Follow the links below to find out what past graduates/students who have been involved in the program have to say.
Cameron - Undergraduate Mining Engineer
Dan - 3rd Year Bachelor of Science
Hope - Department Mining Engineer
Tim - Bachelor of Mining Engineering
Mike - Undergraduate Process Engineer
...any enthusiastic student will gain a great deal of valuable knowledge...
As an Undergraduate Mining Engineer working during my summer holidays at Vale’s Integra Open Cut Coal operation in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, I found my time there and the knowledge and experience gained onsite an invaluable addition to my studies and career development.
In addition to working at the Integra Open Cut I also worked for Vale at their Integra Underground operation during my previous summer vacation period. The large part of my time working for Vale I noticed that the company is keyed to looking after their employees, right from developing knowledge and skill sets of Vacation students through to rewarding hard working, valuable employees with great career development opportunities and generous benefit packages.
Integra provides a great atmosphere for students. If you are willing to, any enthusiastic student will gain a great deal of valuable knowledge and experience during your time onsite. On any site there are always people who aren’t willing to take the time to stop and explain things to you, but from my experience at Integra there are also a large number of employees who are more than happy to help you out with whatever you need. I personally found that this politeness and helpfulness at Integra was a key part to my knowledge enhancement.
As a student working during my holiday period, Integra and its location in the heart of the Hunter Valley wine region, and with its close proximity to the beach and major cities such as Newcastle and Sydney, is a perfect base from which you can work during the week and then take part in a endless number of weekend activities. Vale has been a great company to work for, they have always looked after me, and from a student prospective they have a great Vacation program, which in certain parts needs a little improvement, but nether the less it is still as good as any other I have come across.
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...a great opportunity to work both autonomously, and with others...
I am a 3rd Year Bachelor of Science (Geology/Earth Sciences) student at University of Queensland and I was in the 2009 summer vacation program.
As well as Vale’s global reputation and wide range of mineral and energy resource business interests, I was attracted to Vale as an employer due to the structure of the vacation program itself. It was built around an individual project, tailored to our specific areas of interest, of which we were in charge. This was a great opportunity to work both autonomously, and with others within the Technical Services office, to achieve an end goal.
During my 12 week placement at Carborough Downs, I worked within the Technical Services department, supporting not just the mine geologist but also the geotechnical engineer and gas drainage coordinator, as well as other positions on occasion. I got lots of hands on, practical experience throughout my placement, including underground mapping of the longwall face, and logging core on the surface drill rig. Not only did I get to utilize some of the things I had learnt in Uni, but I also picked up a lot of new knowledge and experience from working with professionals on site.
Overall, this was a great experience and learning curve, which I would recommend to any students wanting to work on a mine site in the future.
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... it offered me the opportunity to experience working in two different commodities across two different countries...
I graduated from the University of Queensland in 2008 with a Bachelor of Mining Engineering and a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) and commenced work at Vale’s Integra Mining Complex. For me, the Vale graduate programme is run in three phases starting with a home country orientation followed by a 6 week training course in Brazil and then a second work placement. As such, my placement with Vale started in the technical services department at the Integra Underground where my roles and responsibilities focused around short term planning, operational analysis, project and contractor management as well as day to operational assistance.
Following a 6 month placement at Integra, I joined the 19 other Vale Graduate’s (from Brazil, Canada and Mozambique) in Brazil for a company training course entitled “Advanced Training in Mining”. The course is essentially a high-level overview of the mining cycle from geological deposit formation through the phases of mining operations and onto rail and port logistics for export traded commodities. The program was focused on open pit mining and biased towards iron ore mining with industry and academic specialists leading lectures, discussion forums and site visits.
At the termination of the course, I was fortunately enough to undertake a period of job training in the planning department for Vale’s Southern Iron Ore Mining System based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. I was placed in the department for approximately 5 months and rotated through the different planning departments (short term, medium term, long term, geotechnical, hydro-geological and environmental) which facilitated a well rounded understanding of the Brazilian mining industry. Additionally, I came away from the training with a comprehensive understanding of the important elements, opportunities and limitations of each of the individual departments and the links between them. I finished up in Brazil at the end of 2009 and returned to work for technical services at Vale’s Integra Underground am now working as the department mining engineer.
I was initially attracted to the Vale Graduate Programme because it offered me the opportunity to experience working in two different commodities across two different countries and to be able to broaden my mining industry knowledge and technical expertise. The programme definitely delivered this as well as a second to none personal experience including; studying with a group of young professionals from completely different backgrounds and walks of life, making international friends, colleagues and contacts, living and working in a foreign country and also working in a second language.
For me, the Vale Graduate Programme has been a great experience and one I would recommend for those who like working for a large diversified mining company but with the flexibility of being part of a small department, interested in travel, keen to work overseas in a different mining environment and who are not afraid of a challenge.
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I realised I would have the opportunity to apply my skills in a practical manner, and see firsthand how a coal mine operates...
I am a final year student completing a Bachelor of Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland.
I was attracted by Vale’s global presence and saw an opportunity to implement my engineering skills at one of their coal mines. I realised I would have the opportunity to apply my skills in a practical manner, and see firsthand how a coal mine operates over a 12 week period over the summer vacation period in 2009.
I was placed at Vale’s Carborough Downs Coal Mine, which is located 2 hours west of Mackay in Queensland. I worked within the Technical Services Department and was given a project on mine planning. This involved determining the optimum mining layout for a section of the mine, which would deliver the highest possible profit. I also assisted with small jobs throughout the department in the areas of geology, mine ventilation, geotechnical engineering, gas drainage engineering, surveying and planning.
I faced a number of challenges during my placement. One of these involved ensuring required work was completed on time, while still doing other small jobs. This required a lot of organization and hard work. Another challenge was asking people for help. As everyone was so busy and often doing other jobs, it was not always possible to ask for help. This required a lot of problem solving and good communication skills when people were available.
My overall experience was fantastic. After learning so much at university I was not only allowed to practically apply my skills but I was able to learn even more about mining. Not only were the people on site friendly and happy, but the members of the Technical Services Department ensured I felt like one of them and assisted me with all of my work. It was a rewarding experience to not only further extend my knowledge, but to do so in such an excellent environment.
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Working with an experienced professional engineer on a daily basis gave me incredible insight into the responsibilities and commitment of a position...
My undergraduate studies have been greatly influenced and assisted by the knowledge and experience provided by employees of Vale Australia. As a final year Chemical & Metallurgical Engineering student at the University of Queensland I have had the opportunity to work at two of Vale’s mining operations in Australia over two consecutive years during the summer vacation period.
At the end of my 2nd year of my degree, I was accepted for into the summer vacation program developed by Vale – a company that I had only recently discovered. During the first interview I knew there was something that separated this company from the rest, and during the over the course of the following few months I learnt the care and commitment Vale place in the personal and professional development of all of their employees.
My first placement was at Carborough Downs - an underground coal operation in central Queensland, I spent the majority of my time at the coal handling and processing plant (CHPP), where I learnt first-hand the fundamentals in coal washing, and took part in a variety of experimentally based optimisation projects designed by myself, with the assistance of my mentor on site.
My second summer placement (at the end of the 3rd year of my degree), I spent my summer at Integra Coal Operations – an open-cut and underground joint venture situated in the heart of the well known Hunter Valley Wine Country - a short one hour drive inland from the sunny beaches on the coast of Newcastle.
Having gained the knowledge of the basics in coal washing operations, I worked with the Senior Process Engineer on-site, who became my mentor. Working with an experienced professional engineer on a daily basis gave me incredible insight into the responsibilities and commitment of a position I intend to hold at the completion of my degree.
After the completion and implementation of the results of my initial project, I was assigned another major project that involved detailing the operational efficiency of the pumping system of the plant – a task that required reconciliation of available plant data, or taking physical measurements and tracing out the piping system to fill in the gaps, followed by using advanced software to compute pumping efficiency curves for the entire plant. The results of this project culminated in making various operational changes to pump-pulley systems, based on calculations from the project I had completed, to ensure operational excellence and reduce maintenance costs.
I felt great satisfaction knowing the projects I had completed were not just for my own understanding, but also made a difference by benefiting the company that had sponsored me over this period.
Having spent the greater part of my undergraduate studies working as a Vale employee, I highly recommend Vale as an employer of choice for any person who believes strongly in a rewarding career based not only on the type of work they choose to specialise in, but also in feeling a sense of community with the people they work with.
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