Visitors get up close look on tours

By Philip Rushton
Hinton Parklander


With free summer Teck tours out to Cardinal River mining operations, small boys who dream in the sandbox with Tonka trucks can go to see men at work on the real machinery.

Even workers bring their families on the tours to show their children where daddy works.

"It's awe inspiring to look down into the pits which can be as deep as 60-100 metres, said Teck tour guide Lisa Burlet on her second year as a summer student.


Haul trucks carry 250 ton loads of coal and rocks back from the Cheviot sites to the processing plant 22 km down the road at 5-10km/h so heavy is the load.

Gigantic shovels which can lift 2.5 train-cars worth of rock and fill those huge trucks in two scoops is a sight to see.

"Those huge trucks look small in comparison next to the shovels," said Burlet. "When the driver pulled up beside the bus for people on the tour, it dwarfed the bus."

As people on the tour took photos with the truck, with 5 metre high tires which came up level with the charter bus's roof. The truck's driver cab is 12 meters up for visibility above the massive diesel electric generator for the tires.

On their 20-30 loads per 12-hour shift, the truck drivers basically drive from here to Toronto during their four day on, four day off work cycle.

"Drivers joke that the wildlife are deaf out there, they don't even flinch when trucks drive past," said Burlet,. "The animals are completely comfortable with our operation."

Looking after the land, the company is in the midst of reclamation process with a public access trail through inactive sites on the land out at Sphinx Lake.

There is also workers' safety in mind as Teck has been running a Courageous Safety Leadership program since 2007.


"It's encouraging a core value on a personal level because it's part of the job and part of the lifestyle," said Burlet.

As many workers stay on at the mines 30-35 years, including Burlet's father Mike who works as an site electrician, it's unique job.

"Coal is a super fine mineral and the dust gets on everything, even in the office on my phone and computer," said Burlet. It goes right down into the groves of your fingertips.

"You can know a coal miner by his hands."

As Burlet goes back to university for 3rd year of bachelor's of education, miners will continue 24/7 to pull coal out of the ground, like generations of their fathers did before them.

The tours will continue throughout August on Thursdays from 10am - 2pm and interested people should call the day ahead to register for the tour by phoning (780) 692-5180.


P.S. I didn't have enough time to take four hours out to the mines, but I had to look up some of these amazing machines for photos and sad for it.

As I was interviewing the tour-guide girl on the phone I kept thinking of  one of my favourite child-hood stories I made my mother read over and over again. Yes I played in the garden so guilty of inserting self in story, a no-no in j-school. MEH!

It struck me though that the machinery may have gotten bigger but there's still a guy down there doing his job. The men who move mountains haven't changed so I'll be honest I really loved the description the tour guide girl gave of her father's hands. It's connections like those that tell a story in a simple phrase.

PSS thanks for the photos from these sites:

http://coalgeology.com/red-hills-mine-in-ackerman-mississippi-surface-coal-mine-lignite/19473/
group tour, dump truck & shovel

http://www.greatdreams.com/war/future_already_written.htm
red 1928 steam shovel

http://www.tmeredithphoto.com/
hands