Student Journal - Tasmania Student Chapter - Earth Science Students Vacation Work

Bio
Jacinta is in her final year of a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Earth Sciences at the University of Tasmania. She is particularly passionate about hydrogeology, and large-scale metamorphic deformation. Recently she has undertaken vacation work with Whitehaven at Blackwater QLD where she has been able to apply her knowledge supporting the lead mine geologists. Her favourite snack is carrots and hummus, and enjoys hiking and a good sunrise. 

Article
Over the summer holidays I have been working with Whitehaven Coal as a Geologist, who have recently acquired two major metallurgical coal mines in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. I was situated at the Blackwater site – their largest operating mine among the six owned, which extends 80km in strike, and produces annually ~12 million tonnes of coal. 

My time at Blackwater has made me appreciate how applicable principles of geology are to every day. Everything we do stems from geology. The structural stability of highwalls, the tertiary material required for ramps, dumping and rehab, selecting the right sized digger for a pit due to complex faulting - everything. 
The job itself on this site, in my opinion, has to be one of the best. As mine geologists, we get the best of both worlds in the sense that we get to be outside with boots on the ground through inspections and operator guidance, but also enjoy the luxuries of having an office. The Central Queensland summer is intense (keeping in mind I have come from Tassie), so being able to work in the air conditioning is a win!

Within the program, I was exposed to a variety of roles and tasks which gave me a true appreciation of the scale at which this company operates. As a Mine Geology Intern, I was able to learn from not just my geologist colleagues, but also engineers, coal planners and explorations geologists about the ins and outs of their daily tasks, which was a credit to this program. I have been able to see firsthand the full cycle of the mine – from exploration rigs and labelling core, mine scheduling, drill and blast, all the way to the wash plant and processing – and everything in between.
 
After the initial learning curve of using programs such as Vulcan and Plexar, I have learned to model faults, and thus interpret coal seams, their thickness, displacement and thinning/thickening, which I know will be helpful in my years to come as a professional geologist. 

One thing I’ve learned - it’s not necessarily the work itself but rather who you work with that makes a job enjoyable. The work culture here has been fantastic. From day dot, I was made to feel welcomed, which substantially helped to ease the transition into the industry (especially for a newbie like me). 

Overall, this experience has been brilliant. The standard at which Whitehaven is structured and operates, with the emphasis on safety and personal development is a credit to the company. If anyone is on the fence about applying, I couldn’t recommend this program more.