Rix’s Creek Mine became a giant, open-air classroom when 25 Singleton High School Year 9 students toured The Bloomfield Group Rix’s Creek Coal Mine site on October 25.

The tour was part of the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue’s School Mine Tours Program which is scheduled to see about 1200 local Year 9 and Year 5 students visit mine sites across the Upper Hunter over the next year.

The School Mine Tours Program aims to educate Upper Hunter students on all aspects of coal mining including its impacts on the community and the benefits it provides in our day-to-day lives. The program gives students and teachers the unique opportunity of seeing mining operations up close while presenting factual and unbiased information.

Dialogue Chairman Dave O’Brien said the tours were designed to teach youth the facts about mining including its impacts and benefits.

“The Dialogue‘s School Mine Tours Program aims to demystify the mining process while teaching the facts instead of opinion or emotion,” Mr O’Brien said.

With all the Dialogue’s mining industry partners supporting the program, tours will be conducted at most open cut mine sites across the Upper Hunter.

In conjunction with the tours program, a working group including teachers is developing in-class materials which will align with the Year 9 syllabus.

As well, the Dialogue is also developing a virtual reality video which students can use to learn about mining and how it and its products are part of their day to day lives.