney Forum. Plans for a first-year geology course through the University of Manitoba were abandoned due to a lack of demand. As a replacement, Penner is now looking at a dual-credit course in partnership with Hapnot, which already sends its mineral sciences students to the academy. Such partnerships help ensure area youth keep the academy in mind when planning for life after high school. To further that awareness, Penner will continue promoting the academy to junior high and high school students, more than 400 of whom have already attended events at the academy. 'One of the students that we've got here now was actually here three times with various school groups (before enrolling),' Penner said. 'That helped her make her decision that this is where she wanted to come.'

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