What's your job about?

I work at the Sunrise Dam Gold Mine as a Production Metallurgist, having recently completed the Graduate Programme. I work in the processing department on an 8:6 roster flying from Perth.

A typical day for me includes:

• I am attending and participating in morning pre-start meetings to discuss work plans for the day, and health and safety matters that can affect the metallurgy and processing departments.
• Working closely with both the laboratory and gold room to achieve work requirements.
• Metallurgical accounting and reporting to ensure production is meeting targets and to account for gold security.
• Consideration of processing inefficiencies and problem-solving to optimise gold recovery and production.
• Analysing laboratory samples to determine plant efficiency and for use in project work.

A production metallurgist is responsible for plant sampling and analysis, metallurgical accounting, reporting of plant performance and processing improvements.

I am also part of the Emergency Response Team at Sunrise Dam where we train and respond to several different incidents including fire, vertical rope rescue, road crash rescue, hazmat and underground emergency response.

What's your background?

I came into metallurgy much later in life than most people. I graduated at the age of 37 and have been lucky enough to start a whole new career!

Before metallurgy, I worked for many years in retail management and owned and operated my little giftware shop in South Australia. When I moved to Perth with my family in 2016, it was time for a change, and a well-timed metallurgy documentary on TV had me hooked!

University with two young children was certainly challenging but rewarding, and the career opportunities have been incredibly exciting. I have been with AngloGold Ashanti Australia since graduating and have recently completed the Graduate Programme where I spent a lot of time learning the processing plant and different departments within the mine.

Could someone with a different background do your job?

Absolutely! Since beginning my metallurgy journey, I have met so many other metallurgists with a range of backgrounds and life experiences. There are many different pathways to a metallurgical qualification and once you begin, the opportunities are endless!

What's the coolest thing about your job?

The coolest thing about my job is seeing the end product. We have so many people working here, and so many different processes that it is easy to get lost and forget the end goal. But part of my job involves seeing the gold at the end and knowing that all the hard work we all do is very much worth it! I also love that I work across different departments, so I get to meet and engage with lots of different people.

What are the limitations of your job?

I think the biggest limitation of my job is being away from home every second week. Some days it can get a bit hard being away from family and friends and missing out on events. The 12-hour days can seem a bit daunting at first, but it is surprising how quickly you get used to it.

3 pieces of advice for yourself when you were a student...

• Get as much work experience as possible because it will make the transition much smoother.
• Be strict with your timetable and stick to it as much as possible. It saves a lot of last-minute stress!
• Start networking and meeting people early. It can be scary, but those contacts can become invaluable once you start your career.