Mining engineering as a career combines several areas of expertise. In addition to specialist mining knowledge and engineering expertise, a mining engineer needs strong management skills, people skills and a sound understanding of financial and business principles. In general, a mining engineer will progress to the level of mine manager where he will apply and implement the knowledge he has gained over the years. The main responsibility of a mine manager is to extract minerals from an orebody, safely and economically, in line with predetermined business targets.
Typically, a mining graduate or diplomate would progress as follows:
Mining engineers may also become technical specialists in the fields of rock engineering or mining economics.
Mechanical engineering, one of the broadest engineering disciplines, involves the design, production, manufacture and maintenance of the various types of equipment and machinery used in the operation of a mine.
Electricity supply is a significant cost for all mines. Heavy current electrical engineering is concerned with the supply, distribution, transformation and use of electrical power. Electrical engineers on a mine are concerned with the design, manufacture, installation and management of major high-voltage power systems such as sub-stations, ventilation systems and pumps, shaft hoisting systems and underground transport.
A typical career path for an engineer on a mine would be as follows:
A section engineer on a mine will also be involved in the selection, training and career development of learners, technicians, artisans, engineering foremen and junior engineers.
The metallurgical discipline covers the design, operation and closure of processing plants and tailings facilities.
The role of the metallurgist in a gold mine is critical, as it deals with the safe and profitable extraction of gold and associated minerals from the mine’s ore.
It would be usual for a graduate metallurgist to progress as follows:
Geology is the study of rock formations and the earth’s crust, and includes classifying and mapping of the composition and distribution of mineral deposits.
In the mining industry, this knowledge is applied to find additional mineral resources and to upgrade existing resources.
A geological career in the mining industry follows one of two broad routes: exploration or mining geology.
A career in financial management on a mine involves detailed cost control and presentation of management accounts to enable internal and external stakeholders to make an accurate assessment of the company’s financial provision and make decisions based on reliable financial data.
A typical career path would be as follows:
Human resources practitioners work with a company’s most important resource, its people. The discipline is broad, including such aspects as training and development, performance evaluation and management, labour and employee relations, employee benefits, and career development. It follows that human resources offers considerable scope for specialisation. In South Africa, the discipline is playing a major role in making the transformation of the mining industry a reality. The usual progression would be as follows:
