Who can resist the human story that shines through the screen of a well compiled website?  I cannot, so here is one site that epitomizes the human story and that is thankfully free of the guff that too often spoils things.  What follows is a cut & paste with heavy edit from their site to tell you the story that fascinated me.  This is, however, still Mr. Skinner’s voice.

I’ve been in mining since I was 12 years old pushing ore carts in my father’s mine. I learned the mining industry from the ground up. After high school I graduated from the Mackay School of Mines.  I have nospent over 50 years in the industry.

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Here is a brief survey of wages  - are you earning enoughand salaries in Canadian mines in 2006.  Hope this helps you in getting the 2007 remuneration you deserve and merit.   The information comes via kind favor of Jennifer Leinart of Cost Mine whose compilation Canadian Mine Salaries, Wages & Benefits 2006 Survey Results provides all the data you could ever need.  

Surface mine electricians are doing best.  Their salary range is $22.50 to $41.35.   Mechanics do pretty well with a range of $14.70 to $41.35.  And so do heavy equipment operators who start at $13.50 but can also earn as much as the top-paid electrician and mechanic.   One almost begins to pity the drill operators with an average hourly wage of $24.84, the truck driver at $21.61, and particularly the laborer who starts at $8.50 and can earn upto $24.58 for an average of $18.07.  I mean, $8.50 is probably a lot less than the average grocery store shelf stocker.  No wonder the mines say they cannot find workers. 

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The most interesting question asked of me regarding global warming is:  As a consultant, how can I make money providing advice to the mining industry relevant to global warming?   Here is my simple mining answer.

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