We’re all familiar with lists of organisational values but how much credence should we give them when we’re seeking out businesses to collaborate with or work for?
Are “corporate values” just another example of meaningless jargon?
Most mine sites measure performance in terms of ore mined, waste moved or product produced. Production KPIs tend to manifest as a drive to maximize the working hours of equipment. The drive to achieve production (rather than value) KPIs often has some negative side effects that destroy the value that they seek to create. Maximizing equipment hours tends to reward the building of inventories, as to achieve high hours, machines need to work even when they are not required.
Maria Joyce is a General Manager at MEC, and has served the company as a mining engineer for over ten years. Maria now adds another important role to her professional portfolio, having been appointed Committee Chair of Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) and a Queensland committee representative for Women in Mining Network (WIMnet).
The pathways to developing a successful career in mining begins with a first step. During the recent mining downturn the lack of this first step has left many mining graduates without an opportunity and has certainly contributed to new undergraduate intakes at record lows. There is no doubt the industry will pay for this issue over the next 10 years and beyond, but reality is we are where we are, and we need to make the best of it and focus on changing this future trend. Encouraging and inspiring future generations that mining opens a range of possibilities is something all of us in the industry can assist with.
Want to fast-track a rewarding and exciting career as a mining engineer? Read on – here’s everything you need to know.
With over 6 years experience in mining engineering, Ian is an open-cut Senior Mining Engineer with solid operational and technical skills in coal and exposure to Copper/Gold orebodies. During his career, Ian has lead project delivery on several major studies and demonstrates strong skills in short; medium and long term scheduling across a suite of software including Vulcan CAD/Optimisation and Deswik Scheduler/Landform.
MEC is proud to announce that Managing Director Simon Cohn will employ his 20 years of industry experience to provide leadership and advice to a mentee as part of the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and Women in Mining and Resources Queensland (WIMARQ) Mentoring Program 2017.
The viability of a mine is simple to calculate. If the revenue is greater than the cost of producing then it's viable. We work out the mine life by adding up the quantity of product that is viable. This is usually done in today's dollars as it is assumed that both commodity prices and costs will inflate equally with time.