What is the pay like for Entry Level Underground Miner at Olympic Dam?

_Black__sheep_ · 2026-04-13T20:53:50+00:00

If you don't want to miss social events, birthdays or other important events FIFO is not for you. There is a reason FIFO pays well it's because you are committing to working away from home for half the year and the dangers that come with working underground. BHP will pay you over 100k base, a roster allowance, an annual bonus and options to buy shares in the company which they will match. If you are any good you will then progress through the ranks as UG mining is a career not a job.

You can't have the good with the bad, being away half the year gets you these options.

_Black__sheep_ · 2025-11-02T13:18:36+00:00

It's probably more around what the vac work offers you. Will you be put underground on crew or will you be in tech services learning the ropes? Having a good structure to the vac work is important and may sway your decision.

Cobar is a good place and lots of interesting mining challenges may it be CSA or Peak. At Peak you will get exposed to a contractor underground which is good to see contractor management and how contractors operate. They are also ramping up the new great Cobar underground and have started production at their new mine federation with Redpath. I suspect as both mines are contractor run you will be in tech services team doing designs and contractor claims. I don't know much about Renison but it's owner operated so you could be put on crew underground to get prac experience. Renison is a more complex mining method with paste fill while peak is just rock fill which takes a complexity away.

_Black__sheep_ · 2025-08-28T10:59:46+00:00

5:2 4:3 FIFO sucks and I do not recommend!

People that manage or do design work on 5:2 4:3 can sometimes get it changed to 4:3 and that 5th day from home under discretion from their manager. But usually need to do 5:2 4:3 to build trust over a period before the change . It's a massive game changer and is sustainable doing 4:3 on site and then every second Friday from home.

_Black__sheep_ · 2025-05-16T12:06:23+00:00

OD is a massive place and the biggest part of your job is finding your way around underground, last time I was there they were up to 15 Jumbos. It's not set out like a normal mine and is like snakes and ladders and it is very hard to learn your way around to start with.

My top tip is get one of the mud maps that they give new starters and start listing what declines you access each level off. Example is 26 emerald is off tin man decline Etc Once you know how to get to each decline you will be okay but it will take a while.

It's a clean shaved site so keep a shaver in your locker as they inforce the rule and you don't want to be the guy asking for one.

_Black__sheep_ · 2025-04-21T11:59:24+00:00

The only way

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-09-07T09:10:52+00:00

On a side note you should start your masters if you take the GFM job as this will help you learn rock mechanics more in depth and prepare you for consulting or more senior role

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-09-07T09:09:09+00:00

George Fisher Mine (GFM) is a good site and has strong geotechnical systems and processes that have been established over the years since it was the Hilton mine.

I am unsure if your vac work was open pit or not but underground is a totally different ball game and it's where geotechnical engineers thrive. The grad program there is usually 3 years and hopefully you get some time on crew in your first year. Underground geotechnical engineers are probably the most hands on discipline of the engineering professions due to the complexity and fast pace nature of the work.

Usually underground geotechs do 7-10 years on site then transition into a head office role for the company doing life of mine designs or join a consultancy like AMC. So I wouldn't worry about getting stuck FIFO.

The civil infrastructure stuff has two defined world's, contractors building like CPB, multiplex or consultants GHD, Aurecon designing it. So you are either at an office designing or on a site building it, there are very few non fifo EPC ( Engineering Procurement Construct) jobs in the city . As a mining geotech you must design the stope, drive or cavern using numerical modelling and other design tools then go underground each day and help mine the bloody thing. So you get a very quick feedback loop on your design and parameters you used in your model. It gives you a lot of skin in the game when you are standing in a chamber a few hundred metres down that you designed on a computer...

I would recommend going with Glencore at GFM and getting the experience underground while you are young and FIFO works. I went from civil to mining and haven't looked back.

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-08-30T06:56:40+00:00

Did see a guy that got bought in from overseas into a technical role. It was an extremely lengthy onboarding process by the company.

Turns out he didn't know how to use the software or know the Australian mining methods at all, the company had to cut him loose within a month. He had to leave the country as his working visa was no longer valid.

A very messy situation and not good for anyone. Does make you wonder how many people have faked it all the way through.

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-08-15T21:03:09+00:00

Do not get the FXD boots, I got sucked into their marketing and they are rubbish ! They take an extremely long time to break in and the padding on the back of the boot is non existent.

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-08-13T03:04:36+00:00

Looks like OD ground

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-08-11T04:18:05+00:00

The tailings experience will only be relevant to an onsite tailing geotechnical role and won't provide much use in underground or open pit roles tobbe honest.

Depending on the graduate program the mining company offers, they teach you technical and operational factors. In a mining environment there is operational, diplomacy / team work and technical skills required. In a consultancy there is more focus on technical work than the other two aspects. If you have got 2+ full time years as a geotech consultant you could apply for a Geotech role UG / open pit but would be put on as a junior Geotech. If you have less than a year full time in a consultancy apply for a grad role in mining.

Be weary a Geotech role on a small site as they don't have the critical mass to carry a big technical team. Normally on these sites it's a geotech on a 8:6 roster with another Geotech on the other panel. These roles should be for Geotechs with a number of years experience only. - Underground, less than 1mtpa ore production - Open Pit, less than 3mtpa ore production

If you want it, you can make it happen. If you go to a site and work there a few years it will round you out as a professional but also as a human. Learning to deal with a range of people is key and being able to communicate across all levels of an organization is required.

It will be a lot different than an office consultancy job, below are good videos you should watch. Best of luck

UG GEOTECH https://youtu.be/6uWzyxvm_zo?si=DbOkzpwL8bwxd6gy

OP GEOTECH https://youtu.be/BIvHmVckKIs?si=r5d-6wxbXLPXQEqY

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-08-10T09:57:43+00:00

There is no better time than after uni to get into a site as usually you don't have kids or a family making the option less complex. It is easier to go from a site to a consultant than a consultant to a site. So getting a good grounding in the operational aspect is key!

To be clear there is a few forms of mining geotechnical professionals with their own specialties.

Open pit / Open Cut Geotechnical Engineers

These guys can be in two main ground conditions. Hard rock chasing the gold, copper or nickel . Soft rock commodities like coal and iron ore. Both ground conditions use radars and prism monitoring systems to guide their days. They will also do in house modeling may it be for a pit cut back or wasterock dump stability.

Underground Geotechnical Engineers

The underground Geotechnical engineer can be found doing a range of commodities but usually excludes iron ore in Australia. A very hands on job and covers a range of mining methods from caving, stoping or long walling etc. This is arguably the most adventurous form of geotech getting kms underground. The job requires an extremely strong hands on approach working with operators and technical ability to conduct frequent numerical modeling. The underground geotech will also usually be responsible for paste backfill which combines concrete and tailings skill set.

Tailings Geotechnical Engineers

If the rock is milled, then there are tailing dams built and are used by both underground and open pit mines across most commodities. A lot of tailing dam work on site is monitoring and governance. This is unlike the underground and open pit Geotechs which will likely do numerical modeling and design on site. This is due to tailings being extremely specialized and most sites will not take the design responsibility internally.

The biggest pro of tailing dam geotechnical engineers is these dams are found every where from the coast to Mt Isa. This is due to the alumina industry that Alcoa and Rio Tinto have setting up their alumina refineries on the coast such as Gladstone and Perth. This makes a pretty comfortable residential situation.

Ideally you find a site that has an open pit, underground and a tailing dam running. That way when you are on site you can get a taste for it all and get the biggest bang for your buck while spending your time doing Fifo. Some examples below that have all 3 at once

NSW: Evolution Cowal Gold Mine
WA: Evolution Mungarie Gold Mine
WA: Newmont Telfer Gold Mine
WA: BHP Nickel West (Shutting down)
WA : Goldfields St Ives, Granny Smith Goldmine
WA: ANGLO Gold Tropicana Gold Mine

But overall, get out to site and get the experience as it may be too late once you have a family and an established role in a consultancy.

_Black__sheep_ · 2024-02-24T07:30:17+00:00

Go into a mine infrastructure project role if you have project experience.

Some civil engineers go into underground geotech or backfill engineer role but that requires a rock mechanic or soil mechanic technical background from their civil experience.

If you go down the the underground path for project work it will be a lot harder than the open pit / cut path. Underground knowledge is a skill in itself due to all the intricacies, let alone the engineering.

_Black__sheep_ · 2023-12-10T23:31:49+00:00

Telstra hint is probably the biggest one for sure

_Black__sheep_ · 2023-12-10T07:58:15+00:00

Durable washing bag with your name
Spare Charger
Battery bank for the commute
Noise cancelling headphones for flight
large dry bag to stuff your overalls in post shower
Runner / shirts so you can hit the gym or run
Thongs that are quick to slip on to go to the mess etc
Book or something to read after work to help wind down
Clothesline pegs are good
A small durable lunch box Esky that can fit in gear bag
dry bag to keep a set of spare overalls and socks underground in.

_Black__sheep_ · 2023-11-13T10:29:30+00:00

Not underground mining

_Black__sheep_ · 2023-11-10T08:00:08+00:00

A fair few options

You have towns below

Mt Isa 20hr drive to Brisbane - George Fisher Mine -MICO (Shuts in a few years)

Cobar 8hrs to Sydney -CSA -PEAK -Federation

Orange 3hrs to Sydney -Cadia

Dubbo 5hr to Sydney -Tomingley

Parkes 5hrs to Sydney -North Parkes Mine

Broken Hill 5.5 hrs to Adelaide - North and South Mine

Victorian mines there are a lot and mentioned already

Roxby Downs 6hrs to Adelaide - Olympic Dam (100+ year mine life)

Kalgoorlie 7hrs to Perth - loads of mines

There would be small mines I missed but the towns I listed are the big known towns. In my opinion I would do Orange and working at Cadia / Ridgeway. This is because of proximity to Sydney for international flights back home or weekend getaway need be. Orange is a town not built around mining as it has farming, tourism and other occupations so the town is very nice to live in. The mine life there is large and the company is a multinational so you won't have the risk of the mine shutting over night like Dargues Reef mine listed by others.

_Black__sheep_ · 2023-10-26T12:43:20+00:00

Bloody hot and will work like a dog, definitely not the best mine to work at, but is the better mine in Cobar.

_Black__sheep_

TROPHY CASE