What's your job about?

Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) is an open-cut manganese mine located on Groote Eylandt in the Gulf of Carpentaria operated by South32. As a mining company, our job is to safely and efficiently extract the manganese resource, process it into our different grade products, and ship it to our customers around the world. 

I work in the short-term planning team consisting of four engineers - one scheduler, two designers, and a senior engineer. As the  a scheduling engineer, my job is to develop the fortnightly mine path to direct our operations team on where to mine and how to do it. This involves taking our broader, three-month mine path from the mid-term planning team and condensing it into a detailed two-week plan. I am also responsible for assisting the design engineers to design new quarries, roads, drilling and blasting of the ore body, and rehabilitation of previously mined areas.

My team works fly-in fly-out (FIFO) with some of us based in Darwin and some in Cairns. Each week, I fly from Cairns to Groote Eylandt and spend seven days living and working at the mine. The mine progresses very quickly, so the first day of every ‘swing’ is spent catching up on what happened on my week off. I then have five days to gather inputs from operations, the leadership team, and the mid-term planning team to schedule and set up the plan for the next week. It can get very busy at times!

What's your background?

I have moved around a bit over the years. I grew up in Perth where I finished school and completed two years of university studying towards becoming a pilot. I had always dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot in the Air Force, even going as far to get my private pilot license in high school. However, as I started learning more about the mechanics, physics and mathematics of aviation, I quickly realised I wanted to become an engineer. 

I decided to move to Melbourne to study a double degree in mechanical engineering and business management. I reasoned that wherever I work as an engineer, I would ultimately be working for a business that needs to generate profit, and a business degree would let me interface the engineering and business worlds to make me a better engineer.

At university, I completed two internships, one in Indonesia working in the steel industry doing maintenance planning and another in Melbourne, performing crash tests of cars with high-speed cameras to determine ANCAP safety ratings. 

At the end of university, I was offered a PhD to continue my undergraduate thesis as well as a job at the crash test centre. However, I looked into graduate jobs in the mining industry and found my current position based in Cairns. The FIFO lifestyle and structure of South32’s graduate program was very appealing and so I gave it a go and moved to Cairns where I still live today.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Absolutely, but it does depend on where you work. In the past, mining companies would only hire those with a degree in mining engineering. However, fewer universities today offer this course, and more companies are open to hiring different types of engineers. As for me, I did not know anything about mining when I started, so I was lucky to work with some very knowledgeable people who mentored and trained me to be confident in my role today. A willingness to learn and teamwork is essential, as working FIFO means living and working with your you co-workers for a week at a time.

What's the coolest thing about your job?

As a part of the graduate program, I rotated through the operations department where I got to drive haul trucks, work on the pump crew and blast crew. By far, the coolest thing about my job was working on the blast crew. There aren’t many jobs out there that let you blow things up for a living! Working out in the mud and heat is very eye- opening.  and It helped me understand more about mining than what solely working in the office would have. Now that my time in operations has finished, I love seeing my mine plans come together and watching the mine progress. It’s always satisfying seeing your designs come to life.

What are the limitations of your job?

Although the FIFO lifestyle is great, it can also be very challenging. For seven days, I work 12 hours a day and it also means working on birthdays and Christmas, and ultimately, missing important events with friends and family back home. Fatigue is a challenge and the job can be busy and stressful at times especially with how fast the mine progresses. As the sole scheduling engineer, you inadvertently become the ‘go to’ person for questions. I do feel the pressure that I need to be across everything that is happening in the mine at all times so that I can give the right answers.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

1. Grades are important but not as much as work experience. Try to get some industry work experience as soon as possible. It only takes one job to make it drastically easier to get the next one.
2. Don’t get too caught up on the perfect career path after university – mine changed drastically over the years.
3. Finally, enjoy your time at university and take time off studying to hang out with your friends and explore where you live, especially if you have moved to a new city for university.