Gold mining in Australia has been�happening since most people can remember. The precious resource is still highly sought-after, despite a fall in the commodity’s price�some months ago.

As with most precious metals, the demand for gold is driven by just that; demand!

Tough mining conditions in Australia over the past 2 years have dampened enthusiasm in the mining sector, although like most markets, there is a cyclical action to them.�If we were to�plot their performance on a graph, it would look�almost like a roller-coaster ride.

Thankfully, gold is back on the upward climb in terms of pricing, which is good news for Australia’s top gold mining companies. This, coupled with a drop in the Australian dollar on the global currency market, is making gold even more appealing to overseas buyers.

With the ‘gold fever’ running a high temperature, it’s always good to talk about how Australian mining companies like Havilah Resources are bucking the trend and going ahead with a new gold mine.

The forward-thinking mining company has a solid management team who are prepared to get stuck in and open up the resource at its open-pit Portia mine, north-west of Broken Hill in South Australia.

With gold expected to be found at some 75m depth and a soft over-burden, getting to the gold seams is not as difficult as originally thought.

The mining company lodged an unconditional bank guarantee with the South Australian Department for State Development (DSD) in order to cement its intention to finance the start of the mine, including its mining rehabilitation bond. This is seen as an acute signal that�Havilah intends to notify the market of its plans to start mining ASAP, with first gold expected to be delivered in 2016.

The company is so new, it is still building it’s expected workforce of some 50 personnel. It’s all systems go at the site from here on in. New purpose-built workshops are planned, as well as surveying followed by site works with heavy earth-moving equipment, the installation of a water storage dam and de-watering systems, with pipeline corridors and even the� refurbishment of an airstrip.

This project is yet another example of how Australian mining companies are being resilient in these challenging times.

Information for job seekers

• The company’s website is a perfect place to start researching the company: www.havilah-resources.com.au/
• Chris Giles is Havilah’s managing director
• Check the company out on the Australian Stock Exchange: asx.com.au/asx/research/company.do#!/HAV
  Their share price is on the up and up, indicating confidence in their abilities
• The company is owned by Steve Radford and based in Broken Hill
• The contractor for the new mine is: Consolidated Mining & Civil Pty Ltd. Go to their� website for more information: www.conmc.net.au�

If you want a mining job, research, research, research. Doing your research on the Havilah Resources Portia mine project is the first step if you are looking for a job with the company.

As we can see, it’s not Havilah that will be doing the hiring, it will be Consolidated Mining. There will be jobs for excavator, loader and haul truck drivers.

We’re not certain if these jobs will be filled by existing workers or not, however, the information supplied by iMINCO will get you off to a flying start.

Additional resources for mining job seekers: Help me write a good resume | Are resume scanners blocking your job applications? | The trick to successful job interviews