Saskatchewan Mining Week: Northlands student sees opportunity in mining
- Kaitlynn Nordal | May 27, 2019
Keith Halkett was looking at the bulletin board at Northlands College in La Ronge and saw an ad for The Exploration & Mining Engineering Technician Diploma. The program prepares you for opportunities in the mining industry. Seeing lots of opportunity in the future for a good career in the north, Halkett applied to get ready to be a geological or mine technician, surveyos, assayer, metallurgical technician or process or mill operators.
Chris Best teaches Halkett AutoCAD and Microsoft Office Applications. His first impression of his new student was that he was pretty quiet. “It turned out he was an ideal student, dedicated, driven,” Best said. “On the first day of school I always ask my students why they are here. Keith simply said that he was a student and was there to learn.”
Halkett, a resident of La Ronge, enjoys his AutoCAD class the most, as he likes the hands-on learning of how to design and make things in the engineering side of the program. “I like how diverse it is,” he said when speaking about his course. “It encompasses all the aspects of the mining industry. It’s a challenging program. I'd recommend it to anyone that is looking to apply themselves. When I first started out in this program, I did not have a whole lot of school work ethic but now I study every day.”
For people who may not already have knowledge of the mining and geological field, Halkett thinks one of the biggest challenges to the course is simply memorizing and trying to remember all the different terms that go into it.
Upon completing their diploma, graduates can complete two more years of study with Athabasca University to earn a Bachelor of Science degree or can go into the Bachelor of Mining Engineering Technology degree program from Queen’s University.
After graduating this summer, Halkett hopes to take advantage of this opportunity and get into online courses through Queen’s College and upgrade to a full degree in this field and move up in the mining industry.
“I think he has a bright future and a good career ahead of him,” Best said.
This summer Halkett will be putting his education to use and working at Gunnar Mine doing reclamation work.