The life of a coal miner in southeastern B.C.

1 of 3Jeremy Lane has been working as a heavy-equipment operator for the last two years. — Photo courtesy John Palmer, Teck Coal

2 of 3Lane loves his four-days-on/four-days-off work schedule because it allows him to spend a lot of time with his family. — Photo courtesy Jeremy Lane

3 of 3Lane wrote this poem about the life of a coal miner. — Photo courtesy Jeremy Lane

Being a coal miner in the mountains of southeastern British Columbia was not something Jeremy Lane grew up thinking he would be. But after two years of working at Teck Coal's Coal Mountain operation near Sparwood, B.C., Lane is not looking back.

The 39-year-old from Lethbridge, Alberta, was running his own business but had the urge to try something new in life. A friend told him about mining and he gave it a shot.

The life of a coal miner is sitting well with Lane. Not only does he love the work but the job also gives him plenty of time to spend with his wife and two kids, ages nine and 13.

Mining & Exploration had a chance recently to ask Lane what the life of a coal miner is really all about.

I was running my own business doing a hot shot service (oil and construction deliveries) trucking in Lethbridge but really wanted to make a change and try something new. I heard of mining through a friend and gave it a try and have been loving every minute of it ever since.

I'm a heavy-equipment operator, so I run a haul truck and a loader and a Cat.

The schedule that I'm on is amazing. I work two days on, have 24 hours off, work two night shifts, then have four days off. It's great because it gives me lots of time to spend with my kids, Raina (13) and Asher (9).

When I'm working, I live with my mom in Pincher Creek (Alberta). I leave the house at 4:45 a.m. (and) drive to Hillcrest—which is about a 25-minute drive—to the bus stop. We then get on the bus which takes us to the mine. We get to the mine at around 6:20 a.m. and get ready to go to work. After that, we go to the wicket and get an assignment for the day. This is followed by a safety meeting, then it's off to work. My days are about 15 hours altogether.

I really appreciate how safe it is and how safely our crew works. We are incredibly safety orientated and I really like that. Our crew, G Crew, at Coal Mountain is the best crew I've ever worked for. They have very strong positive attitudes and are very safe workers.

I also really like how the schedule works, because it works great for seeing my kids and living the lifestyle that I live.

I hope to someday be a leader, like a lead-hand or a foreman. There's lots of opportunities for safe workers to advance at the mine.

I was inspired to write the poem because being from Lethbridge—which is in the Prairies with no mountains in sight—I get to go to work at the top of a mountain with mountains all around us. It's really quite breathtaking, the scenery in which we work. With a lot of guys being from Sparwood—their dads are miners, their uncles are miners, some of them are third-generation miners—they don't all realize how beautiful it really is. Myself, coming from where I come from, I see it as absolutely awe-inspiring. I just wanted to put into words how amazing it is what we do.

A poem by Jeremy Lane

Every day we come to this beautiful place
But take it for granted because of the pace
At which we work to extract the coal
Safe courageous leaders digging a hole
Surrounded by peaks all covered in snow
And crystal clean creeks that flow down below
So just take a minute, don't get lost in it
Be prepared when you're asked, if your mind is on task
When you get down, don't put on a frown
Positive morale will turn things around
If you're just here for now, or if it's to stay
Don't forget your FLRA!
Four days we work and four days we play
Everyone going home, safe and healthy each day
- Jeremy Lane

Every day we come to this beautiful place
But take it for granted because of the pace
At which we work to extract the coal
Safe courageous leaders digging a hole
Surrounded by peaks all covered in snow
And crystal clean creeks that flow down below
So just take a minute, don't get lost in it
Be prepared when you're asked, if your mind is on task
When you get down, don't put on a frown
Positive morale will turn things around
If you're just here for now, or if it's to stay
Don't forget your FLRA!
Four days we work and four days we play
Everyone going home, safe and healthy each day
- Jeremy Lane