Who are you and what do you do?
Hi, I’m Nate Muscat. I’m 35 years old and live in Muswellbrook while at work and enjoy taking my caravan out and about when on my seven days off. I am a supervisor / miner driver at Dartbrook coal mine.
When did you start in the mining industry and what was your first job?
I started in the mining industry in 2008 when I was 18 years old. My first job was with a company called Resco mining services, and my job was secondary support which involved working outbye installing different types of bolting support to ensure the root doesn’t fall on the ground.
How different is your job now to what you wanted to be when you were a kid?
My job now compared to what I wanted to do when I was younger is very different, I wanted to be a builder. So, one of the differences between the two is one is working out in the sun and the other is underground in the dark.
What’s a usual day at work entail?
A usual day at work would entail a pre-shift meeting, this is to plan the days’ manning and production targets for the shift. Then when underground it is my job to drive the miner and help job rotate with other various job tasks like bolting, driving various machines and I can assist the deputy in supervising all these tasks ensuring a safe shift.
What’s the best thing about your job?
The best thing about my job is the guys I work with. I have a really good crew, and we break big records and hit big millstones. This is really motivating for me to do better and better each day at work.
The worst thing?
The worst thing is overcoming all the many obstacles of Strata so ensuring that the work areas we work in stay up and safe for the crews. Dealing with issues with water management, if too much water is on the roadways it makes it very hard to work in.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
When I started in the industry it was very challenging to alternate between different rosters like 7 days on 7 days off, working weekends. Also working long 12-hour shifts and having to work night shifts.
What’s something about your job that would surprise people to know?
I think the one thing about my job that would surprise people to know is how hard it is to work in these place change conditions this is the style of mining that we do here at Dartbrook, which involves working in multiple headings and cut throughs plus herring bone drivage to the left and right. It also involves a lot of heaving lifting and manual labor.
What’s your best advice for people about to enter the industry?
My advice for new starters is there aren’t any silly questions and the more questions you ask the information and the more you will learn. This is what will make you a better coal miner and it sure helped me. Another one is save all your money.
The mining industry gets more than its fair share of criticism. What is your view of our industry and the impact it has?
My view is that we produce coal so that we can build the world around us, we power the world we live in. We are providing resources for local communities and big and small business all over NSW and Australia.
