A medical examination is completed before you commence at a coal mine.
Typically the physical checkup, drug test and x-rays take a few hours to complete and a few days to process.
A Generic Induction Passport introduces you to the general safety aspects within a mining environment (coal surface, coal underground etc). These are valid for 2 years, after which you renew it through a refresher course.
There are two choices. You can get a Surface Generic Induction for working at Surface Mines only or you can get a combined Generic Surface & Underground Induction for both sorts of mines. Our course listing of Generic Induction courses is below.
Check the local paper for training companies and their course dates. By ringing around the training providers you will obtain an idea of cost range and time frames. There are a number of providers, prices and timeframe combinations, so check with a contracting company and see who they use and recommend.
Most coal mines have a fairly structured recruitment process to follow. Keep an eye on the local papers for advertisements for work.
Whilst there are a number of contracting companies in the region that service the coal mines, like any industry, they have busy and slow periods of contracts. Presenting yourself regularly and appropriately (with a concise CV) to the contracting companies can be a tiresome process, however perseverance can pay off. One guy each day for a week got dressed in his work gear, prepared his crib and drove to a contractor’s compound at a mine-site for work. If they needed him at the start of shift, he worked that day. If they didn’t, he drove home again. They hired him full-time the following week. Flexibility is an advantage, and by having your coal board medical and generic induction passport already may assist you over someone who has yet to get them.
As for living in town or on-site: the towns have a variety of health services, entertainment and sporting facilities. Most community/sporting clubs accommodate the shift-working rosters. It becomes your choice to manage your health and social activities. Living at the on-site camps can be a culture shock, however there have been plenty of people who have lived there and would be able to give tips on how to survive out there.
Being new to the industry can be daunting, people talking about the CHPP, a 992, an ABM20, ribs and pillars, crib, isolation and tagging along with risk management. Say that again?
Open-cut and underground terms are numerous and unique. The Generic Induction assists with initial familiarisation, however it’s through experience and listening to crew members that it all comes together.
A typical shift for a cleanskin (that’s you) working at a surface mine would involve anything from assisting on a dragline shutdown or working all day as an off-sider in the maintenance crew at the wash-plant.
Working at an underground mine, you could do anything from helping to relocate machinery, to helping build conveyors or to work on supporting the roof and ribs.
Most mine-sites and contracting companies work a roster system. Typically two 12-hour shifts per day and any combination of days on/days off, for example, 4-on/4-off, 2-on/1-off, alternating nightshift with dayshift etc.
Hazards are constantly around you in the workplace. Safety training and risk assessment are part and parcel of working at a mine. Remember each time you wish to be complacent about checking equipment or wearing your safety gear.....think of the alternative.....try to remember how much you rely on both your legs or your arms ........or your life.
Aside from checking out various pages on this website, there are other places to get some more information: