Hello. I am presently being considered / considering a job with Anglo Coal at the Capcoal Open Cut mine in Queensland. Can anyone provide me with ANY info on the mine and/or company? Anything I should be wary of or ask a question about? I would be relocating from the Elk Valley, BC, Canada. I am mostly looking for info on the mine's philosophy and management / stability, etc. The package on offer appears to be worth it, but I'd like to know what I'm getting into. All advice is appreciated!
They have a website http://www.capcoal.com.au/default.htm but other than that I don't know much about their operations, however all mining in Oz is regulated.
Thanks for the info, but I am looking for more "inside info" other than what is publicly available. Ideally someone who works there as an employee or contractor. Also looking for info on Middlemount, QLD.
Right O, judging by the location you got the job with AngloAmerican, how's it going up there?
Well bigdiesel, I no longer work in the mines but I have a few buddies that do so I'm happy to share a little with you in your quest to work in OZ. Some of these guys operate trucks, dozers and draglines. One works with Anglo. First, be very aware there are dozens of bogus advertisements all over the world promising big pay and training and jobs in Australian mines. All you gotta do is send them some money to find out that's the last you will hear of it. Many mining companies in Australia hire through labour hire companies. So it's good to register with them. Find out from the company you wish to work for who they use as a labour supplier and get in touch with them. Find out what they need in terms of licences, site specific permits and entrance regs and go about getting it all first and then apply to get on their books. You are going to need induction passes and locally recognised mining related qualifications and be passed out on each individual machine, no longer just a machine type. At some stage, you're going to need to attend induction courses here in Australia. You need to get those all squared away first. Then you are "employable". Also, if you work for Anglo currently, go to their web site - it has provision for current employees to apply for any of their mines world wide. Rent in any of these places is very expensive, expect to pay over $700 per week for a dog kennel, if you can find one. You may be expected to accept flyin-flyout employment. That means you stay and are fed in their mining camp near the mine during shift rosters and you have to find your own accom to live in between shifts, hence the dog kennel. A good newspaper that may be worth getting is shift-miner magazine, you'll find it on the net at http://www.shiftminer.com/ . It has a lot of current info about Qld mining, labour hire companies,jobs and industry news more relative to the workers than management. Can't warn you strongly enough though about sending money for training and licences and jobs that don't exisit, as I mentioned earlier. Don't let that put you off though, experienced operators are in demand here at present. I'd be going through Anglo if you are already working for them in Canada, you're about 25% there that way. good luck tournaphil
I had forgotten about this post... Anyway, I ended up getting the job as a Reliability Engineer. Took a while for the visas (sponsored 457) to come through, but I moved over here April 1, 2011. Lived in Mac Camp for 2 months, until my family came over, and now we are in a subsidized house in Middlemount. Everyone is pretty much settled in now. The job is going well. Overall, it is not too different from Canada, however some things are more strict, and others less...I guess it's just what you're used to. Thanks for you input Tournaphil. It may help someone else who is looking at working in Central Queensland. I guess I can be considered a success story, because I 'cold-called' a recruitment company while I was still in Canada. I didn't work at the Anglo mine in Canada. I didn't have any prospects or even a visa. Most companies (Rio, BHP, Xstrata) wouldn't even consider my applications as I didn't have "the right to work and live in Australia". Based on my experience and interviews (all over the phone), I got the job, which included the sponsored visa for me and my family, full relocation and a decent salary/benefit package, with highly subsidized housing. Tournaphil is right, you shouldn't have to pay to get a job. My family was looking for a residential role, so I can be home most nights with the kids. Sure, we have to live in a small mining town, and I signed a 4 year committment to Anglo, but I can get permanent residency after 2 years. Anglo is large enough that I may be able to transfer to another site somewhere else, and if we decide to go back to Canada, that option is there too. It would likely be more difficult to get this kind of deal for an operator or tradesman, but it never hurts to ask. From my initial contact with the recruiter to starting my job, was less than a year. It probably would have taken over 2 years, and many thousand dollars to get the visa myself, then start applying for jobs. So, now that I'm here, I will gladly talk to anyone looking for information on the transition from Western Canada to Central Queensland. My first advice...do your homework, know what you want, and 'have a go!'.