The Mining Industry In a New Perspective
Fresh out of university and still green behind the ears, the road to taking the first major and life changing steps are being rocked hard by the insecurities of today’s metal markets and most recently the volatility of gold seeing a drop below US$1200 an ounce. Opportunities for new graduates to enter the industry and develop themselves are unfortunately scarce. In contrast to our counterparts living ‘down under’, the job market in the Great White North is still relatively cloudy and partially frozen over. The consulting business is a quite unusual place for a junior mine engineer. To my surprise, the internship offer from Mining Plus Consultants in Vancouver was a light in the dark that would lay a foundation for my knowledge and experience in the mining industry.
Zach Allwright, a Senior Mining Consultant out of the Vancouver office has become my mentor and teacher, investing his precious time into developing my skills and has proven to be very patient when it came to walking me through the expectations and details of the tasks assigned to me. In the past two months Mining Plus has given me the opportunity to become familiar a range of projects, including the opportunity to contribute to the project outcomes. Being able to generate models for old mine workings, various development tunnels and optimizing stopes has been an immense learning step, where I could observe the impact my work had on the project viability
Learning the practical fundamentals of mine design, working with innovative mining software (Deswik) and assessing the impacts of scheduling and resource allocation on mine development has broadened my understanding of the way underground mines operate. I have become comfortable with using various software packages at my disposal. My ability to judge mine workings and perform estimations within the design have vastly improved.
Mining Plus is one of the few companies that lead by example in this time of industry retraction. By providing junior mining engineers an opportunity to gain exposure and learn, they are contributing to the next generation that will shape the industry of tomorrow. I am and always will be grateful to Mining Plus for giving me this opportunity where I have been immersed in the complicated world of consulting in this dynamic industry.
This innovative and agile firm has redefined the way I see mining consultants. My colleagues’ interest in their work and desire to provide the best possible result for all clients is truly an inspiring thing to see. They strive to meet the needs of the clients by being honest and realistic, exhibiting a level of integrity that I feel this industry needs. Their innovative and hands-on approach is exciting to see — where my colleagues from the Vancouver office are excited to go on-site and implement in first person their intricate plans and designs. This contrasts with my original view of consultants that generate ideas from the comfort of an office but do not own the execution. Mining Plus certainly stand behind their recommendations and drive project execution with pride.
I have come to realize that the key to a successful consultant is hands-on experience and years of exposure to various mining projects. With this new-found realization that practical experience is essential, I look forward to the opportunity of gaining a position on site. Until that time comes, I aim to soak in as much knowledge as I can from my colleagues; to learn the ins and outs of designing underground mines (yes, the enthusiasm of Zach for underground projects has rubbed off on me quite well), learn the correlations of economics and scheduling in order to achieve desired practical outcome for the client, as well as scenario analyses of various economic impacts and risks.
Thank you, Mining Plus, for providing me with this valuable opportunity; I would also like to thank my mentor, Zach, for providing the support and guidance throughout my first steps. My colleagues are very supportive and I am grateful for the encouragement they have given me.