Rio Tinto Coal Australia

Nick

General Manager Business Improvement - Corporate Office

I joined Rio Tinto (then Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia Ltd) in 1985 as a Graduate Mining Engineer at the Tarong coal mine in Queensland.  If someone had of told me that 22 years later I would still be with the same company I would have told them they were crazy.  But whenever I have felt that I needed a new challenge, Rio Tinto has been able to come up with a great opportunity for me.

After time as a graduate at Tarong Mine, I moved to Bougainville Copper in Papua New Guinea and took on a number of mine planning and operations roles.  I was then given the chance to move back to Australia with Rio Tinto Coal Australia (then Pacific Coal) in a business analyst role and eventually became Principal Mining Engineer. 

In the early 1990s I still had the travel bug and we transferred to Indonesia with Kelian Equatorial Mining (a large gold producer), spending two years in Jakarta as Manager Business Analysis and then two years on site in Kalimantan as Manager Mine.  Career wise this was one of the most rewarding times I have had.  Working with the local people and being part of what was achieved at Kelian in the middle of Borneo was a privilege and a highlight.

In 1997 I transferred to Rio Tinto Energy America's (then Kennecott Energy) Spring Creek Mine in Montana, US as Technical Services Manager.  Seeing the cultural differences between Australians, Indonesians and Americans was an eye opener.  In some areas I think there are more cultural differences between Australian and Americans than there are between Australians and Indonesians!  

After spending six year overseas, in 1999 it was time to come home and I transferred back to Rio Tinto Coal Australia's Tarong Mine as Operations Manager.  It was great to see how the plans that I had developed more than ten years before had been put into action and improved upon.

In 2002 I was promoted to the role of General Manger Technical with Rio Tinto Coal Australia in Brisbane.  Successfully bringing together the technical areas of Pacific Coal and Coal & Allied into one business was very rewarding. 

In 2005 I was given the opportunity to be part of the Improving Performance Together (IPT) programme, a major business improvement initiative across Rio Tinto.  I was Initiative Leader on the Mining Operations IPT Taskforce and led the development and implementation of a number of global initiatives across Rio Tinto.

In 2006 I returned to Rio Tinto Coal Australia and am now the General Manager Business Improvement, based in Brisbane.  In this role I lead a group of professionals with particular skills and accountabilities in the areas of business improvement, mine operations improvement, asset management and coal processing improvement. In addition, I also have a role to play in various Group wide initiatives that are setting the future direction of the business.

In my time with Rio Tinto I have worked in different parts of the business, in many locations and had a variety of roles. I am still enjoying the opportunities and challenges that working for Rio Tinto provides but the greatest benefit I have obtained are the many friends I have made over the years.

Susan

Graduate Geologist - Hunter Valley Operations

I studied a Bachelor of Science majoring in Geology at The Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane.  Upon completion of my second year at university in 2005, I undertook vacation work with Rio Tinto Coal Australia at the Blair Athol Mine - an open cut coal mine in Clermont, Central Queensland.  I thoroughly enjoyed Rio Tinto's vacation work programme which introduced me to real work in the mining industry.

Due to the great experiences I had on the Rio Tinto vacation work programme, I decided to apply for the 2006 graduate programme and was offered a position as a Graduate Geologist at Hunter Valley Operations in New South Wales, which I happily accepted.

During my year at Hunter Valley Operations, I have been exposed to a variety of interesting and challenging tasks, some of which have included exploration, hydrogeology, geotechnical and some project work. I have also had the opportunity to act as a mine geologist, a contract coordinator and be involved in a ground magnetic survey. One of the highlights throughout the year was presenting my work to the planning team and management, which I feel has contributed positively to the operation. 

This year I am planning the 2007 exploration programme for Hunter Valley Operations which will give me vital experience encompassing all aspects of exploration from site preparation to rehabilitation, borehole planning, contractor management, and having input into the exploration budget and geological plans.

Starting with Rio Tinto Coal Australia on the graduate programme has been a great career move; so far it has given me valuable experience in my field of expertise and exposure to a variety of other related professional fields.

The most rewarding aspect of the graduate programme is that it is tailored for me, allowing me to have a career that I actually want, with training aimed at my professional and personal development.

There are so many opportunities within Rio Tinto Coal Australia and I plan to take advantage of as many as I can.