Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Lucy Osborne and I’m a Graduate Process Engineer with BMA.

When did you start in the mining industry and what was your first job?

I started in mining in 2020, doing a process engineering internship with BMA in my last year of university.

How different is your job now to what you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Very different, coming from Brisbane mining was not something I’d really thought about until the opportunity arose to tour a mine at uni. After that I changed my engineering major to study metallurgy.

What’s a usual day at work entail?

A usual day at work will normally involve reporting on plant metrics and understanding how the plant has been performing. We work closely with operators to make any required adjustments to plant parameters. We also do a lot of project work to try to make plant runs more efficiently. This typically involves lots of sampling and analysing results.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Being able to actually see the changes I’ve made. Even when we don’t get the outcomes we want, it is really cool to see how everything in the plant is connected and how small changes can make the biggest differences. I spent a few months with the operators, which was great as I got to see how the plant really works.

The worst thing?

The crazy early morning wakeups every day.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?

The adjustment living in Moranbah and away from a big city. Also being away from all my friends and family in Brisbane, but, making friends here at work and through the grad community has made it easier.

What’s something about your job that would surprise people to know?

How many levels of reporting we go through. Being in the CHPP, often we are caught in the middle of what coal types mining has available and what logistics want to ship. This means we often have to keep everyone around us updated if there are deviations to our plans.

What’s your best advice for people about to enter the industry?

Don’t be afraid to leave a big city and move to a regional town on your own. Especially being in grad program there are heaps of other young people who are also starting their careers out here and it’s super easy to make friends.

The mining industry gets more than its fair share of criticism. What is your view of our industry and the impact it has?

The resources that are mined are vital for the life we all want to live. Even through recycling we don’t have enough resources or required technology to keep up with the rate at which the world is developing.