Student Journal - UWA Student Chapter - Mining Engineering Students Vacation Work

My time at Liontown Resources began in January 2024. I was picked up from Mount Keith Airport by a production engineer, who introduced me to Kathleen Valley’s open pit mining team, including engineers, geologists, surveyors, and our mining contractors, Iron Mine Contracting (IMC). He outlined our daily responsibilities:

• Attending the Drill & Blast and Load
  & Haul pre-start meetings
• Running the daily production and planning meetings
• Designing drill patterns, tie-ins, and
  blast masters

My seniors encouraged me to explore Deswik CAD and SHOTPlus software, starting with the learner modules before progressing to calculating haul road lift volumes and ultimately performing drill and blast designs. Later, a group of engineers and I took part in Deswik’s Open Pit Drill & Blast course in Perth.

As university recommenced in March, I eagerly accepted the opportunity to continue working on-site part-time until November, when I transitioned back to full-time.

Liontown has offered a network of broadening experiences relating to occupational health and safety tasks. The team encourages safety inspections, hazard identification, traffic management planning, and the development of trigger action response plans. Novel assignments entailed presenting a slideshow on the importance of haul road maintenance to the IMC Load & Haul team, alongside checking DEMIRS compliance of LV’s and explosives management. Most days involve creating a blast exclusion notice for sleeping and blasting shots, which is then distributed to the wider Kathleen Valley team. A standout experience was participating in a mental health first aid.

Recently, my seniors have supported me in diversifying into the weekly planning process, which has allowed me to engage in a more expansive, forward-thinking mindset. Requiring thought to finding the best practical solution to problems that impact the course of production as well as collaboration with both IMC, Geology, Metallurgy, and other departments, with the goal of aligning with the 3-month schedule targets and ensuring smooth coordination among all parties.

My current adventure has been working as a part of IMC’s blast crew. I’ve been asking lots of questions which has provided a fresh perspective on drill and blast practices. Spending extended time in the pit has heightened my respect for my colleagues on the blast crew and given me time to observe the impressive process of an operational mine.

Highlights from my time at Liontown include:

• Learning from professionals in all aspects of mining and life, through general conversations, formal meetings, drives, games of ping pong, at the gym and over meals.
• Witnessing the results of the team’s hard work in the form of blast videos, visible pit progression and project completion.
• Feeling a part of the community on-site.
• The food!

Over the past year, Kathleen Valley has become a second home, and I am grateful to the teams at Liontown and IMC for their investment in both my professional growth and personal development.