Henry Ongahak loves his work in the mining sector, and strongly urges other young Inuit to consider similar careers.

鈥淎 hundred per cent, I recommend it,鈥� the 27-year-old said from his job site on a remote patch of Nunavut鈥檚 Kitikmeot region. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a good opportunity. I get to travel the world. It鈥檚 wicked.鈥�

Ongahak, who was born in Yellowknife and raised in Bathurst Inlet and Kugluktuk, works as an underground development miner at B2Gold鈥檚 Goose project, the most advanced of five mineral claim blocks along an 80-km belt in Nunavut鈥檚 Back River region.

He started with the company in 2018, spurred by the 鈥渓ack of job opportunities鈥� in Kugluktuk. He has held his current position at the Goose project since late last year, when he was cleared for underground work 鈥� a professional breakthrough he said 鈥渇elt very good.鈥�

He has numerous responsibilities in his current role, but spends much of his 12-hour days running supplies like rebar and cable in and out of the mine with a boom truck, a type of mobile crane.

It鈥檚 tough work.

鈥淭he long days are challenging,鈥� he said. 鈥淗aving never been underground before and being new to that was kind of challenging too, having to learn all these new things.鈥�

However, Ongahak prefers to focus on the positives of the job 鈥� and there are many, he contends.

鈥淵ou鈥檙e out of the weather, out of the cold [when you鈥檙e underground],鈥� he said, laughing. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 definitely a plus side. It鈥檚 a lot warmer.

鈥淵ou work half the year too,鈥� he added. 鈥淵ou get half the year off, which is another good plus side.鈥�

When Ongahak finishes his 12-hour shifts, he returns to camp for some hard-earned downtime.

The food on site is 鈥済reat,鈥� he said.

鈥淭hey feed you so good. You eat well here.鈥�

He also enjoys spending time in the recreation room, where he often encounters people he knows from Kugluktuk, and other communities, such as Cambridge Bay.

鈥淲e hang out a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e play some pool. The rec room here has pool and golf, and it鈥檚 a got a hunting game which is good too.鈥�

Ongahak鈥檚 father also works at the site, and he savours the time they鈥檙e able to spend together during their downtime.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a gym here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been taking my dad to the gym, getting him back into shape.鈥�

Ongahak said he isn鈥檛 sure what his future with B2Gold holds, as he prefers to 鈥済o with the flow鈥� when it comes to his career. However, that doesn鈥檛 mean he doesn鈥檛 have professional goals. One of his main areas of focus is doing everything he can to keep his job site safe.

鈥淚t is one of my goals to make this place a safer, better place to work and a better environment,鈥� he said.

鈥淪afety is a huge thing,鈥� he added, noting that he fills out daily field level hazard assessment (FLHA) cards, which help make frontline workers aware of possible safety hazards on site.

鈥淚鈥檓 also on the mine rescue team. There was a lot of training there,鈥� he noted.

Ongahak remembers the moment he first became interested in underground mining work.

It was 鈥測ears back,鈥� he said, when he worked a few rotations at Hope Bay, a Kitikmeot gold property owned by Agnico Eagle.

鈥淚鈥檇 drive by the portal every day, and I鈥檇 say, 鈥楬ey, I want to go work underground one day,鈥欌�� he recalled. 鈥淗ere I am working underground now.鈥�

His advice to any young Inuit with similar interest in the mining industry is simple.

鈥淚f you get the proper training and the right guys to do the proper training with you, you will succeed,鈥� he said. 鈥淜eep a positive mind and work hard to fulfill your goals.

鈥淚f I can do it, you can do it.鈥�