miner

millwright

operator

mill operator

electrician

North American Palladium

This company has a 20-30% annual employee turnover.  That should say it all.  People quit, get fired, "lose their camp privileges" or get "restructured" on an almost daily basis.  There is always the treat of being let go.  This company was always in crisis during the time I worked for them.  If they stuck to a plan for 3 months that was considered "long term planning".  The upper management is volatile to say the least.  The middle management is very young with no people or management skills.  There is very little direction or leadership.  You just try to do what you think you are supposed to do and reap the consequences (good or bad).  The very high employee turnover makes it hard to do your job since your coworkers are constantly in training or the position is vacant.  The only long term employees are the "buddies" of the management mentioned in the other reviews.  On the outside it looks good but once you are working there you will realize its a very toxic work environment.  Don't bother working there if you are looking to build a career.  You won't be around long enough.   There is a lot of talk of safety but I personally experienced many places that were lacking protocols.  If you want to gain some quick experience, then you might want to give them a try.  On the plus side, the pay was pretty decent and the operation interesting.

Keep seeing people talk about the old boys club... Believe it. Management does not respect employees at all. Underground has come along way I will say that. Surface operations (mill) is in shambles... With the price of palladium that doesn't look like it will change anytime soon. They run the heck out of the place no matter what cost or damage done to the equipment. They are realizing this with production shortages but won't care enough to correct the problem. They preach saftey but is has taken a back seat now that palladium price is so high. They prefer to support the Sudbury basin for suppliers instead of locally. There is transportation to the mine from the airport but local people from thunderbay don't qualify to ride on it. Therefore you drive your own vehicle until it literally shakes apart on the 20km access road leading into the mine. What to expect on the access road: washboard, large holes, Sharp jagged rocks, lots of flat tires and don't expect the company to help you out when you get a flat, very slippery in the winter time. Did I mention the food at this mine is terrible and has been for along time. Come get some experience here but don't expect a career. Move on where your effort and hardwork will be acknowledged.

LDI has a good work force if only upper management would manage them properly. The management culture here is rule by intimidation. Don't dare question or give your opinion or your gone. Speak up your gone. Be human and make a mistake, your gone. Supervisors walk around on eggshells, escape goats for upper managements poor decisions. If your not in the old boys club or accepted by the club, your stay here will be short. Safety is terrible. No visible leadership.  Very poisonous place to work. Its too bad because it could be a great place to work . Impala must like being in the news for all the wrong reasons. No recourse for poor safety practices resulting in injuring their workforce. Not a place I recommend working at.  

The highlights include the short driving distance from Thunder Bay, a decent camp with an excellent gym and good variety of meal choices. Pay and benefits are competitive with other mining industry employers as per the need to attract workers. The future outlook is uncertain and dependent on palladium, platinum, gold, copper and nickel prices but the current mone life is expected to extend for almost a decade. This mine has been operating for 30 years so some equipment and vehicles are showing their miles/ hours. Overall this is a good place to work. 

If you like to be treated unfairly and would like to feel like a number this is the place to be
If you like to eat the same old food over and over again then this is the place to be
If you like to walk on egg shells with the potential of being a scape goat for senior managements incompetence then this is the place to be
If you are completely brain dead and can hob knob with upper management to move up (not based on merit) then this is the place to be.
If you want to consistently see terrible events happen with no repercussion to senior management then this is the place to be

Management has the "old boys club" mentality. Safety first is what they preach but they do not walk the walk. The camp is the worst I've seen, food is terrible, if you eat the lunches make sure you can microwave them. Some rooms stunk like mold. No cell service, WiFi worked sometimes. Drive in camp road sketchy, and washboarded/potholes rarely filled. All in all the rotation is nice good time off shortish drive to thunder bay, but hands down worst place I've ever worked.

1st red flag was the hiring process, a 5 minute interview, which is very unusual, even retail interviews you longer. I've worked at other mines, here they give you much work to do. Though everything else from oversight to culture to management decisions was done better at other places I worked at and could be better done here. I just felt like a number working here. It felt like every higher up didn't understand my job and say buying the wrong equipment for us and expecting more out of us because of it just proved my point.

Drive in camp on 14 days in and 14 days off .
Very friendly place to work , feel quickly part of a large family .
Lots off challenges to accomplished my job , but all is improving ,with changes and effectiveness with management planning .
Small gym ,and pool tables and free wifi available .

Corporate office for a mining company based in Northern Ontario. My position involved managing the office facility and providing administrative support to high-level executives. I was the first point of contact for callers and visitors.

Most enjoyable aspect: unsupervised responsibility
Difficulties:  having to cover for and "repair damage" by mis-hires

- camp is passable, rooms are basic, gym is good. food quality not good if you plan on working here for a while.
- 14/14 schedule is great with adequate travel allowance.
- management is quite toxic.  not interested in improvements and doesn't value workers, ideas or opportunities for change.
- very obvious lack of diversity
- poor safety culture
- decent resources for short term career development, would not recommend of long term.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Miner 1 salary reported	$41.38 per hour
Millwright 2 salaries reported	$42.77 per hour
Operator 1 salary reported	$38.52 per hour
Mill operator 3 salaries reported	$37.90 per hour
Electrician 1 salary reported	$50.89 per hour

Working at North American Palladium: company overview and reviews

North American Palladium

North American Palladium ratings

Popular jobs at North American Palladium

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected