Valentina Letort (left)
Before her eight-month co-op work term at New Gold’s Rainy River Mine in Northwestern Ontario, Valentina Letort had never set foot in an underground mine.
“Because of the pandemic, we weren’t able to do the regular field visits we normally would have as part of my schooling, so my first time going underground was special,” she said. “Seeing everything I had studied at school in person was important to me, and why I wanted my co-op position to be at an actual mine site like Rainy River.”
Valentina is a mining engineering student at McGill University and learned about New Gold’s co-op program during the Canadian Mining Games in Sudbury earlier this year where she met employees from New Gold after her team placed third in an event. Two months later, she was working at the Rainy River Mine.
“I’m almost at the end of studying and being able to connect the dots between what you study and what you see on site paints a more complete picture,” said Valentina. “This experience has rounded out my knowledge of mining a lot.”
New Gold’s co-op program gives students in relevant studies the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience in different areas of mining. Now a third-year civil engineering student at the University of Waterloo, Cole Burden also completed a co-op term at Rainy River earlier this year. As part of the construction team, Cole balanced office and field work, spending time developing estimates, reports and load slips before heading into the field to shadow surveyors and other staff.
Cole Burden
“Co-ops give you a taste of what you might want to do with your career,” said Cole. “It allows you to sample and develop different skills that you can call back on in the future – no matter the career you end up in.”
Cole hadn’t envisioned mining as a potential career prior to his time at New Gold. “It sparked a curiosity that made me want to learn more,” he said. “At first I didn’t think I’d see myself wanting to go into mining, but by the end, I thought this was definitely something I can see myself doing after I graduate.”
New Gold accepts co-op students for work terms at Rainy River Mine throughout the year. For more information about New Gold or to see current postings, visit www.newgold.com/careers.
The post From The Classroom to the Mine Site: Being Part of New Gold’s Co-op Program first appeared on Rainy River Mine.