Ivy Tech Corporate Collegein Terre Haute will begin offering essential and high-demand mining safety programs on Aug. 24.
With a cost range of $75 to $250, depending upon the training and certification received, the program is affordable and a good value for those who plan to work in mining and associated industries, Ivy Tech Chancellor Jonathan Weinzapfel said
“Anyone who sets foot in a mining setting — coal mine, quarry, sand and gravel pit — is required to have this kind of training,” Weinzapfel said. “So it’s not just the folks who are working in the mine. It’s all the vendors, someone who is driving a truck delivering supplies into a mining area, they have to have this safety training.”
About 46,000 people in Indiana have income related to the entire mining industry, including aggregates, he said.
John Snowden, who has been with Ivy Tech for four months setting up the mining program, said the coal corridor in southwestern Indiana runs between Terre Haute and Evansville, but other areas around the state have stone quarries and other mining endeavors.
“There may not be a mine in each one of the regions that Ivy Tech has a campus in, but more than likely there’s a mine support company in that region,” Snowden said.
Safety is a priority in the mining industry, said Bruce A. Stevens, president of the Indiana Coal Council.
About 25,000 Hoosiers have jobs directly or indirectly related to the coal industry, Stevens said, and Indiana ranks eighth in the nation in coal production. More than 85 percent of electricity is the result of coal-fired energy plants.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that Ivy Tech has taken the step and is going to provide a program with an experienced educator,” Stevens said.
Weinzapfel said Ivy Tech in Evansville will begin offering the training Aug. 17.
Courses include new miner training for both surface and underground mining, surface and underground annual refresher training, supervisory first aid, supervisory first aid annual refresher, electrical training, Part 46 (metal non-metal) and Part 48 (coal mining) training.
No matter what type of mining work an individual is interested in — rock, sand and gravel, gold, coal — it is a federal requirement to receive new miner training before going to work in a mine, and to receive annual refresher training thereafter. The training is also mandatory for anyone looking to work on mine property, including miners, contractors, vendors and support personnel.
New miner training is a starting point to enter the mining industry for those who have an interest in mechanical maintenance, diesel maintenance, electrical maintenance, hydraulics, welding, management and engineering.
For additional job opportunities, the new miner training can be used in combination with other mechanical, electrical and welding programs offered at Ivy Tech Community College.
Participants in the training will receive a certification that is valid for 36 months preceding employment. The training will be provided by Mine Safety and Health Administration-certified instructors who have more than 200 combined years of mining experience.