Alastair Mathias / Mining Engineer / Australia
Graduated in Mining Engineering, 1992
Senior Mining Engineer (Production Systems) Rio Tinto Coal & Allied Industries Hunter Valley NSW, Australia
Q: what does your working day involve?
A: * management of the (small!) Production Management Systems Group
* site visits to 5 mines in the Hunter Valley
* meeting with operations, planning and IT operators
* system design & configuration
* management of projects and contractors working on site
Q: what do you enjoy most?
A: This job is basically an open book - we have the opportunity to challenge practice in any area of the company and suggest improvements
Q: what do you dislike most?
A: We have to produce a lot of reports which means relying on a large number of other people to provide timely, accurate information which is rarely ever provided!
Q: what has been the most exciting part of your career?
A: Having responsibility for the production management systems across a wide geographical area and a diverse range of systems. This means that we can make huge impacts on the way the business is operated - the potential gains are enormous. Unfortunately the resistance to change from some sites makes this a challenge.
Q: what has been the biggest achievement of your career?
A: successfully managing a US$2M dollar production systems design, upgrade and implementation
Q: any suggestions for students starting out?
A: Get lots of vacation and pre-university experience. College work is a great background but this is a (very) practically oriented business and time on the ground will look good to potential employers as well as making the course work much easier!
Q: would you recommend a career in mining and minerals?
A: Absolutely: I have travelled widely (North and South America, Australia and South Africa) on the strength of working in the mining industry. With long term reductions in commodity pricing, mining can no longer afford to be inefficient and outdated. While it is very capital intensive, the business is becoming more technologically driven to realise lower costs and there are great opportunities.
