The History Of Coal Usage

Coal was initially used as a domestic fuel, until the industrial revolution, when coal became an integral part of manufacturing for creating electricity, transportation, heating and molding purposes. The large scale mining aspect of coal was introduced around the 18th century, and Britain was the first nation to successfully use advanced coal mining techniques, which involved underground excavation and mining.

Initially coal was scraped off the surface by different processes like drift and shaft mining. This has been done for centuries, and since the demand was quite low, these mining processes were more than enough to accommodate the demand in the market.

However, when the practical uses of using coal as fuel sparked industrial revolution, the demand for coal rose abruptly, leading to severe shortage of the coal output, gradually paving the way for new ways to extract coal from under the ground.

Coal became a popular fuel for all purposes, even to this day, due to their abundance and their ability to produce more energy per mass than other conventional solid fuels like wood. This was important as far as transportation, creating electricity and manufacturing processes are concerned, which allowed industries to use up less space and increase productivity. The usage of coal started to dwindle once alternate energies such as oil and gas began to be used in almost all processes, however, coal is still a primary fuel source for manufacturing processes to this day.

The Process Of Coal Mining

Extracting coal is a difficult and complex process. Coal is a natural resource, a fossil fuel that is a result of millions of years of decay of plants and living organisms under the ground. Some can be found on the surface, while other coal deposits are found deep underground.

Coal mining or extraction comes broadly in two different processes, surface mining, and deep excavation. The method of excavation depends on a number of different factors, such as the depth of the coal deposit below the ground, geological factors such as soil composition, topography, climate, available local resources, etc.

Surface mining is used to scrape off coal that is available on the surface, or just a few feet underground. This can even include mountains of coal deposit, which is extracted by using explosives and blowing up the mountains, later collecting the fragmented coal and process them.

Deep underground mining makes use of underground tunnels, which is built, or dug through, to reach the center of the coal deposit, from where the coal is dug out and brought to the surface by coal workers. This is perhaps the most dangerous excavation procedure, where the lives of all the miners are constantly at a risk.

Investing In Coal

Investing in coal is a safe bet. There are still large reserves of coal deposits around the world, and due to the popularity, coal will be continued to be used as fuel for manufacturing process. Every piece of investment you make in any sort of industry or a manufacturing process ultimately depends on the amount of output the industry can deliver, which is dependent on the usage of any form of fuel, and in most cases, coal.

One might argue that coal usage leads to pollution and lower standards of hygiene for coal workers. This was arguably true in former years; however, newer coal mining companies are taking steps to assure that the environmental aspects of coal mining and usage are kept minimized, all the while providing better working environment and benefits package for their workers. If you can find a mining company that promises all these, and the one that also works within the law, you can be assured safety for your investments in coal.

There are projects for a further 70,000 workers needed in the mining industry in Australia over the next ten years. Now is as good time as any to get into the lucrative mining in industry in Australia. There is a demand for skilled and unskilled workers which has seen a dramatic increase in wages over the years.

Western Australia has most of the action with over 200 mines in gold, uranium, nickel, and iron Ore being the main minerals being harvested. With mining companies continuously opening new mines within their lease and also finding new land for exploration especially with iron ore and gold at record prices due to china there is no slowing down during this mining boom in any near future.

One popular occupation wanted by many wanting to get a job in the mining industry in Australia is driving the big dump trucks. It’s a job in high demand especially from the media lately showing people making over 100,000 dollars a year and only working 2 thirds of the year. It’s also in demand by a lot of people as the job itself is less physically demanding than others mining jobs. You are also out of the harsh weather that the western Australian outback provides especially its hot summers which it can reach up to 55 degrees during the hottest of days. There are many different types of rosters, dump trucks operators are on, it really depends on the company itself. 9 days on and 5 days off is becoming a popular roster among workers especially people that Fly in and Fly out from Perth and want to keep a healthy relationship with their other half in Perth. 2,3, or even 4 weeks can also be available which you will be working 13 days in a row and 12 hours days.

There is a myth that mining companies prefer women because they are gentler on the dump trucks than males. Scientifically they cope better with menial/ repetitive work than males which are more likely to fall asleep at the wheel, which is a mining company’s worst night mare. There is a shortage of rubber in the world today and a dump truck tire contains a lot of rubber. The companies monitor how many days they get out of each tire and if it appears that a specific driver is working the truck to hard and wearing out the tires quicker it won’t be long before they are told to slow down on acceleration.

Most the dump truck driving jobs are advertised in the newspaper in the mining section. More and more of the jobs are advertised on the company’s website itself. There is also traineeships available for people interested in obtaining a dump truck driving jobs in the mines in Australia. Some dump truck jobs are contracted out to specialize mining agencies.

Some mining companies have told me that dump truck companies like people who have driven buses in their home city. I can see the potential of this experience as being suitable for a dump truck driver. A bus driver has to constantly be aware of its environment in and outside his/her vehicle. The driver has small kids running around outside and has to be proactive in their driving manner. This experience shows the mining company the individual is safety focused (if they have a good record!) If not driving buses, I recommend start getting experience now driving in a quarry in a production environment. This is going on that I have seen job adverts asking for people with experience driving trucks apply for dump truck driving positions.

Canada, a country of 34 million people, has a vibrant mining industry with more than 1400 companies listed on their Stock Exchange and active in the sector. The growing demand from highly industrialized nations for raw materials, especially from Asia, is having a significant effect on the Canadian mining industry despite the setbacks of the global recession in 2008-9. The country is now firmly established as a global leader in the production of metals and minerals, it is the leading supplier of uranium and potash to world markets. Mining contributes more than $40 billion annually to their economy.

Top mining companies in Canada and their activities

Whether company size is measured in market value, revenue or net assets, these companies are the largest players in Canada in their chosen markets. One of the world’s most successful gold mining companies, Barrick Gold Corporation is active in eight countries and employs more than 20,000 people on 26 mines around the world. Its acquisition of Placer Dome added to its revenues and the high metal prices in its key product lines, gold, copper, silver and zinc, have also impacted profits.

A major contributor to the Canadian economy is the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, the world’s largest fertilizer producer. It was in the news last year after a hostile bid from BHP Billiton was foiled by the Canadian Government. Suncor Energy Inc is the leader in oil sands exploration and production. The rising price of oil is having a significant effect on its bottom line. A company to watch is Teck Cominco, often referred to as the “partner of choice” of junior miners. This company is active in most mining sectors, base metals, coal and gold production and is now diversifying into oil sands.

Talent and Remuneration

The shortage of experienced middle managers in the 30-50 age group due to the retirement of the “baby boomers”, those born between 1946 and 1964, is evident in Canada as it is in the rest of the world. The Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHRC) says the industry will need an additional labour force of 100,000 people to maintain current levels of production. Although there are initiatives afoot to encourage new entrants the talent gap is widening.

Staff retention should be a key strategy for mining companies. Flexibility in HR policy is needed to allow for movement of professionals across continents, they need to consider personalized solutions for key employees and innovative solutions to rotations to suit family life. Design of relevant incentive programs should be high on their agenda.

The Coopers Consulting-PwC 2011 Mining Industry Salary Survey reports that “CEOs are still riding a wave of high salaries and cash bonuses in 2011.” Their statistics show that 56% (a growing number) of CEO’s have an annual pay package of more than $1m. The PWc report goes on to say that new graduate mining engineers with one to two years of experience can expect an annual package of around $75,000. Young mining professionals are therefore well-placed to launch their careers in Canada.