“People are people, no matter where or what you are mining.”

David Bazowski entered the world of mining at a time when the old ways were on their way out, but many were reluctant to let them go. After taking geography and economics in university, he was quite surprised to find himself working in the mining industry. With his passion for the mining industry and the pride he takes in his work, he is an example of the dedicated people who have helped drag the old standard of union-management relations kicking and screaming into the age of modern mining.

His first twenty-four hours in Whitehorse could have frightened him away from mining but he braved the conditions and persevered to accomplish a rewarding career.

Dave’s Story

“After I finished university, I had an opportunity to go to the Yukon and work for Cyprus Anvil. I will never forget my first twenty-four hours up there! When I left Victoria it was a beautiful, sunny day, not cold, and when I landed in Whitehorse it was dark and about minus fifty degrees fahrenheit. I had to get on a bus at eight-thirty pm for a four-hour trip to Faro, and the windows were all glazed over with ice. When I got off the bus at the other end, all I could see was ice-fog and thought, ‘what have I done? Why am I here?’ I woke up at six in the morning, in a bunkhouse with a whole bunch of people I had never met before, and that was the start of my life in mining, and I have loved it. I was offered a temporary position in employee relations.