Originally Posted by etc

What the work entails - I am not a sparky and husband is working at the moment so I cant ask him to put it clearly.

There is a lot of maintenance and installation (and removal) of cable, boxes, water pumps etc. You get a list of jobs to do at the beginning of your shift, get in a 4wd and drive about underground doing your equipment checks, moving pumps, removing redundant cable and running new cable etc - whatever is on for that day.

There are also breakdowns of the special rigs (the vehicles used to drill holes for blasting, dig dirt and remove dirt from the hole) they use. Some are called boggers and jumbos if you want to google them - tamrock is one brand I have heard of. You get shown how to fault-find on them and if need be you do relevant short-courses. If there is a rig breakdown you stop your routine jobs and go deal with that as while the rigs aren't going - production is slowed or stopped.

In an underground hardrock mine (gold, nickel, etc - not coal) the production side is pretty much
drill holes in rock,
put in explosives and blast it,
dig out the dirt and send it away to extract the mineral they are after.

Your job is to deal in elec maint/install with the power needs underground and in the workshop on the surface and maintain the electrical side of the equipment. Apart from the rigs that drill holes and dig dirt, there are LOTS of pumps to stop the mine from flooding (you have to keep a check on their function and move them where they are needed and also sometimes service them), there are big fans to ventilate the mine via vent bags, there are sometimes things like big automatic doors that close off certain areas of the mine.

Sometimes you can work alone and sometimes with a crew or in constant contact with lots of the departments if it is a job that impacts production or requires other people to help. As a newbie you would take your lead from co-workers, then your leading hand and then also your electrical supervisor. Also you answer to a shift boss who is responsible for all the departments on that shift and knows what needs to be done and what is priority etc.

(some people work a combination of day and night shifts and others work all day shifts)

Sometimes the power is 13.8 kv.
Also some things are high voltage and if you don't have it there are courses to learn high voltage switching (but you don't need it, it just helps for some jobs).

There are communications and safety equipment, remote controlled vehicles and tv signals to get perfect underground (interesting and frustrating ) ummmm, some work is done on the spot and other work you do in a workshop on the surface.

Holes can be very short in new mines and kilometres deep with rabbit warrens of connecting roads underground in older operations. Most of them you drive down in 4wd vehicles.

From what I can gather the downsides (once you have been in the job long enough to loose the adrenalin rush of the environment) are the mundane things like regular maintenance checks and dealing with pumps (gets boring) and the hours. Also it can get a little stressful to fix the rigs under pressure (coz you know while the rigs are down the mine isn't making $$). There are options in that area though like people to call if you cant find or fix the fault and anyway, you soon get to know the rigs and people love you for solving their problems quickly .

The upsides are that there are usually challenges to overcome, there is lots of new things happening all the time and new areas being opened up. There is the money, the other benefits like vehicle and housing in some cases, and good rosters that mean you can have days or weeks off in a row instead of just weekends. Most people work about 6-8 months of the year (taking into account holidays and rostered days off). My husband works a little less than 6, for his $130,000+ .

Also, as the workforce on mines changes quickly (mainly due to people going to other jobs that pay better/offer better conditions), you are not the newbie for long and pretty soon find yourself one of the most senior people on the crew. It is common to go from newbie to leading hand and even supervisor inside 3-4 years.

Alternatively, move from mine to mine 'chasing the dollars', save up and quit to go spending all your dosh in asia or visiting the UK and then go back to work when the $$ run dry. That happens.

I am not sure what else to say except it is probably totally different to what you have seen before and that is half the fun of it. They are totally used to newbies, most people come from other electrical areas like construction or domestic. They need the workers and they are used to training new people continuously.

It is more physical work and can be dirtier than some other electrical jobs, but then sparkies don't get 100,000+ in most other industries. The upsides as a worker seem to outweigh the downsides.

My husband found the mining operation awesome at first. It is still awesome to have a geotech remind you that the rock you are leaning on 2 kms below the earth is some stupid billion years old without any prior human contact. He is not a rocket scientist and he picked it all up very fast despite having NO experience in almost all mining equipment and voltage used etc. 4-5 years on and he knows underground mining inside out and is quite senior. He has thought about taking a job internationally for close to AU$200,000 (as a newbie overseas, so those dollars would go up when experienced). So it is an industry that can pay dividends If you want a more guaranteed industry (one that is not so dependent on the price/demand for gold, nickel, whatever) look into the oil and gas industry or even the big open cut iron ore mines in the north west of our state. But that is not our area.

Oh, safety. People do die now and then (as they do in all industries, we hear of one or two deaths a year throughout the industry in this country, I think). It is rare and safety appears to be paramount. There is ongoing safety training/meetings/updates and elaborate safety drills, lots of inductions etc when you first go to a new site and there are courses that you can do through work to get more experience maintaining the different rigs and any specialised equipment. People get supervised till they are competent and dismissed for unsafe practices or even driving offenses on the companies property. That is our experience anyway.

Sorry for the essay no time to edit.

Hope that helps. It isn't all sunshine and happiness but for many people it is a brilliant industry to be in.

Originally Posted by jmistry

Hello
I've been on and off on this forum for a while, I applied 10 yrs ago but cicumstances changed and visa's lapsed but I still have the Elec Mech assesment from the TRA from last time, and thinking of applying again, my only worry is I have hit 40 and thinking I may have missed the boat a bit,I'm a maintenance elec since apprentice and thinking sydney NSW area but heard that the wages comparison with the uk is not as good ie $25 per hr compared with £12 to £15 an hr?
Anyone got any comments?

Originally Posted by owen709646

I was in the same situation, I had my visa in 1984, and didnt go do to family commitments. The TRA still rerecognizedt when i reapplied last year
as a General Electrician. I have just applied again at age 45 (they rereceivedy application on my 45 th birthday) and we have just rereceivedur 136 visa's.
So go for it, Mate.
Owen and carol ,Brisbane bound SEPT/OCT 07.

Anyone who would like to chat, please contact us (Carol is a Midwife).

Originally Posted by steve`o

congratulations owen

looks we will be having that beer after all

Originally Posted by steve`o

congratulations owen

looks we will be having that beer after all

Originally Posted by owen709646

Dont you ever sleep, Steve "O"

Originally Posted by steve`o

its only 9.40pm mate i can stay up till

eerrrrmmmmmm ten o`clock tonight

according to the missus

Originally Posted by owen709646

I like your sence of Humer, Steve.
By the way, both me and Carol are into diving, so another shared interest.

Originally Posted by steve`o

please say scuba or we will all get banned

Originally Posted by owen709646

Sorry Steve, i was not implying it was for the illusive "Muff".
I will use the Jacque Cousto terminology in future.

Originally Posted by steve`o

it was tongue in cheek reply owen

who did you train with ??

regards steve
padi divemaster

ps i got in a load of shite a couple of months ago for posting camel toes

Originally Posted by owen709646

Done BSAC Sports diver and PADI Open water, Having to leave office now for an hour (Work) will keep in touch.

Originally Posted by owen709646

Sorry Steve, i was not implying it was for the illusive "Muff".
I will use the Jacque Cousto terminology in future.

Originally Posted by lilstewie