Working In The Mines

[GTR_STEALTH]

Currently i live in Melbourne and i was watching 60 Minutes last Sunday and seen the story on ppl going off to the mines earning 100K+.... No experience is generally necessary as they would train you up to perform ur job eg: truckie, cranes, etc, and from what i hear from other ppl sometimes they set you up with accommodation also. After a couple of years working there, enough money would have been made to set themselves up for life or at minimum, get them one step ahead alot quicker.

So would anyone know where you could go to enquire about positions/info? Or, does anyone here know of anyone else that has done/going to do it themselves.

Im thinking of moving up from Melbourne but i've got no idea where to start....

Something i would prefer to get into would be some sort of Clerical, Administration/Security, Comm room operator or equivalent......I did a brief search on the net but could only find positions for those with experience in certain fields ie: Mechs, engineers, operators, etc.

[Stinky Rooster]

Don't believe everything you see on TV dood.

Yes, there are a crapload of jobs going up north at the moment, but things are no where near as awesome as 60 minutes make out. Firstly, the idea that anyone with zero experience can just walk on to a mine site is a joke. There is a mines health act (law) in place in WA that says that there are a heap of inductions and stuff you have to go through before they will let you anywhere near the front gate, and that isn't anything to do with what you will be doing once you get on site.

The only accomodation on offer at the moment is "basic" to say the least. Unless you are employed by a big company that already has housing available, you will find it pretty hard to find somewhere to stay. I have a mate paying about $550 a week for a caravan site, and rentals in places like Tom Price have gone past $1000 per week for a 3 bed fibro house.

My best advice w2ould be to contact the HR department in a few of the larger companies (Mcmahon construction, Roche, Clough ETC) and talk to them about what they are looking for. Chances are, they will put you onto a HR provider they outsource to and go from there.

Just don't think you will be able to move over here and start earning squillions of dollars straight away with no quals. If that really was the case Perth would be a ghost town by now.

[ashleyr33]

hi,

You will find it pretty much impossible to rent anywhere in the pilbara (in a mining town) your best bet may be to find a place in perth and the companies will fly you in/out and accomodate you in a donger when up north. You will need to do inductions etc but there are jobs out there for unskilled workers. as above contact the HR departments, try hammersley iron or bhp.

[IMPORTD]

Good Luck with getting work with no experience. Since airing on 60minutes there has been 100's of enquiries. Always the way.

Perhaps start with Hays. http://www.hays.com.au/main/default.aspx

And if you can do a MARCSTA http://www.marcsta.com/

Some companies that flyin/flyout would fly you in and out of Perth but then it would be up to you to get to where you gotta go.

Don't fret though, You wont miss out on the boom. WA has mine sites all over. http://www.migration.wa.gov.au/BA2F61481CD...BC3D38D01A7.asp

[ossie_21]

As Dale said it's not all good like what 60 minutes etc try to say. I've got 2 casual jobs at the moment while I'm going through an application process for something, and one of them is as a contractor to minesites all over the state with a reline company, only had one job doing it though because then I got sick, but we get the call & off we go..... Anyway a couple of weeks ago I went to Pannawonica (200kms south of Karratha), the accomodation was at a motel with just the basic sort of stuff, nothing fancy but it was only for 3 days anyway that we were there for, and 12hrs a day of that was working.

My first mines job was as a machine operator, good money but like f**k am I someone who can sit in a seat for 12hrs a day, good for some people but not for others. Gotta prepared to be uncomfortable if you want to do it Food & accomodation is supplied by most companies I think, which is good considering you save quite a bit that way. If you are at one minesite there might be something like a residential village like my first one where you take up your own stuff (tv, stereo or whatever), or like at the moment we stay at a place for a few days. Some companies might pay for it, some might not which means it could get expensive as said.

[Boostzor]

Damn, dont watch 60 mins as its worse than today tonight now but i think they have blown it out of proportion.

True the mining companies are pretty desparate for workers but they would want someone with some experience at least. Diesel mechanics, welders and Electricians in particular are in pretty high demand 120k+ but im not sure what the policy is on people who have never really worked in the industry or anything related eg just out of school or something else unrelated.

Of my close group of friends, 10 odd ppl i have known for years, 5 are working for mining companies 3 of those based up north/ down south. Though they are from teh traditional disciplines. Archeologist, geologist, electrician, environmental management. And i suppose you could inlude 1 more if you count GIS systems. From this you might guess that a good percentage of WA works in resources

So what do you do if you dont mind my asking?

[IMPORTD]

was he notified his thread was moved?

[ix9]

was he notified his thread was moved?

I don't know, maybe you should PM the OP and ask ?

[GTR_STEALTH]

LoL, ya i realised it was moved this morning, didnt read the forum sub-sections as I thought it was a similar layout to Victoria section....

Anyways....

I realize i would have to go through an induction process, as you would with alot of worksites these days. Ive carried out more than a few at the place im at now

So what do you do if you dont mind my asking?

Sorry i cant divulge that kind of info at the moment

....but i just got my group certificate back and i made 80K last financial. So if i were to go for a mining job it would have to be 100K minimum considering the inconveniences.

My best advice w2ould be to contact the HR department in a few of the larger companies (Mcmahon construction, Roche, Clough ETC) and talk to them about what they are looking for. Chances are, they will put you onto a HR provider they outsource to and go from there.

Cool. Thats the kinda info im after as it gives me a place to start.

Now, what i need to know, are -Locations! -Locations! -Locations!

Where exactly are the mines/accom locations? What are the popular ones; the less popular; the yet to be discovered places?

P.S: Cheers for the replies so far guys

[Boostzor]

Id suggest that if anyone knows the "yet to be discovered" places they list asap and make 11ty billion dollars ala fortescue metals.

You could always try HR for the big ones like BHP and Rio tinto.

Its kind of hard to say where you should start looking if you wont say what your are doing or interested in. There are heaps of little places that sub contract for the big companies like above. ESS (food and domestic services), Ausdrill (ahh drilling u might have guessed), ottoco (tyre fitters)... the list is near endless.

[Denver]

As mentioned, 60 minutes is full of shite..

I got into the mines last year, unqualified, but, it took me a fair wack of time to get in, after trying many agencies, and asking about work for the unqualified, and getting continual denials..

finally found a placement agency that dealt with geological stuff, field assistance and stuff like that, which is basically a entry level position, and finally got in..

As for stuff like getting on a truck, forget it, unless you know someone, or are in the right place at the right time, you won't get onto a dump truck without experience, ive been trying since i started in the mines, hopefully, one of those knowing the right person deals will pay of shortly and ill be on one and will then get the experience i need to go anywhere i want...

There are companies that do training course, but expect to pay upwards of 3k, and it does not guantee you a job, there are companies, like QFS, www.qfsaustralia.com.au that offer 60k per yr driving a truck and they train you, butttt, 60k, is about 30k short of the average salary a dumpy driver earns..

even as a fieldy, you get on average, $250 a day, more for some companies or experience, which works out to 60+ a year...

that said tho, once your into the industry, and get experience, getting another job is easy, and with time you get the contacts you need to move around to different sorts of jobs, expecting 100k straight up tho is a bit much, will take a while, a good operator will net 100k a year, but again, you need to get onto the machinery first to earn the money..

and definately go for FIFO work, rent in karratha for example is 1300 bucks a week on average, there are stories of people getting 3k a week as mining companies just snap up houses as they become available and pay the highest price to guantee they get it, with FIFO, you accom is covered, you get fed, and fed well, and transports someone elses problem, the only things you pay for, are booze and trivial things like choclate bars, and maybe stuff like washing powder etc, and you only need to wash your clothes, room cleaning is all sorted..

Excellent industry to be in, people are straight down the line, no bullshit, upfront and genuine people, and i don't see myself leaving it to go back to the likes of IT ever..

[Ashy Larry]

Maggie Smith @ Mining People International on Hay street in Perth,

Great agency and a good professional outlook.

Be drug free and willing to work hard.

Processing isnt to bad, but licking rocks in the core shed is not so bad either

Mike

[Butler]

Alot of what they said on that 60 minutes report is total shit. I work for Pilbara Iron at the moment and yes the pay is good ($90K+), but there are no 100's of positions ready to be filled. You can not also just turn up at the mine and get a job the same day. All of the mining companies these days love their paperwork and safety; as such The application process can be anywhere from 2-6 months (They are farkin slow!!!). However, getting past the slow HR system, it is an awesome place to work. Great people, killer pay, get to work with big machinery and sit on your arse in an air conditioned cab all day long.

[turboedsloth]

you earned 80k last yr and you want to move from melb to north western australia just for an extra 20k? why bother?

[Denver]

cause 20k more is a 25% pay rise?

seems like a good reason

[Butler]

extra 20K ftw!

[Daniel R32]

I live in karratha and haven't started work yet (ive only moved here a few weeks ago and just looking around at the moment) but will be trying to get into woodside or CBI construction. Woodside are building a new gas plant on the burrup peninsular, and they are looking for workers big time to build it. There will be something there that you will like to do, on the job application it has 3 lists of jobs that you can choose to do, i counted 146 on the list. The money and jobs are here, but the hardest part is finding accommodation. You WILL have a lot better chance of getting work if you live up here but then still need to find somewhere to stay. Like said before the rent is just crazy, for a place with 3 beds 1 bath your looking at over $1000 a week and some places with some extra features are even more (can be up to and over $1500 a week). The houses arn't as crappy as everyone says. . it all the red rocks and dust that puts people off but the insides are pretty good. Im living with my dad and he works for the shire of roebourne so they give him a house for under $200 a week so i do have it good, and alot of people that have spare rooms usually rent them out. Oh and a current affair was not all crap it was pretty close to how it is, there are alot of jobs up here, there is heaps of money to be made, but u do need to work for it most days are 10-12 hour days and the accommodation is hard to get. It will get you set up for life, so i think ACA was pretty close. Most people dont believe how much work there is here till they actually get here.

Try giving skilled a call ph: (08) 9144 4105 and ask for Jodie Martin or www.skilled.com.au

They are an employment agency that deals with woodside and other mine/projects up here and alot of other stuff

[gun-r32]

LNG 5 ftmfw

Been here for 6 months now, best job I’ve been on since I’ve been up this way (4 yrs), good conditions, good pay and Karratha definitely the pick of the mining towns to be in, although that’s if your lucky enough to score a house.

With the construction & mining industry, the old cliché “its not what you know…” applies 10 fold, and it becomes a bit of a joke. I’ve seen 18 y.o’s who’ve barely even touched a spanner get on site, simply because their old mans either a supervisor or manager. To me that’s pretty f*cked when there’s a pile of skilled blokes lining up ready to work. I know you’ve gotta start somewhere, but for me, site is not the place.

[Denver]

who ya know, not what paid off for me yesterday, i start driving dump trucks in two weeks, finally..

no more being a shit kickin fieldy for me

[Kyles]

I spoke to a HR manager for some mining company 6 hrs south of perth. He said he would have given me a job there and then if they didnt only have 3 months left of building left. I was just ringing for a reference for a lady applying for one of my rental properties. He said just look up mining and construction companies in the yellow pages, and do the ring around. He said to pretty much let them know your out there and wanting to work. Let them know what skills you have. I might look into it. Admin jobs can get about 90 a year.