Good quote

I like this one:
"Soil has a peculiar fascination, which impinges upon all of us at some time or other. Farmers or horticulturalists till it, engineers move it about in juggernaut-like machines, small boys (and girls!) dig in it, and mothers abhor it as being dirty"

These kids will make good employees in mining - check out all the safety gear for playing with a bit of dirt!

The Herd

Things like this really annoy me.

http://www.noosanews.com.au/story/2009/09/18/headline-act-the-herd-bolts-from-festival-herd-bol/

Before I start, I do really like the music that The Herd produces, but this is just weak and really is showing that they are a sell-out. At least the name is accurate, in that they do just follow the crowd. The Herd were due to play at the Coal to Coast Concert in Mackay, but pulled out less than 24hrs before the show. This was due to anti-mining 'green' groups still trying to plug that coal mining is bad. Honestly, where do they think the steel that they use everyday comes from? The steel reinforcement in their houses, in the bridges they walk across, in the buildings they work, in the safety boots, in the cars they drive to work in or the buses they ride, in whitegoods and office furniture. This is all without mentioning the massive factor of where the majority of electricity comes from. I support the sustainable use of resources, but this childish, uniformed view that mining is bad really does annoy me. It can be made sustainable, and is heading in that direction already.

On a brighter note, congratulations to Spiderbait for standing up and taking the stage (I am hoping that they do), because the Concert should be a lot of fun despite the poor media attention.

Assessment

This week is a shocker week for assessment, but I still managed time to watch a tower crane getting assembled on the weekend. It was great, I wish I had my camera. A small yard crane was used to assemble the main boom in the street (which had been closed off to vehicles, but not pedestrians), then a 220t mobile crane lifted the boom into place to fit onto the actual tower. In case you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, this is a tower crane (you will see them all around the city).


I know it's nerdy, but I enjoyed watching and learning how the cranes get put together.

QRC Ambassador Day

Last Tuesday QRC held their annual Ambassador Day, only this year was a bit different. Last year we heard from a few of the older students about what they had experienced with the program. They spoke about the Vac Work they had done, we watched some YouTube, like this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRxNvXCPCiM
So this year we were incredibly lucky, and heard from many people who are currently working in the industry. It started with the CEO of QRC, Michael Roche updating everyone on the current state of the industry, including an explanation of the advances in Coal Seam Gas, underground coal gasification, and LNG. It looks like there is, and will continue to be an incredible movement in these areas which is exciting news for the industry. Basically, the coal seam gas has been seen as a nuisance, contributing unnecessarily to the emissions from mining activity. Hopefully, it will soon be standard procedure to extract the gas for beneficial use before the mining of the coal begins. Of course this is all very much reliant on the feasibility of this option. Timing and cost obviously need to be suitable for the coal mining operations.

We then heard from companies such as Rio Tinto, Santos, Golding, BMA and Thiess. There were graduates, Engineers, HR Advisors, and even a Principal Geologist (Donna Frater).

Donna's part was one of the most interesting segments of the day for me. She definitely has a lot of experience in the industry, and has been quite successful. It was amazing to listen to someone who was prepared to give up a lot of time for us, and provide some tips on the industry.

I was impressed, and sincerely appreciative of the effort that was contributed by all of the companies, and especially the presenters both in preparation, and on the day.