WA Mining Jobs

Mining Jobs Western Australia Opportunities

If you are looking for mining jobs, Western Australia is one of the places you might consider. There are dozens of mines in the area and most of the operations are hiring. Recruitment and training groups do much of the hiring and are responsible for many of the employment ads you will see online.

The types of mines in WA include gold, iron ore, copper, uranium, nickel, molybdenum, bauxite, lead, zinc and coal. There are also diamond (Argyle) and salt mines in the area.

Iron ore has been and continues to be the major WA commodity accounting for nearly half of the total commodities produced in this section of the country. Most of the iron ore mines are located in the Pilbara region with almost 80% being found in the Hamersley Province, one of the world’s major iron ore provinces. Iron ore formations can be 600 million years old. Metallic iron can be economically extracted from these rocks and are usually found in the form of hematite (Fe₂O₃) or magnetite (Fe₃O₄). About 98% of world iron ore production is used to make iron in the form of steel.

WA Mining Jobs
Mining companies operating in the Pilbara region are Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto, Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill Project and BHP Billiton, as well as a number of smaller iron ore miners like Atlas Iron, Hammersley Iron, Mt Gibson and Murchison Metals. People looking to get a job in WA as a miner should be researching the aforementioned companies and have a good mining focused resume prepared. The right safety training is also high on the priority of the mining companies as this is a primary concern for them to keep LTI’s as low as possible.

The discovery of gold is one of the things that originally spurred the growth of the economy. Gold was discovered at Kalgoorlie in 1893. There are more than a dozen gold mines in a relatively small area today with the largest being the Super Pit just outside of Kalgoorlie.

Bauxite is mined in the area to be used in the production of alumina. Companies with bauxite mines in the area include Alcoa, Alumina Limited, BHP Billiton, Queensland Alumina Limited and Rio Tinto Alcan. Most of the bauxite mines are located around the Darling Scarp to the east of Perth, north of Bindoon and south of Pemberton. Together, the bauxite mines produced millions of tons of alumina.

Collie is the location of the only two coal mines currently operating in the state. Production at the sites has been relatively steady since 2008. Most of the coal is used within the state for the production of electricity.

Up north is the Argyle diamond mine which produces the bulk of the diamonds that come out of the state. Although well known, the mine is not one of the state`s biggest employers.

Then there are the salt mines. 80% of Australia`s salt comes from this area. For salt mining jobs Western Australia locations to choose from include the Pilbara region, Onslow, Koolyanobbing and Esperance. Regardless of the product being mined, there are plenty of opportunities for experienced and entry-level miners in WA.