Who are you and what do you do?
I am Chanele Le Grand and I work for BUMA Australia as a Graduate Mining Engineer.
When did you start in the mining industry and what was your first job?
I began my mining career in 2019 during my first year of university, working at Meandu Mine.
How different is your job now to what you had wanted to be when you were a kid?
My job in the mining industry is vastly different from my childhood dream of working in a city-based corporate role. It all changed when I landed my first mining job.
What does a usual day at work look like?
A usual day at work involves using advanced software and tools to plan and execute our dig and dump operations as well as reporting/collecting our productivity data.
What is the best thing about your job?
The fulfillment of watching my plans come to life in the pit, all while working closely with the remarkable production team.
The worst thing?
Living away from my family and friends in Brisbane.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge I’ve faced is adapting to the different systems and approaches at various mine sites during my regular rotations in the graduate program.
What’s your proudest achievement?
My proudest achievement is my university thesis on blast exclusion zones and a predictive Flyrock model. It was the most significant project I’ve undertaken, and I take great pride in it.
What’s something about your job that would surprise other people?
What might surprise others about my job is that I make daily decisions that directly influence the operations of diggers and truck fleets, determining where, when and how they work.
What’s a funny story about work that you can tell?
I once forgot my work boots, my colleagues brought me out a pair of red steel caps that I had to wear around the entire day.
What do you do in your downtime?
I enjoy activities like camping, waterskiing, and baking whenever I have the opportunity.
The mining Industry gets more than its fair share of criticism. What’s your view on the industry and the impact that it has?
I view the mining industry as integral to Australia’s economy and development. It provides significant employment opportunities and plays a crucial role in the extraction of valuable resources.
