Emma is mining career opportunities

The University of Adelaide's first Mining Engineering graduates will soon be taking their place in industry with the first round of students completing their course this year.

The four-year Mining Engineering degree started in 2007 with much fanfare and significant ongoing industry support from a sector keen to find more graduates to fill its skills shortage.

In 2009 the degree joined the national body Mining Education Australia, providing a common industry-backed curriculum for third and fourth-year students.

Among the first graduates will be Adelaide-based Emma Westthorp, who is looking forward to starting her position early next year in the coal mining industry with BHP Billiton in Queensland - a first step in a career with bright prospects.

"There are a lot of career options for mining engineers," said Emma. "You can work on-site, working on 'the tools' - like trucks, drilling or blasting - allowing you to qualify for a mine manager's ticket. Or work as a mine engineer in scheduling, drill and blast, mine planning, geotechnical engineering, reserve estimation, mine survey, or work as a superintendent or a manager.

"You can become a consultant after becoming experienced in one of the fields of mining engineering - that's generally more office-based work with travel.

"There's also an option of working in government. While working at PIRSA (Department of Primary Industries and Resources SA), my supervisors in the mining regulation team were both mining engineers."

With a gentle push from her parents, Emma had decided to look at engineering as a study choice.

"I wasn't sure which discipline until I was in Year 12 and there was all this talk about a new Mining Engineering course. I attended a lot of university presentations on engineering and mining engineering and decided that mining looked by far the most interesting and rewarding, and different to anything I had seen before," she said.

She's been pleased with her choice, enjoying the broad course content, the accessible and supportive academics, the field trips and high level of practical work, and the opportunity for work experience.

At the end of her first year, she worked over the summer at Dominion Mining's Challenger gold mine, working underground on the service and charge-up crews, driving trucks, and helping out in assay lab and other jobs.

Over the 2009/2010 summer break she worked with PIRSA within the mining regulation team, undertaking research on 'nuisance dust' from quarries and mine sites - an area of research she's pursued in her final-year Honours project.

And as one of a growing but still minority group of females in mining, Emma has no concerns.

"Being a woman on site, you can draw a bit of attention to yourself, but all the guys I worked with at Challenger were great. I think being a female can have advantages - you get noticed for jobs and scholarships. I would recommend anyone interested in mining to give it a go," she said.

Story by Robyn Mills

For more information about the Mining Engineering degree, visit Open Day Sunday 15 August.