Mining Jobs and Wages

At each milestone of a new technology, the mining companies tout how many jobs they will be able to cut. For example, with the electro-winning process, pure metal is extracted from ores using an acid solution. Therefore, no smelting is necessary. In addition, larger trucks—350 tons, computerized dispatching are promoting lower production costs and less jobs available.

Traditionally, mining companies have to pay more for labor in Canada. This gives another reason for Canadian companies to come to southwest U.S. to do their business.... It's a winning combination: free water and virtually free land, no royalties, and cheaper labor.

In U.S. there has been a trend since Phelps Dodge's breaking of the union strike in Morinici in 1983-84 for wages and other benefits to remain stable—for 30 years! A haul truck driver at Twin Buttes, Sahuarita made $15.00 an hour. That is the starting pay for a haul truck driver today. In 1983, $15.00 an hour was great wages, but in 2007, it is not. [Phelps Dodge's labor history]

Some info about wages in Canada:

The Mining Association of Canada
www.mining.ca/www/_news/news_74.php

Mining is the mainstay of employment in over 128 communities, mostly in rural and remote areas of Canada. The industry directly employs 368,000 Canadians in 750 establishments across Canada. In Nova Scotia, about 2500 people are employed directly in mining. The industry pays $4.4 billion in direct annual wages. Average weekly earnings in the metal mining sector are $1084, one of the highest levels of any industry in Canada. These wages beat the forestry sector by approximately $220 a week!

British Colombia Economy and Labour Market
https://www.guidetobceconomy.org/major_industries/mining.htm

The average hourly wage rate in mining, oil and gas extraction was $25.67 in 2005, more than six dollars higher than the average for all industries ($19.36). Workers in mining earned an average hourly wage of about $28 an hour, while those employed in oil and gas extraction ($23) and support activities ($22) received a lower hourly wage.

A miner gives his opinion that salaries in Canada for mining jobs are higher than U.S.
https://technology.infomine.com/MiningSalaries

MINERS' WAGES NOW:I see that the average salary for an underground miner in eastern Canada in 2006 is about $24 an hour, and in western Canada about $26 an hour (little changed from 2005). Let us say $4,000 a month. I am not aware of any mines that provide housing to miners. I wonder if they live as well or better than we lived on 150 Pounds a month with a free house?

Actually the Canadian miner should live quite well on this salary if you consider that the average wage for an underground miner in 2005 in the U.S. metal mining industry was about $19. Right now the Canadian dollar is but 90 percent of the U.S. dollar.

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