THERE is a lot of confusion about what you need to do to get a start in a hard rock mine.

Here are 15 important facts that every new starter in the Australian hard rock mining industry needs to know:

1.The boom is back on and there is strong demand for new workers in exploration and hard rock underground mines across Australia.

Go to Seek and type “underground” into the first box and you’ll see that there are thousands of these well-paid, full-time jobs, going on hard rock mines (gold, nickel, copper, rare earths) all over the country.

2.There are no new jobs in iron ore or oil and gas jobs.

While there are a handful of jobs that come up each year from natural attrition, both iron ore and oil and gas still have lots of experienced workers that lost their jobs in the last downturn to choose from.

The traineeships offered each year are more about reducing wage costs, than having to hire or train new starters.

3.People keep trying to do the things that helped get a job in past booms.

The three-day dump truck course is the classic example of something that worked 25 years ago for a short time when the iron ore mines were first hiring.

Now, instead of helping you get the job, it just shows the employer that you don’t understand how the industry works in regards to ticketing.

If you want a surface job then you need a HR licence and for hard rock underground, a manual car licence.

4.There is no national system in hard rock mining, only the state systems which include non-transferable tickets.

This is why none of the job ads ask for formal qualifications, only years of experience, and why there are no TAFE courses available in hard rock mining.

5.Mining tickets in hard rock mining are only valid on the mine they are issued on.

Every mine you work on will require you to obtain their tickets which are non-transferable.
Each time you move jobs or to a different mine, you will have to re-sit the tickets again on the new mine.

The tickets (often sold as ‘mining tickets’) actually come under the RII competencies that are used for coal in Qld and oil and gas industries.

The hard rock mines around the country come under their states’ respective systems, like the WA Mining Act and Regulations, which requires all ticketing to be site-based.

6.Yes, a new starter gets paid between $300-$450 a day (depending on the company and job) as a nipper, underground truck operator or driller offsider.

Mining tickets in hard rock mining are only valid on the mine they are issued on.

7.In the past 20 years, Australian hard rock underground mines have become some of the safest most productive mines in the world and are now seen as the world’s best practice.

Australian miners (earning $30K a month) and mining companies (Byrnecut, Barminco, Ruc, Pybar etc.) are running mines around the world using Australian shift bosses, foremen and jumbo operators to do it.

8.The robots and driverless trucks aren’t going to be taking your hard rock underground mining job anytime soon.

It’s only the iron ore mines in the north of WA (that are strip mining) that can set up big exclusion zones, where these trucks can be used safely, and that’s a very small part of the overall industry.

9.The majority of information online about mining in Australia is just wrong or not reported correctly (go and look at number 15, bet you never heard that before).

Take the confined space myth: the only place on a hard rock mine that needs a ticket like this involves scrubbing the inside of the tanks on the mill.

This is shutdown, short-term maintenance work which is never a full-time job.

There are always lots of people putting their hand for this type of work, which is why the pay rate has almost halved in the last two years.

Once you start in shutdown work it’s hard to make the jump to a mining job.

10.Moving from a service job on a mine site (cook, cleaner, bus driver, shutdown worker, etc.) to a mining job is not as easy as you would think.

Often made out on many websites as the best way to ‘get your foot in the door’, it almost never happens.

Most mines have very strict rules (the six-month off-site rule to change employers is common) regarding poaching staff, which makes moves like this almost impossible.

11.Three out of five green (no mining knowledge) new starters fail in the first six months (probation period).

If you make a mistake (written warning) in the probation period, then it normally means a window seat (the sack).

The industry always goes through lots of people when we hit an upswing and have to hire new starters.

12.The hard rock mining employers want people with mining knowledge, they want people that know their systems of work and the terms being used on the mine site.

If you know this information, then you have something to offer the employers.
Showing this knowledge in an interview will give the foreman or project manager the confidence to hire you.

13.The hard rock mining companies should pay for the pre-employment medical and will put you through any courses they require (like first aid and working at heights) as part of your site inductions.

Because of the rigorous on-site ticketing system, don’t be surprised if they make you re-do all courses/tickets, even if you have just done them as part of your onsite induction.

14.The S11 often referred to as a ‘general induction’ is only required to work on coal mines in Qld.

It can’t be used in NSW where the coal industry requires you to complete its own induction.

Again, instead of helping you get the job, it just shows the employer that you don’t understand how their industry (hard rock mine) works.

15.The majority of mining jobs are classed as unskilled labour by the Australian government – this means they have to be filled by Australian citizens or permanent residents, not overseas workers.

All these facts, and more, are explained in the Australian Mining seminar, which is part of both the Workready and Do-it-Yourself packages run by Underground Training.
If you have any questions about the facts above, please visit: www.undergroundtraining.com.au.

Regards,

Mining Coach

 

 

 

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