A new open-cut and underground coal mine in the Bowen Basin is back on the cards, creating future mining careers in QLD.
Shenhuo International Group�company is proposing a coal project 22 kilometres west of Emerald saying they want to employ locals and not FIFO workers.
The company recently held an information evening for locals, attracting more than 100 people at the Emerald Town Hall. Everyone was keen to learn more about the project and the opportunities it would bring for the local community who expressed an interest in a career in mining. The mine is expected to have a life-span of 25 years, producing 5.1 million tonnes of coal a year and will create between 250 and 330 jobs in the production phase. The interest showed at the information night was so great that a lot of people interested in mining careers brought along their resumes.
The mining company would prefer to employ a local workforce, rather than a FIFO operation. This approach to give preference to local mining jobs in the Bowen Basin has been received well by the mining unions and communities, who are tired of seeing wave after wave of FIFO workers taking most of the mining jobs before they are advertised locally.
BHP was recently in the news regarding the two coal mines in Bowen Basin that are about to start production. Everyone had banked their hopes on BHP giving preference to sourcing the 1000 employees needed for the project from the surrounding areas of Moranbah, Dysart, Mackay and Rockhampton. Instead, this workforce would be created by flying workers in from Cairns and Brisbane, owing to a massive response from tradesmen, women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people with limited or no previous coal-mining experience. People looking for mining jobs with no experience are always going to apply for these types of new coal mining projects in Queensland.
Bowen Basin locals feel like this is a less than supportive act by BHP and a blatant disregard for the local mining communities in the coal fields of Queensland. BHP had reportedly reserved 250 mining jobs for tradespeople from the Cairns area, while a staggering 14,000 tradies based out of the Brisbane area have already got their job applications in for the remaining 750 mine jobs. There is still a lot of people looking for mining careers in QLD, both at the trade and professional level.
Competition for mining jobs can be tough. No matter whether you are a qualified trades person with years of civil experience or a new starter, it’s important to have completed a mining induction safety course before applying for these types of jobs in the mines. In an recent interview with mining recruiters, it was revealed that some of the applicants had been called in for an interview because they not only had completed a ‘self-funded’ mining induction course (recognised Standard 11), but they had also completed other courses and competencies that made them stand out from the rest of the applicants.
The courses that were highlighted by the mining job recruiters were, work safely at heights and enter and work in confined spaces. When working in a mining environment, there is often a requirement to work at heights,we may not think of a task such as climbing 3 or 4 stories into a CAT 785 haul truck as working at heights, or when required to work in a diesel engine housing room, or an air conditioning vent would mean you are effectively working in a confined space. Another recommended course to complete would be the operate and maintain a light vehicle (4WD), as there is a strong requirement for off-road driving on mine sites as well as a high risk of accidents occurring involving light vehicles and other mobile plant operating the the same vicinity.
The RII qualification on your resume will show mining companies that you are aware of the risks associated with mining operations and you have invested in yourself to learn how to assess risk and be a safety conscious employee.
If you are looking for more information on mining information and don’t know where to start looking, the iMINCO website is packed with good, up-to-date information on how to start looking for mining jobs in Queensland.
Read the iMINCO new starters in the industry information page, as well as this informative article on how to get a mining job with no experience. There are also pages of information on Queensland mining jobs in the mining articles section as well as a page full of mining companies and contractors.
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Reference:�Mining Careers QLD – Bowen Basin Coal Mining Jobs Boost
