Who works in the mines... not many, if any.

[DBLDOSE]

I've just come across to ACM as a shot firer on a 2:1 roster. Really really good pay.
They are looking for people to fill couple sites and various positions.
I was at Leinster UG before and I didn't find it that good, too much paper work for every heading you go into and they keep you on the same job for a while especially if you're good at what you're doing. Very hard to move up. That was when I was there and probably still the same.

Barminco isn't too bad neither, their sunrise dam site has one of the lowest paid jobs up to service crew and from charge up onwards is pretty good. At ACM non leading hand service crew gets $500 a shift and at Sunrise it's $400 and the leading hand $500. Thats for Barminco and ACM on 2:1 rosters.

I'm on about $380 a shift at Argyle on bottom nipper rate, but paperwork is being done for top nipper rate but that should only push me to $420ish I think.

The thing is, I work hard, but at Argyle that means fuck all because there is rarely enough work anyway, and we get the worst green starters ever, so they keep the better nippers offsiding to keep the jumbo ops happy. Looking to go somewhere where I can move up, but keep the good roster and pay, but don't think I will find much.

[2LMILK]

Handed in notice to rio tinto last week.
Start at fmg port hedland 8/6 fifo in the warehouse next month. Anyone else based in hedland

[-Luke-]

Did you happen to work at the 7 mile stores?

[2LMILK]

Was at cape n dampier doing stock take a few years ago, then at brockamn 4 atm for past 1.5 years

[morgazmatron]

Handed in notice to rio tinto last week.
Start at fmg port hedland 8/6 fifo in the warehouse next month. Anyone else based in hedland

Good mob to work for.

I'm in the city in IT. But heading to Christmas Creek fifo next week for site IT. Can't wait to get out of the office.

[S133LTR]

Im interested in fmg's new rail work shop in ph.. They were advertising for ppl but then withdrew the adverts? Hows the fmg pay compared to rt? (im rio atm)

[-Luke-]

Was at cape n dampier doing stock take a few years ago, then at brockamn 4 atm for past 1.5 years

I thought I may have know you but I'm probably thinking of another bloke that's just left 7 mile to go to FMG

[PSI 304]

Anyone at Tanami's new Oberon camp? Been told our drill rig will be leaving Boddington soon and have a feeling thats where I will be sent next. Can you get any reception out that way these days? Its a long shot, i know lol.

[rucker_]

Anyone else Underground for BHP up at Leinster? I'v got my orientation monday then off to site tuesday afternoon! Cant wait.

[Jizz-Lebrity]

Any niggas here live at Port Haven?

[family guy]

Plenty of nigga's live in Port Hedland :P

[Yarms]

Anyone else Underground for BHP up at Leinster? I'v got my orientation monday then off to site tuesday afternoon! Cant wait.\

yeh i stay in leinster but work over at agnew , my last night sunday then 3 months off woo.. Have heard rumors the bhp site (LNO) might shut soon?

[ossie cossie]

I work at BHP Lienster In th underground electrical retic dept. Night shift next tuesday.

[DRIFT13]

I work for Rio Tinto at the Operations Centre in Perth. Having spent 12 years with Komatsu doing everything from Heavy Duty fitter to Estimator, this place is like Heaven!

3 days, 3 nights, 6 off, in Perth!

[kiasu]

Any niggas here live at Port Haven?

lol used to be, now at 'the landings' Port Haven and Wedgefield are turning to moteling - ie. when you leave on r&r your room is made available for someone else. massive bed shortages apparently with all the new works going on including the boodarie/outer harbour project. kinda glad im in a caravan now though haha, still get to go haven for dinner with our room keys :)

[Jizz-Lebrity]

Ahh yes a few of my Caliber friends were shipped out to become trailer trash recently also :p

We're going even time at BHPBIO because of the room shortages, but sharing it with your back to back person is a small price to pay for the extra time off :D

[Ash-u-lee]

I was at port haven, such a nice camp. K111 or J24!

Does anyone work for Saipem or can give me any feedback about them? Im going for an interview on Monday for a perth based HSE systems coodinator position and want to make sure that im not transfering from one unorganised company to another.

Dont think i can relive the past 3 months again.

[2LMILK]

Im interested in fmg's new rail work shop in ph.. They were advertising for ppl but then withdrew the adverts? Hows the fmg pay compared to rt? (im rio atm)

+15k, to do less work

[mickag]

anyone have any contacts to get into a contract admin / project engineering position?? pm me... I know Roy Hill is coming up and FMG have a fair bit of work around Christmas Creek / Solomons, etc.

[tehobbit]

Anyone up at Marandoo? Looking to widen my social circle/gym mates.

[Satan]

I work for Rio Tinto at the Operations Centre in Perth. Having spent 12 years with Komatsu doing everything from Heavy Duty fitter to Estimator, this place is like Heaven!

3 days, 3 nights, 6 off, in Perth!

Me too. What do you do?

[Butla]

the OC.....heaven.......

you have alot to learn son! Its pretty much a retirement homem no career prospects at all going down there. If you want a dead end job, thats the place to go!

[Gonzola]

I've had 8 days off in the last 6 weeks.

Go me and my awesome job :(

[Satan]

the OC.....heaven.......

you have alot to learn son! Its pretty much a retirement homem no career prospects at all going down there. If you want a dead end job, thats the place to go!

Depends how well you can scarf down the covk, you should have done okay!

But yes, you're right- you can almost smell the decay!!

[Passage GT]

+15k, to do less work

we've had a few people in rail go to fmg, pay is definitely better, their yard drivers get the same money on a 2/2 roster that ours get on a 2/1 and they also get a better bonus each year, all good if your fifo but fuck living in headland as a resi!


I work for Rio Tinto at the Operations Centre in Perth. Having spent 12 years with Komatsu doing everything from Heavy Duty fitter to Estimator, this place is like Heaven!

3 days, 3 nights, 6 off, in Perth!

do you do train control or cd2 plant control by any chance?

[mattyb89]

anyone up at cape lambert??? i should be heading up there for next shut down

[mys1]

Just doned my high Vis for the first time today

6 weeks training with OTRACO in maddington. Then it's off to site - not sure what site exactly yet, likely to be a 2-1 roster maybe an 8-6 if I'm lucky

So far so good, but only one day down

[beefcake]

They are onsite with us mate , would be good if you could score a shift up hear at CC Kantama camp

[rucker_]

First time flying out for me tomorro. Any tips on what to pack? Apart from the obvious!

[Steele304VS]

get a script for diazepam and anti-depressants! hah nah jj

you'll be fine, remember washing powder. they don't usually supply that!
I left the mines to work in the city, 40k less but don't have to sleep at work. love ity

[Bomber]

First time flying out for me tomorro. Any tips on what to pack? Apart from the obvious!
A fucking Jacket because when that Easterly kicks in straight off the desert night/early morning you will wish you were on fire because then at least you'd be warm :D

[millzy_88]

^^ Jacket, gets fucking cold in the morning sometimes.

[Denver]

The essentials. Tooth brush/paste, hair shampoo and conditioner. Deodorant. Shaver. Coffee mug. Enough socks and jocks for several days. Work and casual clothes. Stubbie holder if your a drinker. And enough smokes to get you through if your a smoker.

Plus work boots if they're not supplied. Thick
Socks to suit. And if it gets cold where you are. A warm jacket.

Basically prep as if your at home but without needing to get food

[kiasu]

laptop with a telstra usb prepaid broadband dongle to keep your sanity. (or just lappy if your camp offers free broadband)

[rucker_]

Cheers for all the suggestions guys.
Apparently theres free WiFi up at my site (BHP Leinster) but also have heard its not that great!
Iv got a spare ps3 so that will definatly be staying up there!
My phone is currently with optus, will i need to get a prepaid telstra sim so make calls/txts etc? I cant see why i just cant send text via WiFi through my iPhone?

[Tre-Cool]

finally flying to solomon on monday morning for 5 days. then home for weekend then 9 days on.

[Passage GT]

anyone up at cape lambert??? i should be heading up there for next shut down

when is that? we've had a month of shut downs while they redo the south end of the railyard and demolished the old c02 tripper, wouldn't imagine another one coming so soon but i haven't actually checked the dates.

[jnr]

Alittle off topic but on topic, Has anyone heard of Radlink Communitions? They install and services radios at mine sites, what are they like to work for, etc.

Cheers
Jnr

[evoeata]

Cheers for all the suggestions guys.
Apparently theres free WiFi up at my site (BHP Leinster) but also have heard its not that great!
Iv got a spare ps3 so that will definatly be staying up there!
My phone is currently with optus, will i need to get a prepaid telstra sim so make calls/txts etc? I cant see why i just cant send text via WiFi through my iPhone?

if your going to leinster you will only be there 8 days. take a few pairs of jocks and socks, toothbrush and thats about it. you can get everything at the shop in leinster.

[beefcake]

A fucking Jacket because when that Easterly kicks in straight off the desert night/early morning you will wish you were on fire because then at least you'd be warm :D
It's fucking evil right now , but they bought gas heaters for the pub in CC camp tonight shit yeh

[Brett Allan]

Cheers for all the suggestions guys.
Apparently theres free WiFi up at my site (BHP Leinster) but also have heard its not that great!
Iv got a spare ps3 so that will definatly be staying up there!
My phone is currently with optus, will i need to get a prepaid telstra sim so make calls/txts etc? I cant see why i just cant send text via WiFi through my iPhone?

wifi isn't too bad, best time is about 9pm as not many people are using it....I do sometimes give up all hope and use my phone/hotspot.

to make calls, yes...you will need a telstra SIM, or you can also do as you suggested in regards to wifi texting... but I swapped to telstra as it is just more conveniant...
:)

[leighg]

i've been using Radlink for years, Jim and they boys are pretty cool. i'd imagine they'd be pretty decent to work for, they dont seem to have much turn over. i've been dealing with the same 4 - 5 blokes over the last 4 years

[jnr]

Ok kool, good to hear. On one of the other forums I'm on, they were asking for eoi and just this week asks for CV's. So I'll see what happens

cheers

jnr

[mattyb89]

when is that? we've had a month of shut downs while they redo the south end of the railyard and demolished the old c02 tripper, wouldn't imagine another one coming so soon but i haven't actually checked the dates. work told us it might be end of june start of july

[schnoods]

Anyone looking to go to Higginsville Alacer gold mine for ACM stay the fuck out.
ACM fucking talked the site up when I went for the interview, when I went up it was totally opposite. I told them to book me a flight back or I'll pay mine on the 2nd day of induction. Fucking shortcuts left right centre underground. OH'S reps with fucking no clue what so ever.
Working at a safe mine previously with experienced OH'S reps was a big difference compare to ACM. Big big difference when experienced OH's take everyone out and show them through out the mine and a OH's that just want's everyone to sign their shit and start work and have no idea how everything works. First of all the scaling which is dangerous if you aren't holding the scaling bar with proper retreat, the green starters weren't even shown how to use one for fuck sake, that's when I decided this is fucking dangerous and some pingpingpingping will get hurt and fucked off. Anyone looking at going stay the fuck out because you will not get to the new camp for at least a year. I was told couple weeks and rocked up and had guys telling me they've been at the old camp for over 6 months already down at Mariners since the Higginsville camp is full. New starters come and leave every swing because of the shit camp. ESS has to be one of the worst caterers out there too.

I don't know whats happening to the mining industry now days, back in the day you had to earn up to it and work like a mad pingpingpingping to fucking step up and now pingpingpingpings are nippering for 3 months, drive a truck for 2 months, couple months on service crew and into charge up in their first 15 months. To me that's a quick step up with lack of knowledge underground.
When I first started I was nippering for almost a year, 8 months on the truck all tho i hated them so much, 2 years service crew than finally moved onto charge up.

Any new starters that have never been in the industry fucking look after your selves because the lack of training has dropped a lot, don't think because you are moving up the ladder at a quick pace that you know everything. I'm not the best pingpingpingping out there or rate my self to be one and still today I'm learning about underground.

Its always the way with promotions, If you promote a good worker off the tools you will lose a good worker. Promote a wanker and you will at least have a good crew to pull the wanker along.


The smaller mines with smaller contractors etc are always shit for OHS. I did one shutdown at Marvel Loch, Was putting up a new platform and welding gussets etc in a cherry picker when the supervisor was asking me to climb up on to the platform (no gridmesh or handrails etc) and put a couple of cross pieces in, didnt think about working on heights, safety supervisor was watching saying "its a good thing your here, we wouldnt get away with this at any other site".. Safety only came into play when two boilermakers in our crew got a few jolts from the welder (while working in light drizzle on wet steel). They were on the ECG for the rest of the remaining day or 2 of the shut. Then when they had to extend the shutdown for a couple of days because of weather, they wondered why no one volunteered to get a couple days extra pay.

Also the only site where ESS was any good that i've worked at was Leinster, only because of the volume of workers they had to please. They used to fly in a chef (sometimes asian, seafood, italian, etc) just for a changed to fish and chip night etc. Mind you they still were getting hazard reports for ESS's death by chilli sauce and the mysterious contents of the "combination curry".

[kiasu]

lol ESS's combo curry..

[Darklove]

City Square week 1 - awesome views. Everything broken. Still waiting for one of the express lifts to shit themselves somewhere between floors 1 and 36

[Satan]

can anyone tell me what a BHP employee spending a few weeks at newman can expect? I have no idea if they even have a camp?

GO!

[R3N]

Karijini National Park

[2LMILK]

Anybody else here in port hedland.
Just stared out at FMG

[Satan]

Karijini National Park

if that was a reply to my question, thanks - very informative!

[Passage GT]

whether you work up there or not, if you have any appreciation for natural beauty, spend at least 3 days at Karijini, stunning place and i can't wait to go back.
If anything it's made me want to visit more gorges etc in the pilbara and Kimberly

[Satan]

yes I've spent some time in Karijini thanks

[vy ss ute m6]

Anybody else here in port hedland.
Just stared out at FMG

Port or Rail? I'm at Port Engineering

[Evolved]

Anyone here working at , wait for it

.............Nifty ??

[tehobbit]

whether you work up there or not, if you have any appreciation for natural beauty, spend at least 3 days at Karijini, stunning place and i can't wait to go back.
If anything it's made me want to visit more gorges etc in the pilbara and Kimberly

I work at Marandoo, Smack in the middle of it..
When work/dust/laborers shit me.. i stare into the mountains, wondering where a good place to hide the body would be...
But seriously very picturesk, Though ESS food sucks the big 111. Though the expansion should see some better facilities.

[Buckets]

can anyone tell me what a BHP employee spending a few weeks at newman can expect? I have no idea if they even have a camp?

GO!

Multiple camps (Kurra + the Caravan parks), + Mia Mia "hotel" + The eco village & town flats. Newman's really not a bad town, Heaps of pubs, footy season should be on so you can head to the matches on the weekend, avoid the shops, especially chicken treat although Subway was alright. Anything owned by Auzcorp will be crap but super expensive and there's heaps of locals, most are harmless but avoid where possible.


When work/dust/laborers shit me.. i stare into the mountains, wondering where a good place to hide the body would be...
Let the mountain come to the murder victim... Go for the toe of an active waste dump.

[2LMILK]

Port or Rail? I'm at Port Engineering

Port, just started in the stores.
Fly in tomorrow morning 8/6

[dexplosion]

any of you mad dogs at Koolan Island ?

[sami_]

City Square week 1 - awesome views. Everything broken. Still waiting for one of the express lifts to shit themselves somewhere between floors 1 and 36

what level you on? I moved in last week, level 26. got to my new desk, no computer. 4 of us draftees had to move back to osborne park.
its been nearly 2 weeks and new computers still havnt been sorted out. IT keeps saying "yep they'll be ready tomorrow". the rest of my group havent had any major issues.
but yeah like you said, awesome views. impressive building. level 45 is amazing. foodcourt on the ground floor looks good too

[lil regy]

few guys from here (Argyle) have headed Nifty way. i was there before the GFC. Are the rumours true it is going back to 2n1?? have been told they run bulk air coolers so the mine may be a little cooler than it used to be.

[JBAE]

Apart from the usual suspects like ovaxitd and protecon any new additions to working offshore?

[Fr3d]

been working offshore full time for the last 2 years, before that was with various 3rd party O&G companies. currently out on the ensco 109

[JBAE]

Ahaha rooster! Hows things mate cockhead deighton is back at the 109 as crane op through GRN I hear?

[Poktrokt]

what level you on? I moved in last week, level 26. got to my new desk, no computer. 4 of us draftees had to move back to osborne park.
its been nearly 2 weeks and new computers still havnt been sorted out. IT keeps saying "yep they'll be ready tomorrow". the rest of my group havent had any major issues.
but yeah like you said, awesome views. impressive building. level 45 is amazing. foodcourt on the ground floor looks good too

Ah back to Osborne Park... I'm at Yandi in the Engineering dept so deal with you guys a lot!! Mainly the engineers but sometimes have draftees come up!

[Rb25vlt8]

Any one been to carenia mine site ??? Apparently it's a new
Site and a iron ore mine looks like I'm heading there in two weeks with komatsu

[Fr3d]

Ahaha rooster! Hows things mate cockhead deighton is back at the 109 as crane op through GRN I hear?

Things are ok here, same as always. Yea he took over billys spot when he went back to diamond.

[tehobbit]

What do you do there man? Got myself lined up to start out at Marandoo in September which I'm pretty stoked about.

HSE Advisor - Not a bad place, Who u gonna be working with?

[Dr_Twist]

Ah back to Osborne Park... I'm at Yandi in the Engineering dept so deal with you guys a lot!! Mainly the engineers but sometimes have draftees come up!

Hey, i am at Yandi in the Planning Department? Where are you based onsite?

[Poktrokt]

Hey, i am at Yandi in the Planning Department? Where are you based onsite?

Im at the Eastern end of the OHP3 Offices (aka The Bronx)
dont tell me you in the Crystal Palace? LOL

[Buckets]

A bit of a random question for the Yandi mob, what the plan for the surface miners you've got sitting around (I'm lead to believe) onsite ? And why did they get them in the 1st place...

[Dr_Twist]

Im at the Eastern end of the OHP3 Offices (aka The Bronx)
dont tell me you in the Crystal Palace? LOL

Western End of OHP3 Offices :D

[tehobbit]

Oh nice. Yeah it seemed really down to earth on my site visit a few weeks ago. I think I'm going to be working with Dave/Chris from tech support (?) as a graduate mech engineer. Now I just gotta hope I passed all my exams/thesis haha.

Na i meant which contractor or u with the EPCM/Rio?

[mattyb89]

any one up at a rio site in dampier im flying up on thursday for first swing

[summoner]

Anyone out at Jimblebar or Newman? Work for Freo Cranes based in Newman and have been sitting out at Jimblebar for a while and meant to be there for the next few weeks as we help the construction there. Also head out to OB 18/24, East Angeles, Yandi, Area C etc. Might see some ALers around.

[thommo]

A bit of a random question for the Yandi mob, what the plan for the surface miners you've got sitting around (I'm lead to believe) onsite ? And why did they get them in the 1st place...


There was some wise person who thought they would work amazing digging iron ore but clearly they were shit. Currently sitting at the top of central/eastern pits doing nothing

[thommo]

Western End of OHP3 Offices :D


you on nights right now ?

[Buckets]

Anyone out at Jimblebar or Newman? Work for Freo Cranes based in Newman and have been sitting out at Jimblebar for a while and meant to be there for the next few weeks as we help the construction there. Also head out to OB 18/24, East Angeles, Yandi, Area C etc. Might see some ALers around.

Jimblebar & OB18... ah the memories. It's actually pretty nice out there.

[munt]

anyone at barrow with leightons? supposedly a high turnover rate with the workers?

[ben351]

Few things I am chasing if anyone knows of anyone free and avail now for work get some CV’s into me for review

All 4 & 1 rosters – no exceptions or negotiations

Sparkies – must have current WA Electrical Licence / White card
Project – Solomon Crushing Hubs
FIFO – Will fly from all major cities in Aus.
Length - ~6months with opportunity to transfer off to other projects at the completion
Pay – Total Base $43.16 + penalties for all overtime / weekend work + $5.10 site allowance per hour flat / $56 p/week flat Electrical Allowance / $260 p/week accrues for every week you are onsite and is paid out as a lump sum at the completion of the project or when you finish up.

Riggers – must have Advanced Rigging tickets / EWP ticket / WAH ticket
Project – SHARK BAY Salt Plant Upgrade ( structural steel erecting )
FIFO – Perth only ( Eastern States must fly over at their own expense )
Length - ~end of year
Pay – Total Base - $37.74 + penalties for all overtime / weekend work + $3.80 site allowance per hour flat / 215 p/week accrues for every week you are onsite and is paid out as a lump sum at the completion of the project or when you finish up.

Mechy Fitters - must have EWP / WAH / Trade Certs
Project – SHARK BAY Salt Plant Upgrade ( mainly Conveyor work )
FIFO – Perth only ( Eastern States must fly over at their own expense )
Length - ~end of year
Pay – Total Base - $39.38 + penalties for all overtime / weekend work + $3.80 site allowance per hour flat / 215 p/week accrues for every week you are onsite and is paid out as a lump sum at the completion of the project or when you finish up.


Allroles require you pass a Pre-Employment Medical / Clean DAS / Complete paperwork / Complete online inductions.

All these roles are avail IMMEDIATELY. I don’t have time to answer questions – it is what it is – and all relevant info is listed above. Send CV’s to ben.newnham@cimeco.com.au

Don’t call me up to discuss the roles or tell me how keen you are like I said I am under the pump massively at the minute so these are straight forward requests for quality experienced guys – my admins will not let the calls through regardless of the situation – if you are successful I will contact you and get the ball rolling – thanks guys.

[Rb25vlt8]

Any one working out carina mine site ???

[Steele304VS]

was up/in there for almost 2 years, came back to city and took a 40k pay cut. Pretty keen to go back fifo even though it can be depressing as phuck at times.
over traffic and trains and gronks on the roads

[Dr_Twist]

you on nights right now ?

Fly back in tomorrow, I do 8/6

[Satan]

Multiple camps (Kurra + the Caravan parks), + Mia Mia "hotel" + The eco village & town flats. Newman's really not a bad town, Heaps of pubs, footy season should be on so you can head to the matches on the weekend, avoid the shops, especially chicken treat although Subway was alright. Anything owned by Auzcorp will be crap but super expensive and there's heaps of locals, most are harmless but avoid where possible.


Let the mountain come to the murder victim... Go for the toe of an active waste dump.

cool thanks for the info - we shall see :) only a couple of months on a 4/4/5/5 roster until the control room is finished in the glass coffin :)

[Jizz-Lebrity]

You're going to be working out of the IROC? Jealous!

[Satan]

yeah I got my offer a couple of weeks ago, jumping from the OC - fuck that airport traffic!!

[summoner]

Jimblebar & OB18... ah the memories. It's actually pretty nice out there.

Yeah been out there for bit over 2 weeks at Jimblebar. Pretty cruisey and the crib has a decent coffee machine. Working under FAST unloading their materials as it comes in. Staying in my Freo house in Newman though instead of the camp as it means more LAHA.

[Buckets]

Yeah been out there for bit over 2 weeks at Jimblebar. Pretty cruisey and the crib has a decent coffee machine. Working under FAST unloading their materials as it comes in.

I was out there for around 5 years, Started OB-18 (literally I was one of the 1st people inducted on the pre strip) and spent a fair whack of time working on the J'bar Wheelarra cutback projects. I sort of miss the site but don't miss BHP at all.

[S133LTR]

any one up at a rio site in dampier im flying up on thursday for first swing

Im in staying in Dampier (with Rtio), Where are you working and what are you doing.

[2LMILK]

Anyone working in hedland

[kiasu]

Working under FAST unloading their materials as it comes in. I work for FAST in hedland, lol.. they've decided to can the outerharbour and boodarie and have started culling and demobing the perth offices (6-800 job cuts).. sigh looks like another 6-8months then ill be looking for something else.

[Jizz-Lebrity]

The downside to expansion; it's only good while it lasts :(

[summoner]

I work for FAST in hedland, lol.. they've decided to can the outerharbour and boodarie and have started culling and demobing the perth offices (6-800 job cuts).. sigh looks like another 6-8months then ill be looking for something else.

My work out there is done, we were subbies for Fast (I work for Freos). Now that UGL has finally got their shit sorted they're taking over their role so we aren't needed as much. I expect to be back kicking rocks in the yard when my r&r is over this swing. Although will probably be involved in the new power station at Newman and we've got some work for Downers on their bit lined up. Next major job for us from the sounds of it will be the camp out at roy hill.. throwing dongas all day is boring but the rates are meant to be top notch.

[Breno]

soooo... i've been working in mining for ages in Aus... just got in for my first swing in Papua New guinea. working for Monadelpheous / KT Pipelines putting in a pipe from tabubil to Kiunga. google Oktedi mine for some fun facts about this place.

shit's real.

[summoner]

soooo... i've been working in mining for ages in Aus... just got in for my first swing in Papua New guinea. working for Monadelpheous / KT Pipelines putting in a pipe from tabubil to Kiunga. google Oktedi mine for some fun facts about this place.

shit's real.

Need more riggers? :p

[family guy]

Citic pacific anyone?

[Breno]

yes. our national / only working rigger just got the ass. but, i think they're only hiring locals for the job.

... coz they get about 8 kina an hour.

[JBAE]

soooo... i've been working in mining for ages in Aus... just got in for my first swing in Papua New guinea. working for Monadelpheous / KT Pipelines putting in a pipe from tabubil to Kiunga. google Oktedi mine for some fun facts about this place.

shit's real.

When i started with KTs back in the day they had just got back from a PNG job and had some fucking intradesting stories! one of their nationals got his throat cut, DONT RUN OVER PIGS!!! and dont fuck the locals! apparently like 6 or 8 aussies from the east coast came home to australia with AIDS from dicking the jungle bunnies!

[kiasu]

LOOL

[Breno]

you worked for KT? lol. doesn't surprise me... where were you?

hahaha, i have heard of them banging the thai workforce... but the JBs? really? fuck... that's some desperation.

the nationals are always getting rowdy. one guy bought an axe to work and asked the safety manager if he could sharpen it with a grinder to kill someone who dissed his cousin. his reasoning was "i won't kill him during work time, and i will wear my PPE because i am Man Blong Wok." (a good worker)

fucking LOL

[mys1]

Anyone at Argyle?

I'm up here with OTRACO

[teknoboi]

Anyone working in hedland

Yeah mate, im with RIO(DSL) in hedland rotating to karratha/dampier in oct!

[-Luke-]

what's your role @ Dsl?

[teknoboi]

graduate process engineer, you here too?

[karnage]

Im a grad proc eng?

[2LMILK]

Yeah mate, im with RIO(DSL) in hedland rotating to karratha/dampier in oct!

Oh rio hey, sucks to be you..
I left rio B4 to come to FMG hedland

[-Luke-]

graduate process engineer, you here too?

I'm up the road at 7mile I work in Asset Management for the Rail Division.

[teknoboi]

Oh rio hey, sucks to be you..
I left rio B4 to come to FMG hedland

haha yeah resigning at end of year. got offered a FIFO job

[turboknapp]

Oh rio hey, sucks to be you..
I left rio B4 to come to FMG hedland

Not sure if that is a winning comment, you've gone from 1st to 3rd in resource suppliers in Australia and FMG have all the eggs in one basket. Iron Ore

[exXU1]

True

[turboknapp]

In saying that, all big mining companies have the pros and cons. Just depends how much bullshite your willing to put up with

[millzy_88]

Edit lol:

1st to 4th

But its not all about the size of the company. I have heard of a lot of people going to smaller companies for better conditions/opportunities. And its not like you'd be guaranteed a job at Rio if you worked in Iron Ore and it went tits up either.

[Torquen]

Not sure if that is a winning comment, you've gone from 1st to 3rd in resource suppliers in Australia and FMG have all the eggs in one basket. Iron Ore

Iron Ore is a fucking big basket though!

Also work up in PH intermittently for WorleyParsons. Do enviro contract work for FAST, FMG, Rio, BHP etc etc...

[2LMILK]

Not sure if that is a winning comment, you've gone from 1st to 3rd in resource suppliers in Australia and FMG have all the eggs in one basket. Iron Ore

FMG pay me more, do alot less work(no stress) and are just all round better.

Maby at different RIO sites compared to brockman4 they are ok

[kiasu]

iron ore is coming to an end.. china's just stockpiling the shit now, even heard rumours of them dumping ore into the ocean. lol

http://article.wn.com/view/2012/07/27/China_ironore_prices_slump_to_2_1_2yr_low/

[Torquen]

iron ore is coming to an end.. china's just stockpiling the shit now

Sure, still good for another 15-20 years. India are still growing... plenty of life left.

[turboknapp]

Oh I don't doubt that Iron Ore is a big basket, but it only takes one scared rumor mill on the stock exchange and we are back to 2008.

Yes FMG do pay big bucks etc but they have a reason for being labelled Four More Goes!

[kiasu]

or fucked management group lol

[2LMILK]

Oh I don't doubt that Iron Ore is a big basket, but it only takes one scared rumor mill on the stock exchange and we are back to 2008.

Yes FMG do pay big bucks etc but they have a reason for being labelled Four More Goes!

still 5 less goes the RioTarded

[JBAE]

Fuck Minesites! thought it was a good thing when i first started my last role but christ they are a different breed of person! some absolute fucking retards! doing OHS (our guys were ok thank fuck) but seeing some of the other companies and the workers they had i dont know how the pricks function day to day.

[Buckets]

Citic is not a good example of a functional mining company... (Not that BHP, RIO, FMG are much better)

[JBAE]

More referring to the contractor side of things personally i didnt mind the citic guys for the most part, bar your mate.

[Denver]

iron ore is coming to an end.. china's just stockpiling the shit now, even heard rumours of them dumping ore into the ocean. lol

http://article.wn.com/view/2012/07/27/China_ironore_prices_slump_to_2_1_2yr_low/

They've been dumping ore into the ocean for about 5 years now, its a cheap stock piling solution and won't oxidize as much as sitting on the ground

Iron ore will never come to an end, not until all the reserves are mined out, and given that the likes of BHP and RIO have 80-100 years of ore bodies planned, and FMG is very quickly catching up to them with its ore bodies the companies won't be going anywhere, yes it might plateu out a bit, but demand will still exists, people will still want cars, and coffee makers and the shit to make them has to come from somewhere..

And as it stands australias reserves while smaller and of a lower grade than the likes of brazil, and im guessing other places like africa, we can get it onto a boat a hell of a lot easier than anyone else can, and will for a long time, africa is too destabalized, and brazil is just a fucker of a place to get it from the pit to the port given its hilly nature..

If people where genuinely worried, RIO, BHP and FMG would have canned all the expansion projects, BHP has scaled back a bit, but are still expanding the current operations, and are about to bring a new and extremely large mine on line shortly to help it get over the 200 million ton a year mark while RIO is aiming for 300+ and FMG 155

[Denver]

And fuck you Fmg for proving me a little wrong. Tho they haven't canned all the expansion.

Anyone get affected by the announcement today? I'm figuring I'm ok as I'm in the mining side. But I know that a lot of the office based staff got shown the door if they where non essential staff.

[Torquen]

No BHP outer harbour has slowed work a little.

[morgazmatron]

Yeah it's mental..

FMG hitting the 155 won't be happening like the planned.. I'm site IT support and have been told I'm safe as our expansion is still going as planned. But the Perth office has been hit hard. Most contractors no longer have a job. And the full timers find out tomorrow basically.

Anyone know if the other big guys are doing the same?

[kiasu]

yep, FAST have gotten rid of 80% of our office staff, our boodarie side has been canned and demobbed, im only here til about june for the last of the inner harbour project which is basically finishing the car dumper 5 and some west stockyard works here on fini island. the dredging for the outer harbour stuff is still going ahead though lol.

[turboknapp]

http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/fortescue-metals-cuts-costs/story-e6frg2r3-1226464677445

Not that it is the be all or end all, but couldn't see this coming could you

[Buckets]

On a bit of a tangent here but I think a few of us will find the following quite interesting.

As a few of us may remember 62% iron ore fines were worth around $35 USD per metric tonne on the spot market around 5 years ago. (Spot market prices are increasingly relevant as the Fe majors have turned to the spot market rather than long term contracts in order to screw the best prices out of their customers, most supply is still on contract rates however) The price has since ballooned to just under $200 USD per metric tonne and has now eased to around $120 USD per metric tonne.

http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=iron-ore&months=60

If we go beyond 60 months and look long term we see the spot price was around $12.50 USD per metric tonne not that long ago. In short iron ore is now 10x more valuable than it was as late as 2003.

What is of note however is the spot price converted to AUD.

http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=iron-ore&months=60&currency=aud

With the AUD closing in and then passing parity the "actual value" of Australian iron ore has fallen significantly. So when you combine this with a falling price the effective hit is twice as hard. But it's still a very modest hit in the scheme of things, a smack on the arse rather than a king hit.

The problem facing the mining industry is the dramatic increase in overheads which contrary to popular belief is not the fault of workers getting paid too much but there are more people in "unproductive" roles. BHP is a prime example of this, it's management structure and overheads are so massive and inefficient it basically can't afford operate a small 2nd tier mine even if it wanted to (hence the sale of it's mid sized uranium deposit in the Goldfields). Couple this insane management overhead with the cost to fund expansions which remain revenue negative for a long time on paper (and it usually turns out worse in reality as construction delays cost time, money and lost revenue) and it's easy to see why aggressive expansion projects are being placed on the back burner.

The business case just doesn't make sense. Things like the carbon tax, mining tax and various other slugs do hurt our industries competitiveness significantly however the industry itself does have to wear a large part of the blame for getting itself to where it is now by allowing itself to loose focus on the productive elements of the business and not keeping the unproductive (and occasionally counterproductive) corporate & safety empire builders in check.

All things being considered the industry is still growing and will continue to grow albeit at a marginally slower rate. However the doomsayers are right there will come a time in the not to distant future (~5yr's) when what people refer to as the mining boom (which is actually a oil & gas / mining infrastructure construction boom) will end. There won't be swathes of projects getting investment approval again anytime soon and once the current projects such as the one I work on transitions from construction to operations there will be a huge reduction in demand for labor and services in the related industries. This is when I think the shit will hit the fan. As many would understand it takes many more people to build a job then it does to run a job, when the construction based workforce is no longer required it will be interesting to see what happens with the wider Australian economy.

However for the time being make hay people, the suns still shining !

[Torquen]

the dredging for the outer harbour stuff is still going ahead though lol.

This is what I'm happy about :)

[Buckets]

Dredging is good ! Fuck off ya stinking enviro numpty !

[Torquen]

Hell yes it's good, gives me shit loads of work!

[ben351]

On a bit of a tangent here but I think a few of us will find the following quite interesting.

As a few of us may remember 62% iron ore fines were worth around $35 USD per metric tonne on the spot market around 5 years ago. (Spot market prices are increasingly relevant as the Fe majors have turned to the spot market rather than long term contracts in order to screw the best prices out of their customers, most supply is still on contract rates however) The price has since ballooned to just under $200 USD per metric tonne and has now eased to around $120 USD per metric tonne.

http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=iron-ore&months=60

If we go beyond 60 months and look long term we see the spot price was around $12.50 USD per metric tonne not that long ago. In short iron ore is now 10x more valuable than it was as late as 2003.

What is of note however is the spot price converted to AUD.

http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=iron-ore&months=60¤cy=aud

With the AUD closing in and then passing parity the "actual value" of Australian iron ore has fallen significantly. So when you combine this with a falling price the effective hit is twice as hard. But it's still a very modest hit in the scheme of things, a smack on the arse rather than a king hit.

The problem facing the mining industry is the dramatic increase in overheads which contrary to popular belief is not the fault of workers getting paid too much but there are more people in "unproductive" roles. BHP is a prime example of this, it's management structure and overheads are so massive and inefficient it basically can't afford operate a small 2nd tier mine even if it wanted to (hence the sale of it's mid sized uranium deposit in the Goldfields). Couple this insane management overhead with the cost to fund expansions which remain revenue negative for a long time on paper (and it usually turns out worse in reality as construction delays cost time, money and lost revenue) and it's easy to see why aggressive expansion projects are being placed on the back burner.

The business case just doesn't make sense. Things like the carbon tax, mining tax and various other slugs do hurt our industries competitiveness significantly however the industry itself does have to wear a large part of the blame for getting itself to where it is now by allowing itself to loose focus on the productive elements of the business and not keeping the unproductive (and occasionally counterproductive) corporate & safety empire builders in check.

All things being considered the industry is still growing and will continue to grow albeit at a marginally slower rate. However the doomsayers are right there will come a time in the not to distant future (~5yr's) when what people refer to as the mining boom (which is actually a oil & gas / mining infrastructure construction boom) will end. There won't be swathes of projects getting investment approval again anytime soon and once the current projects such as the one I work on transitions from construction to operations there will be a huge reduction in demand for labor and services in the related industries. This is when I think the shit will hit the fan. As many would understand it takes many more people to build a job then it does to run a job, when the construction based workforce is no longer required it will be interesting to see what happens with the wider Australian economy.

However for the time being make hay people, the suns still shining !

You made my penis hard. Well written dude and COMPLETELY agree !!

[Bomber]

At MAC we have had 3 seperate safety departments and more people in the offices playing solitaire and making coffees than anywhere I have been or likely to be in the future. If someone was to quantity survey that place for dead wood they could save a shitload and that's just the one site. Mind you, if they got rid of that farkin Leica system and just locked trucks to diggers/loaders they'd save heaps in wasted productivity too. Anyway, I'll just load the trucks they send me in the mean time and keep the salary coming until I get off my ass and get tertiary education....

[Tre-Cool]

the fmg stop of the kings development kinda affects me, though we havent had full confirmation on exactly how or if it will.

I.e i work as a contractor for Caterpillar doing it support onsite at solomon. that kings area was to be done by autonomous trucks, with that put on the back burner it means they are only going to run the man'd fleet side of things.

in the end the same it equipment is used/supported just changes the priorities around on the system, though it wont stop me from keeping my eye out for other work. just in case.

[manual]

Anyone know if the other big guys are doing the same?

I know of several redundancies handed out at Rio over the last few weeks as well as vacant positions been cancelled (not going to replace staff that have left). Have been under a major SSR (Service Support Review) and still are which has made replacing staff that have left quite difficult pending on what area you work in.

Price of Iron Ore going down has only made me personally busier ... as everyone is now concerned with earnings and cash flow ...

[Poktrokt]

Price of Iron Ore going down has only made me personally busier ... as everyone is now concerned with earnings and cash flow ...
Same here, as a Cost Controller!
We no longer have money growing on trees and need to tighten the belt!
This is impacting us at Yandi, instead of recruiting more people they are moving staff around! Bad news is I just got lumped with someone who doesn't meet my criteria fu HR!

[ASSASIN]

We just had an internal email stating we are not allowed to take on any more employees, spend on travel, or any other non project related cost.
Then 5 minutes later we receive an email of 4 new people starting in the head office. I can see exactly what buckets is saying about non productive job roles. We are building an upside down pyramid just like HWE did years ago and its only a matter of time before it falls over.
FMG said this morning that soleman will be mothballed and that cloudbreak will be winding right back with those already there headed out to work at christmas creek 2.
Watching the ABC financial report they said that FMG are currently making $5 per tonne where as BHP is making $35 a tonne. Now having worked for both companies you can definitely see the difference in the way they operate. FMG seems to throw money at everything to get it to work where as BHP takes a far more conservative approach.

[ben351]

Only the Civil side of our business was effected at Solomon - I still have guys on the Electrical division heading up to complete works at "Tailfire" (correct me if that's wrong)

[Buckets]

Watching the ABC financial report they said that FMG are currently making $5 per tonne where as BHP is making $35 a tonne.

I wouldn't necessarily believe that, especially with regards to BHP's margin. Remember they managed to mine iron ore profitably (albeit in much smaller amounts) with a price below $50 dollars a tonne for a long, long time and given the spot market price is in the 90's for BHP/RIO there's still plenty of margin left even with the cost of there infrastructure & mine development / expansion projects dragging on the bottom line. Once you add the management overheads the margin gets slimmer again however I'd be very surprised if BHP wasn't making at least $50 per tonne.

FMG's problem is like the company I work for it's debt financed. As such the repayment costs of their debt facilities erode any margin they make significantly. FMG also mine quite "average" ore bodies. BHP/RIO snapped up all the cream decades ago and left the not so good stuff for the rest of us.

To put it in perspective even shitty hematite operations have a significantly lower cost per tonne than "good" magnetite operations without a properly reflective sale price difference. And the impost of the MMRT & Carbon Tax hits us far harder (per tonne produced) than hematite.

Again the business boys & girls in the head offices have shat themselves closed down solitaire or stumbled back to the office from one of the bars on the Terrace (or in Melbourne) and started slashing and burning in order to "protect the share prices". The only reason they do this is really to keep the stupid mum & dad investors happy and hope that the analysts say nice things about the managements quick reactions to "the unfolding free fall in Fe pricing which is clearly a massive crisis" which will mean the people they did their commerce / business (has a piece of paper but not a single fucking clue) degree with who now work at "insert random investment house / bank / superfund" will stop offloading / shorting the stock and start buying again making everyone happy. However starting and stopping projects is far more expensive that just pushing on copping the hit and knowing there's a good chance demand will increase in the medium term and prices may fall further in the short term but are only really returning to trend. There will of course be some un-viable projects but if they need an Fe price of >$100 per tonne it's better to leave it in the ground.

After things settle down again the business boys & girls will have some meetings with some very important Powerpoints with scary looking graphs and decide that they better hire some more business boys & girls to do business improvement things and add another layer of delays and bullshit to everything in order to make sure the companies better prepared to deal with the risks posed to the business next time the Fe price shits itself. This is why (along with a few other issues) we have some of the highest quality lowest cost mineral assets ideally located in relation to major markets but apparently have "issues" managing to make a buck out of it.

[1SPRINT]

I maybe screwed by this as my department has been told we have to get rid of 25% of our workforce, so that means around 20 people

[j3rk]

Mining may have slowed their major expansions but it's a great time to get into LNG and will be still strong for the next 5-10 years.
Although there are a few O&G minor projects (Sub 1 Billion) taking a breather most are pushing forward and smiling that they no longer have to compete with mining labour.

Do agree with everything Buckets has noted though. There will come a time when this construction stops, all facilities become production facilities.

Here's a list of LNG (construction) projects in the pipeline:
Gorgon (Chevron) - 3 Huge Trains + 2 Expansion Trains
Wheatstone (Chevron) - 2 Huge Trains + 3 Expansion Trains
Ichthys (Inpex) - 2 Trains
Browse (Woodside) - 3 Huge Trains + 2 Expansion
Sunrise (Woodside) - 1 Huge Floating Train
Prelude (Shell) - 1 Huge Floating Train
And that's just on the west coast!

FYI, historically a LNG train (construction) takes normally 1-2 years construction at full work rates (2000-5000 people) plus potentially a year or two at lead-up/completion construction teams. And with each of the projects, apart from Sunrise and Prelude, all will have at least one offshore platform to build. Some as many as three platforms.

Put all this together and those in the industry getting paid 200k+ with no experience should happily pay off their homes if they don't spend it on FD's/Evo's.
All going well hopefully the O&G (LNG) industry picks up the people who loose their jobs from the mining delays and everyone's happy!

[ben351]

looks like they are putting money back in the kitty already - http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/article/TransAlta-buys-Fortescue-power-station

[Buckets]

^ God that is a fucking dumb move in the long term... They are seriously cash strapped or just plain mad. Power supply to your processing plant is a huge input cost and if you've got the ability to control it you're miles in front.



Here's a list of LNG (construction) projects in the pipeline:
Gorgon (Chevron) - 3 Huge Trains + 2 Expansion Trains
Wheatstone (Chevron) - 2 Huge Trains + 3 Expansion Trains
Ichthys (Inpex) - 2 Trains
Browse (Woodside) - 3 Huge Trains + 2 Expansion
Sunrise (Woodside) - 1 Huge Floating Train
Prelude (Shell) - 1 Huge Floating Train
And that's just on the west coast!


Out of interest which of those projects have jumped through all the hoops and are guaranteed starters ?

[ben351]

^ God that is a fucking dumb move in the long term... They are seriously cash strapped or just plain mad. Power supply to your processing plant is a huge input cost and if you've got the ability to control it you're miles in front.


Agreed - crazy move ... I know they don't own the power stations at Xmas Creek and Cloudbreak - pretty sure Contract Power own / maintain them

[j3rk]

Out of interest which of those projects have jumped through all the hoops and are guaranteed starters ?
Gorgon, Wheatstone, Icthys, Prelude all have FID (Final Investment Decision), aka. Money where mouth is, lets do this.

Gorgon is at construction phase, expect it to be ongoing until LATE 2014/2015 for Train 1. I'd be surprised if they finished the first 3 trains before 2016.
Wheatstone is at detailed design, expect it to be at construction by 2014/15. Again, surprised if they finished the first 2 trains before 2017.
Icthys and Prelude both deep into detailed design expected construction by 2015. Good luck to them fighting Chevron for workers (Icthys), construction probably finish 2019. Prelude is a total unknown as it's never been done before, unsure how much work will be in Aust.
Note that this ignores the expansions... Lots of work.

Woodside has delayed FID on Browse until 2013, Sunrise unknown it's FLNG though so the media speculates (not me) that it'll be after Prelude.

[mattyb89]

Not much has changed at dampier but all work here is maintance. I did here that rcr mining might be taking over roller change outs but that doesnt affect me im a splicer but will leave about 7 guys with out a job with our company and that sucks becuase there good blokes

[Tre-Cool]

looks like they are putting money back in the kitty already - http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/article/TransAlta-buys-Fortescue-power-station still havent worked out how to multi quote but firetail is the site and with this, it seems strange to me to sell a power station in the middle of no where that from what i heard on site runs on diesel! (albiet can switch to gas at a later stage)

[Evman]

Word on the street is FMG is laying off 40% of their Perth staff. My sis said they had a heritage consultant come into their work today looking for a job. Was told this morning she was being laid off.

[morgazmatron]

Yeah maybe not 40% but they are slashing jobs like rugmart slashes prices...

I no longer have a manager to report to :S.. IT has be hit hard. But HR and recruitment sounds like its been cut in half at least.. All of exploration gone. Theres about 1800 operators at cloudbreak and 40% of them going.
NRW, ausdrill and downers are being cut from site or massively reduced. There will be 1500+ needing to find new work

It's actually really sad as im close to a fair few of them... But i spose that business isnt it.

[Jimmah]

Was at FMG Solomon Rail Spur project, working for Macmahon all this year,
now going to West Ang for Rio Tinto, anyone there?

[Tre-Cool]

Yeah maybe not 40% but they are slashing jobs like rugmart slashes prices...

I no longer have a manager to report to :S.. IT has be hit hard. But HR and recruitment sounds like its been cut in half at least.. All of exploration gone. Theres about 1800 operators at cloudbreak and 40% of them going.
NRW, ausdrill and downers are being cut from site or massively reduced. There will be 1500+ needing to find new work

It's actually really sad as im close to a fair few of them... But i spose that business isnt it.

i can understand operators needing to go (atleast at solomon). im not sure why but it erks me big time when i see graders doing the roads nearly every week when there is nothing wrong with the road. i.e it's nice and smooth. grader goes over and brings all the fucking rocks up. waste of man & machine power.

roads are mostly travelled by lv's anyway!

[Denver]

Yeah maybe not 40% but they are slashing jobs like rugmart slashes prices...

I no longer have a manager to report to :S.. IT has be hit hard. But HR and recruitment sounds like its been cut in half at least.. All of exploration gone. Theres about 1800 operators at cloudbreak and 40% of them going.
NRW, ausdrill and downers are being cut from site or massively reduced. There will be 1500+ needing to find new work

It's actually really sad as im close to a fair few of them... But i spose that business isnt it.

Dunno how they plan to get to 115mtpa if they sack 40% of the ops. You can't move dirt with no truck drivers.

Rumor mill says some will go to Chrissy creek to do the cc2 work as nrw and thies are getting booted.

Personally hoping they offer voluntary redundancy. Have a job at rio lined up so it's tempting.

They got rid of all the ops here with skilled. Seems dumb given they're making the company money by moving the dirt. But the companies call I guess.

[Bomber]

i can understand operators needing to go (atleast at solomon). im not sure why but it erks me big time when i see graders doing the roads nearly every week when there is nothing wrong with the road. i.e it's nice and smooth. grader goes over and brings all the fucking rocks up. waste of man & machine power.

roads are mostly travelled by lv's anyway!
Getting away from the dumpy ops....

[turboknapp]

Dunno how they plan to get to 115mtpa if they sack 40% of the ops. You can't move dirt with no truck drivers.

That is what Autonomous Trucks are for!

[c.rusli]

Currently my company are doing CC2 for its Plant Design and Detailing, It is almost at the end of the project, And not so certain for other project.

We are still waiting for the go a head from our contractors for Namuldi and Mesa J projects... hope we got them and not getting the boot :(

[2LMILK]

My gf work in HR for FMG cloudbreak, they are getting hit the worst and will be over a week till she knows whats going to happen.

Here at port we are all safe


Yeah maybe not 40% but they are slashing jobs like rugmart slashes prices...

I no longer have a manager to report to :S.. IT has be hit hard. But HR and recruitment sounds like its been cut in half at least.. All of exploration gone. Theres about 1800 operators at cloudbreak and 40% of them going.
NRW, ausdrill and downers are being cut from site or massively reduced. There will be 1500+ needing to find new work

It's actually really sad as im close to a fair few of them... But i spose that business isnt it.

[morgazmatron]

Yeah Port should be all sweet. Im at Xmas Creek so fingers crossed they dont get rid of me.. Would be hard to run it without the only IT guy on site tho.

Whos your Mrs?

[ben351]

That’s terrible news for the office staff … I can say though if anyone has been affected and is in need of work please send me though some CV’s and contact details – we are still hiring and have a lot of positions across the board on offer for both Office and Blue Collar works – I will say though we do not use Civil Machine Operators like Dump Trucks drivers and Water Cart drivers but everything else you can think off we do require – Electricians / BMW / Advanced Riggers / Skilled TA’s / Mech Fitters / HD Fitters / Crane Operators / Poly Welders / Steelfixers / Concretors / Carpenters / FW Carpenters / Boom Pump Operators ect. ect.

Office positions are across the board from site admin all the way up to Project Managers and even General manager roles.

Send contact details to ben.newnham@cimeco.com.au or email for a chat and I will get back to you as soon as I can – please do not try to call as I am currently training a new recruiter.

[2LMILK]

Yeah Port should be all sweet. Im at Xmas Creek so fingers crossed they dont get rid of me.. Would be hard to run it without the only IT guy on site tho.

Whos your Mrs?

I'll keep that info to myself.... Can't trust you lot lol

[Tre-Cool]

That is what Autonomous Trucks are for!

Solomon is the only site setup or currently has autonomous CAT trucks in australia... so far, and the area they were to operate out of was apparently put on hold.

I imagine we will be still progressing towards this, but not in an official capacity until FMG say so.

[Butcher]

Status update from a mate a X creek
"Very Eiary feeling walking past bins full of helmets and boots of the the people that have already been sacked
The CEO of Fmg is flying in to hold a site wide meeting tomoro at 11am
Cant Be Good"

[s1mon]

Solomon is the only site setup or currently has autonomous CAT trucks in australia... so far, and the area they were to operate out of was apparently put on hold.

I imagine we will be still progressing towards this, but not in an official capacity until FMG say so.

Are these actually Cat trucks, or Unitrig / Terex / Bucyrus?

[morgazmatron]

Status update from a mate a X creek
"Very Eiary feeling walking past bins full of helmets and boots of the the people that have already been sacked
The CEO of Fmg is flying in to hold a site wide meeting tomoro at 11am
Cant Be Good"

Whos he work for?

I'm up here atm and its not quite that bad yet.. But will be once the contractors go. But they will be replaced but cloudbreak people apparently.

Yeah Nev's going to all the sites tomorrow but it we are told its not a head count, and to show his face after the cull. As they have been silent so far..

also 2LMILK I think i know how your mrs is haha.. I've started seeing a clb HR chick too..

[Tre-Cool]

Are these actually Cat trucks, or Unitrig / Terex / Bucyrus?
Cat 793's

[bmgtz]

whilst I didn't work at a mine site...I "was" in the allied industry of wheels for the heavy equipment. dumps trucks...loaders and the like. I was the leading sales person for Australia for my recent employer for the first five months of this year...last week I was made redundant!! due to the down turn in the western Australian mining market. FMG aren't buying the specialist wheels... quick change packages on the trucks they are taking. BHP have just about concluded their trucks for this year ...from memory their next lot is june next year. The flow on effect the FMG nervousness is causing could see a few other unfortunates like me....

so Im looking for a job.....I just hope I get one before the shit hits the fan on a few other sales people.

[Deke]

at karara atm , agc are hiring alot of people. been standing with my hands in my pockets for 7 days now...its getting all to familiar now. Bordem will be the death of me , actually reminds me of the worsley days but doing a whole lot less

[mattyb89]

Where abouts are you mcdrift

[Poktrokt]

S1mon, I thought your site had autonomous trucks? I seen a few drive past in fluro Pink! Lol

[schnoods]

at karara atm , agc are hiring alot of people. been standing with my hands in my pockets for 7 days now...its getting all to familiar now. Bordem will be the death of me , actually reminds me of the worsley days but doing a whole lot less

My old man just started with AGC on tuesday Pipefitting up at FMG Cloudbreak.

Screaming for blokes at the moment.

[schnoods]

Word on the street is FMG is laying off 40% of their Perth staff. My sis said they had a heritage consultant come into their work today looking for a job. Was told this morning she was being laid off.


Yeah maybe not 40% but they are slashing jobs like rugmart slashes prices...

I no longer have a manager to report to :S.. IT has be hit hard. But HR and recruitment sounds like its been cut in half at least.. All of exploration gone. Theres about 1800 operators at cloudbreak and 40% of them going.
NRW, ausdrill and downers are being cut from site or massively reduced. There will be 1500+ needing to find new work

It's actually really sad as im close to a fair few of them... But i spose that business isnt it.


Dunno how they plan to get to 115mtpa if they sack 40% of the ops. You can't move dirt with no truck drivers.

Rumor mill says some will go to Chrissy creek to do the cc2 work as nrw and thies are getting booted.

Personally hoping they offer voluntary redundancy. Have a job at rio lined up so it's tempting.

They got rid of all the ops here with skilled. Seems dumb given they're making the company money by moving the dirt. But the companies call I guess.

I work in the Industrial strip at a company that builds Stackers/reclaimers, bucket wheels, slew decks etc mainly for ThyssenKrupp and Sandvik

FMG just put one complete module (monsters compared to the stuff that goes out to BHP sites) on the backburner which isnt a good sign especially when most of the paperwork is all done and dusted. Just for a comparison we did start a couple of stackers for them 3 months before the GFC years ago, when the GFC hit hard they were shelved, yet a couple of years later (rusting away in a yard they were renting) they wanted them back and completed. Paid almost 180 percent of the original price to get the heavily pitted stackers completed, would have been cheaper to start from scratch again. But quick to pull the pin when the pockets arent so deep.

[Frenchy]

Not just Iron Ore sites doing the cull, we have been getting the corporate emails etc also in the gold sector.

[Passage GT]

brother in law is a heavy duty fitter at cloudbreak for cat i think it is, he hasn't heard if he still has a job yet but did hear it's contractors going first.
last time rio had a crack at the automated trains thing the gfc hit and put an end to it, i'd fuckin laugh if this did the same, 300+ million invesment.

[Tre-Cool]

there is also a difference between cat & westrac.

westrac is the local dealer that sells/service cat gear with a nice markup.

cat is dealing directly with fmg in regards to the autonomous stuff because it's so new, and utilise westrac tech's on site to turn spanners on the autonomous trucks.

[s1mon]

S1mon, I thought your site had autonomous trucks? I seen a few drive past in fluro Pink! Lol

We have Komatsu 930E's AT's at Yandi. One of our pits is fully automated and our expansion pit will follow suit when it's finished in a couple of years. Thats if our expansion continues ..

The Pink tray you saw had something to do with the McGrath foundation. She's since been painted :p

[monk_13]

A couple mates are up at Solomon at the moment for Leighton. They have a heap of gear ready to go, including the auto 93's, but that is the pit going on hold. The pit set up for the 85's (fire tail?) will be going ahead apparently. Going to be an interesting couple months.

[Pete]

Anyone up at Point Samson/Karratha for Rio ? We've got a 6 week contract to build a slab and think i've been signed on for a 2 week stint. We're staying in the camp etc.

[DanWA]

mates a boily for fmg at cloud break, finishes up at the end of this swing, heaps of blokes been laid off

[ben351]

Send them my way !!

[Passage GT]

Anyone up at Point Samson/Karratha for Rio ? We've got a 6 week contract to build a slab and think i've been signed on for a 2 week stint. We're staying in the camp etc.

i work in rail at cape lambert
mistake regarding my brother in law too, he's employed by fmg and works at soloman as a fitter, cloudbreak was his previous role, he still hasn't found out if he has a job but he called up his old boss at westrac in boddington and was told there's a job waiting for him if he gets laid off

[DanWA]

Anyone living in Port Hedland? Opinions?

[Jizz-Lebrity]

I'm up there on a FIFO basis 50% of the time.

It's a degenerate cesspool. I wouldn't live there on a residential basis for less than 7 figures a year. Serious.



The scene at FMG this morning:

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo61/KaelDM/FMG.jpg

[2LMILK]

Anyone living in Port Hedland? Opinions?

I dont live there but i do work.
if fmg r offering you a house, take it

[2LMILK]

I'm up there on a FIFO basis 50% of the time.

It's a degenerate cesspool. I wouldn't live there on a residential basis for less than 7 figures a year. Serious.



The scene at FMG this morning:

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo61/KaelDM/FMG.jpg

that cloudbreak or xmas creek

[Buckets]

^ Kind of reminds me of Mt Keith in '09...

[Poktrokt]

^ Kind of reminds me of Mt Keith in '09...

Was thinking the same thing!
And also the same scene at Yandi, Area C (MAC) and Orebody 23/25! When the announcement was made that BHP was taking over! :( not a good sight to see!

[mc68]

I finally got a job on the east coast as a shitkicker (driller's offsider) with Weatherfords. Last I heard there were 700+ guys who applied for the same job in 3 days. Its crazy to find work like this in brisbane. People will do anything for a job which is pretty shit, really.

Should be interesting. Atleast ill keep fit.

[Torquen]

Everyone in our stream ConsultSelect at WorleyParsons was told there will be some layoffs over the next few months...pay likely engineers and exces office staff. One project manager already gone.

[Frenchy]

I finally got a job on the east coast as a shitkicker (driller's offsider) with Weatherfords. Last I heard there were 700+ guys who applied for the same job in 3 days. Its crazy to find work like this in brisbane. People will do anything for a job which is pretty shit, really.

Should be interesting. Atleast ill keep fit.
Drillers offsider can be a pingpingpingping of a job man, but stick with it and hopefully with a decent driller to offside, you will get some great skills. I love drilling, but hardly get a chance to get on the levers anymore :(

[V70R]

My question is, is it still worth trying to get into the mining industry as a result of these large lay-offs?

[Frenchy]

My question is, is it still worth trying to get into the mining industry as a result of these large lay-offs?

Depends on your experience, but for most it is still worth getting a job with the owner / operator side of things rather than as a contractor. We are having redundancies at our work, yet we are still hiring operators and bosses.

I think there is going to be a change (IMHO for the good) where the mining companies have the upper hand when it comes to who they employ. For far too long, companies have had to hang on to fuckwits in the industry because the cost and time taken to replace the employee is out of justfication, aswell as not being able to get a decent operator as they are off making bulk coin elsewhere.

We are having to make changes with what our staff have to do now (tightening the leash so to speak) and the operators are not liking it at all, but that is only because they have had it so easy for so many years. Time is coming where you will now have to 'work' for your dollar.

[teknoboi]

on another note, who's keen for a fish @ 6mile in hedland on the weekend? Barra are running and I lost a monster on sunday night!

[Jizz-Lebrity]

that cloudbreak or xmas creek

Solomon.

[Torquen]

on another note, who's keen for a fish @ 6mile in hedland on the weekend? Barra are running and I lost a monster on sunday night!

PM me your number, if I'm up there and get some free time I would be keen as mustard for a fish. None of the pingpingpingpings I work with like fishing... yet we spend all day in a boat. Cooked.

[ben351]

FMG is fucked.

The mining industry isn't.

[kiasu]

could call in sick on sunday, but depends when youre going

[tauni]

Heading out to Nifty next week. No one can tell me a damn thing about it at work. Apparently the blokes are all good to work with and it gets damn hot. Thats it lol
Working for Swick now and seems were pretty secure in all the lay offs etc. Had the company rig launch last week and the company owner was pretty confident we would beat all of our targets for this financial year etc etc

Ben351: You work for Cimeco? Do you know Maricio and his brother big Frank? Wild boys but good to know.

[Tre-Cool]

that cloudbreak or xmas creek
Solomon (Central Facilities area), dat dem building there is the cat offices/server room for the autonomous project.

[Deke]

Where abouts are you mcdrift

working in the pipefitting workshop/tent and walking around most of the time


My old man just started with AGC on tuesday Pipefitting up at FMG Cloudbreak.

Screaming for blokes at the moment.

yup yup im a pipefitter and welder , up here pipefitting swing is 16/5 so thats pretty good and the money is pretty good too!

[Roach]

Anyone else up on the Sino Iron project near Karratha?

[Philbo]

FMG is fucked.

The mining industry isn't.

Depends on who you speak to, I know alot of people who have been in the industry for years and who have just been told to either
retire or look for another job.....

[newbie101]

You have to expect that a few other places are going to hide behind this excuse to clear some dead wood, but +1 to what ben said. Outside iron ore its still pretty busy. They are even pulling out lithium near ravensthorpe now?

[Jizz-Lebrity]

Anyone else up on the Sino Iron project near Karratha?

The gentleman on the right is Buckets; an engineer up there, pictured with his indigenous trainee.

http://i362.photobucket.com/albums/oo61/KaelDM/BucketsAIDS.jpg

[Bomber]

The big tall fucker that is a trainer/assessor/schedular for workshop spanner monkey's @ Cape Preston is my best mate Aden a.k.a Tiny. Note to anyone who wants to piss him off: Don't ;)

[Roach]

Haha oh shit, I do security on that site atm. I try not to piss people off though. Will try and keep an eye out.

[evoeata]

FMG is fucked.

The mining industry isn't.

One site goes a bit pear shaped and pingpingpingpings think it's all over. Good time to be underground and in gold haha

[family guy]

Haha oh shit, I do security on that site atm. I try not to piss people off though. Will try and keep an eye out.

In processing up there right now with hands in pockets. Fly out tuesday back to perth

[BOSS 290]

ABC News are reporting FMG are about to shed another 1000 jobs.

[Bomber]

ABC News are reporting FMG are about to shed another 1000 jobs.
Gina will have them

[BOSS 290]

Gina will have them

No she won't, unless they'll work for $2 per day. On that premise, she will get her applications for 457 workers granted by the Federal Labor Government as there aren't enough workers in Australia.

[Missile]

Gina will have them

They wont work for Gina's rates.

FMG to announce enterprise migration agreement.

[2LMILK]

ABC News are reporting FMG are about to shed another 1000 jobs.

had site visit from Nev power(CEO) yesteday and the question was asked if there with be phase 2 redundacys. the simple and short answer is no....

Most of the operators etc from CB are being moved to CC.

[Bomber]

Gina will have to pay anyone on a 457 visa what someone living and working whithin Australia would have been getting paid. This $2/day thing is crap, might happen in Africa, but will not happen here until cars are worth $100 brand new and houses sell for $2000 and weekly shopping can be done for $2.56.

[BOSS 290]

Gina will have to pay anyone on a 457 visa what someone living and working whithin Australia would have been getting paid. This $2/day thing is crap, might happen in Africa, but will not happen here until cars are worth $100 brand new and houses sell for $2000 and weekly shopping can be done for $2.56.

She may have to under law, but it doesn't happen in reality. The construction industry has demonstrated this is the case, her company would be no different.

Gina Rinehart readily admits Australian's drink too much, have a hand out and and entitlement mentality. It's as if the employees have used their own money to invest in the mining industry and as such are entitled to a 'share of the mining proceed'. That's what shareholders are, not employees. Some of these positions stem from the government's and unions opinions.

She'll get her EMA's while folk lose their jobs up north.

[Tones]

My question is, is it still worth trying to get into the mining industry as a result of these large lay-offs?

Yes, Newcrest just put an add out 2 days before I flew out for RnR looking for 40 green truck drivers. We are seriously understaffed at Telfer and looking for people. And just to stop any questions I have no leverage in getting anyone a job, the poster at work had a website address and I didn't pay any attention to it sorry.

[tinto]

Gina Rinehart readily admits Australian's drink too much, have a hand out and and entitlement mentality.


... And for a large segment of the population she is right.

[Jizz-Lebrity]

http://www.smh.com.au/business/mining-and-resources/iron-ore-price-posts-record-jump-20120911-25p8y.html

[Torquen]

Vgood!

[Jizz-Lebrity]

The mining industry is coming so an end.

[DanWA]

gay, made final cut for a job in port hedland and they decide to tell me the accomodation is in south hedland... yeah nah

[Poktrokt]

Gina has already poached a LOT of ex HWE workers! And is offering us big $$ and good rosters for the move to Roy Hill!!
The staff that have gone already to get it set up will be employing in a few months and their first choices will be ex HWE workers who are getting screwed over by BHP

[R3N]

Worley just canned about 200 people, quite a few from the Roy Hill project, but that could also be to do with the impending novation of the contract to Posco/STX. Mixed messages at the moment as Gina is in talks with Twiggy to share the railway and just build a spur to the Roy Hill mine. Lots going on as HPPL struggle to get financing sorted by late 2012/early 2013

[Alt_F4]

Worley just canned about 200 people, quite a few from the Roy Hill project, but that could also be to do with the impending novation of the contract to Posco/STX. Mixed messages at the moment as Gina is in talks with Twiggy to share the railway and just build a spur to the Roy Hill mine. Lots going on as HPPL struggle to get financing sorted by late 2012/early 2013
Your mates are being difficult and not signing our contract either... must be that contracts guy causing problems, I hear he's a douche

[Tre-Cool]

gay, made final cut for a job in port hedland and they decide to tell me the accomodation is in south hedland... yeah nah

i'd rather live in south than port. my brother & sister both live in south.

[R3N]

Your mates are being difficult and not signing our contract either... must be that contracts guy causing problems, I hear he's a douche

lol.. no arguements

[Passage GT]

Worley just canned about 200 people, quite a few from the Roy Hill project, but that could also be to do with the impending novation of the contract to Posco/STX. Mixed messages at the moment as Gina is in talks with Twiggy to share the railway and just build a spur to the Roy Hill mine. Lots going on as HPPL struggle to get financing sorted by late 2012/early 2013

fmg already use bhp's rail line don't they? so they would need to be in talks with bhp to use those as well you would think

[2LMILK]

gay, made final cut for a job in port hedland and they decide to tell me the accomodation is in south hedland... yeah nah

its a 15min drive at most.....

[beefcake]

fmg have their own , its all bendy an shit

[DanWA]

i'd rather live in south than port. my brother & sister both live in south.

Nothing to do with the 15 minute drive but everyone i've spoken to reckon to steer clear of South Hedland... including 2 mates that have been there 5+ years.

I'll just keep an eye out for more jobs up that way even if they are FIFO, nothing wrong with Collie job but been there 5 years and time to open up the horizons a bit more.

[R3N]

fmg have their own , its all bendy an shit


What he said. A smaller operator is sharing with FMG but in return FMG get something like half of their shipments

[Bomber]

Gina has already poached a LOT of ex HWE workers! And is offering us big $$ and good rosters for the move to Roy Hill!!
The staff that have gone already to get it set up will be employing in a few months and their first choices will be ex HWE workers who are getting screwed over by BHP
Who are they? I was one of the many thousands who transferred to BHP after HWE Newman was sold out (who says slave labour can't be bought?). I seem to be doing OK and so do most of us, we haven't heard about a bonus just yet but I am keen to hear more as I have an EOI with Roy Hill....

[Denver]

AFAIK Roy hill hasn't employed anyone for operations, given they don't start moving dirt till next year, so i seriously doubt they've given anyone a job..

FMG move bc irons ore for them, but also blend it into the cloud break and chrissy creek ore as it helps the grades, and have their own rail line, it runs along side bhp's for a bit of the way but its seperate, and in the process of being duplicated atm so they crank up the number of trains on it..

[ben351]

Media twisted her words - what she was getting at was those blokes are willing to work for $2 a day so coming over here and working for the agreed wage in line with the relevant EBA is like a dream come true and they appreciate it ... where on the other hand you have you spoilt WA miners who refuse jobs and sook at not having Foxtel in their rooms or have the nerve to say they won't accept the job unless they are flown QANTAS ... makes me sick as a recruiter because we see both sides of the story.

Then you have the CFMEU sooking and taking out half page ads int eh West saying make the construction industry more like the mining and have more friendly rosters ... the roster is 4 & 1 because we work to a tight dead line and LOTS of $$$$$ are on the line ... if we finish early we get bonuses and everyone happy ... we finish late we get fined MILLIONS of dollars per week over schedule ... A shorter roster would equal more R&R times and less production getting shit built - you would have to increase the work force to counteract that and therefore would eat into your profit margins ... Mining industry has shorter rosters because there is no dead line on getting the dirt out of the ground ... there is demand but not a deadline.

Offer the Aussie the job ... if they decline ... go 457 and get someone in that appreciates it.

If you don't like it - get a job at Hungry Jacks.

[Darklove]

Who are they? I was one of the many thousands who transferred to BHP after HWE Newman was sold out (who says slave labour can't be bought?). I seem to be doing OK and so do most of us, we haven't heard about a bonus just yet but I am keen to hear more as I have an EOI with Roy Hill....

I don't think leaving BHP for Roy Hill would be a smart move.

[Bomber]

I don't think leaving BHP for Roy Hill would be a smart move.
EOI is like holding a fishing line over the edge of a boat, means nothing unless I act on it. Besides, bonus got put in the bank today. Bye bye personal loan :D

[Poktrokt]

Who are they? I was one of the many thousands who transferred to BHP after HWE Newman was sold out (who says slave labour can't be bought?). I seem to be doing OK and so do most of us, we haven't heard about a bonus just yet but I am keen to hear more as I have an EOI with Roy Hill....

I too am 1 of the many HWE sold off lol, we got our bonuses paid today along with all other sites :/
Some people were promoted without increased pay, promised pay increases when we transferred and got nothing or very little! A lot of the complaints I heard were from Yandi, Area C and Perth offices!
Good luck with Roy Hill!! :)

[Poktrokt]

AFAIK Roy hill hasn't employed anyone for operations, given they don't start moving dirt till next year, so i seriously doubt they've given anyone a job..

I know for a fact they have been employing for the past few months! Haha Sites don't start up out of no where, it requires people!
I never said it was for Ops!

[Denver]

Construction v operations is a world of difference too..

WTF would you employ bone heads when theres no use for them for another year..

[satch]

I thought Roy Hill still needed to secure further funding....

[ReaperSS]

Few of my mates eyes are on gas plant construction Darwin. Not sure when thats going to take off

[j3rk]

Few of my mates eyes are on gas plant construction Darwin. Not sure when thats going to take off
Still 2-3 years yet. INPEX run. And my god they are paying top dollar for workers at the moment... highly jelly I couldn't score a position... yet.

[Miami]

Still 2-3 years yet. INPEX run. And my god they are paying top dollar for workers at the moment... highly jelly I couldn't score a position... yet.

+1.

[Denver]

I thought Roy Hill still needed to secure further funding....

This

there is a whole pile of uncertainty with roy hill after the whole rinehart family court debarcle thing, potential investors are a bit edgy with putting money in, I'm guessing this might also be why she'd probably be keen to enter a sharing agreement with FMG to use the rail line as it will save a few billion dollars in expenditure to begin with to build her own rail, and would ultimately help fmg out, tho they seem to be out of the shit now with the market recovery and as result of the cuts they've done, heres hoping they don't go back to the wild rapid expansion plans for a bit

[2LMILK]

Anyone here at cloud break. Just started here today.... Can't say the camp is very nice.. I'm on a crew fridays

[Denver]

Yo, wednesday fly outs, home atm get back next week..

you work for bis or something?

Camp itself is ok, the food is utter shit now tho..

[2LMILK]

Na transfered from port to here. I I'm full time fmg

[Denver]

what dept?

[Evolved]

Just started up at DeGrussa Sandfire , impressed with the camp facilities and key card dongas

Working in processing .

Left Nifty 2 weeks ago due to a dumpy mishap in the paste plant

[Reverb]

Cloudbreaks village is ok, stayed in worse places. Just have to get in a new demountable, they are better set up that the old ones.
Least Morris corp cook better than ess

[JBAE]

Anyone here actually up at barrow?