Queensland mine safety under the spotlight
Queensland`s mine safety has come under the spotlight, with Natural Resources and Mines Minister Andrew Cripps directing the Queensland Mines Inspectorate (QMI) to urge miners to address an increase in mine safety incidents. The QMI`s annual performance report, said that while the number of fatalities in the state`s mines decreased from three in 2010/11 to only one in 2011/12, there was an increase in the lost-time injury-frequency rate from 3.4 per million hours to 3.9 per million hours worked.
New pay model at Broken Hill mine
A pay by performance model has been agreed upon at Perilya`s silver, lead and zinc mine at Broken Hill, NSW. Unions have agreed to accept the new pay model which will see 15% of a miner`s pay based on productivity expectations and safety. Miners will also receive a pay rise over several years.
Fortescue investigating Kings restart
Fortescue Metals Group announced it was investigating the restart of the Kings deposit expansion which forms part of its Solomon hub, in the Pilbara. Previously, Fortescue announced it would make some major adjustments to its capital expenditure program in 2013, and would delay the start of mining at the Kings deposit amid weak iron-ore prices. This is good news for people looking for FIFO mining jobs in the Pilbara region of W.A. TIP: if you’re looking to drive a haul truck on a mine site in W.A., you’ll need a current HR licence.
Pay rises imminent in coming year
White-collar shortage expected to lift pay according to the Adelaide Advertiser. A shortage of skilled professionals in Australia [including the mining and resource sector] is expected to drive an increase in salaries in the coming year. The Michael Page International Salary and Employment Forecast Report finds 46% of all employers surveyed forecast skills shortages in the white-collar recruitment market and 65% believe these shortages will cause salaries to rise above the inflation rate in the next 12 months.
iMINCO: There are a lot of employment opportunities for people looking to get into the mines at present, with the skills shortage being at it’s most critical in mining positions such as mining supervisors, geologists, mine site managers, metallurgical engineers, OH&S and IT professionals.If you are working in mining or any related industry this is a good time to be thinking of up-skilling yourself and moving into a managerial role.
There are some good mining training courses you can enrol in to help you up your pay scale rates and open up new career opportunities. Typically you can start to move up from a hands-on role to an OH&S officer who is responsible for health and safety compliance on a mine site, then to a supervisor position where you would have� a lot more responsibility and manage additional workers,� then advance your career one step further by completing a risk management and assessment course which prepares you to enhance your mining career opportunities in a higher managerial capacity.
The mining industry in Australia is a fast paced and interesting place to work. Take advantage of the current opportunities, get the right training and post-training support to further your mining career. Call Industry Pathways on [email protected] for more information and career path advice.
Mining News – iMINCO
