Careers in mining
Mining today is a high-tech industry operating safely and responsibly, employing highly skilled people producing essential materials.
Globally, minerals that have been relatively easy to locate and extract have been mined. The challenge now is a multi-disciplinary one: to work at greater depth and at lower ore grades while managing costs; and managing the rightfully higher expectations of society in areas like environmental management. All this work requires improved technologies.
The transition to a greener world will require more mining, not less. This is because for an equivalent capacity, solar, wind, hydro and geothermal electricity generation technologies require more steel, concrete, aluminium, glass, copper, and rare earth elements than fossil fuel, or nuclear-based facilities.
Mining is going to need more workers and it is a highly paid sector that can include field work, environmental management, or mastering technology and creating new ways of doing things.
Mining employs skilled people
A range of professions and trades are basic to minerals exploration and mining:
- Geology, geochemistry and geophysics
- Metallurgy and process engineering
- Mining and geotechnical engineering
- Health and safety, and risk management
- Environmental management
- Business, accounting and finance
- Law, planning, and regulatory processes and policy
- Communications and stakeholder engagement
Mining trades include:
- The operation of vehicles and machinery
- Earthworks and tunnelling
- Processing of mineral ore and waste rock
- Electrical and mechanical work
- Plumbing and ventilation
- Explosives and hazardous chemicals
- Freshwater management and treatment
- Site rehabilitation
Labour in the industry is sourced from a global market, including New Zealand. Because of the skill levels, education and training are essential, before employment, and on the job.
