Was pretty common over in Western Australia with Rio Tinto a few years ago for geologists.
It's easier for surveyors to transition though.
Most switches I've seen happen internally. Usually because there was a shortage of mining engineers.
Can't speak to other countries, but it's not uncommon in the US.
"Mine Engineer" is more of a job title here than anything with specific qualifications; I've worked with and under planning engineers and D&B engineers who had degrees in Geology (or, in some cases, no degree at all).
It all depends on where you've spent those 10 years in Geo. If they've been in production geology and you've worked closely with the engineers, it's not that big of a switch. If it's mostly been exploration without much experience in day-to-day operations, you might be need some formal education.
Again, I can only speak to the US. I know Canadians and Aussies tend to be stricter about accreditation requirements
Can only speak for New Zealand mining but this is very common. We no longer have a mine engineering qualification in NZ so in recent years mine planners or mine engineers have typically been grown on site. Most of the people who become mine engineers have been geos. I think geos make great engineers as they have an understanding of the ground, the model and the stratigraphy. This may work differently in other countries.
It is quite common, but depending on your location you may have trouble getting registered. In Australia is been changed (with justification) that you require an engineering degree to become a registered engineer.
It is quite common here in Indonesia, freshers with geology degree shifting to mining eng. It requires no specific degree nor certification, they just have to pass their apprenticeship program.
I’m a surveyor with 10 years ug doing a geotech engineering degree atm. There have been talks that once I’m taught how to do cables in deswik drill and blast I’ll probably be designing drill holes. That being said, in Australia because the mining engineer degrees still exist, that is generally the expected qual.
I was a production geologist for a few years and am now a geotechnical engineer. My bachelors degree is in geological engineering, so that helped quite a bit. Your operational and software knowledge (Deswik, Vulcan, etc) would help immensely in switching.
Look at getting a mining engineering certificate and switching internally first. Good luck!
I’ve literally got a geologist one office over from me doing drill and blast engineering work hah
Was pretty common over in Western Australia with Rio Tinto a few years ago for geologists. It's easier for surveyors to transition though. Most switches I've seen happen internally. Usually because there was a shortage of mining engineers.
Can't speak to other countries, but it's not uncommon in the US. "Mine Engineer" is more of a job title here than anything with specific qualifications; I've worked with and under planning engineers and D&B engineers who had degrees in Geology (or, in some cases, no degree at all). It all depends on where you've spent those 10 years in Geo. If they've been in production geology and you've worked closely with the engineers, it's not that big of a switch. If it's mostly been exploration without much experience in day-to-day operations, you might be need some formal education. Again, I can only speak to the US. I know Canadians and Aussies tend to be stricter about accreditation requirements
Can only speak for New Zealand mining but this is very common. We no longer have a mine engineering qualification in NZ so in recent years mine planners or mine engineers have typically been grown on site. Most of the people who become mine engineers have been geos. I think geos make great engineers as they have an understanding of the ground, the model and the stratigraphy. This may work differently in other countries.
It is quite common, but depending on your location you may have trouble getting registered. In Australia is been changed (with justification) that you require an engineering degree to become a registered engineer.
I swapped over, did a Grad Dip in Mining. When I finished the D&B and surface mining subjects I transferred internally to a D&B eng role.
Did you do the Grad Dip at UNSW? Or is there anywhere else you would recommend?
I did a grad dip mining, externally, through WASM Curtin Uni.
I did it at what is now Federation Uni
It is quite common here in Indonesia, freshers with geology degree shifting to mining eng. It requires no specific degree nor certification, they just have to pass their apprenticeship program.
I’m a surveyor with 10 years ug doing a geotech engineering degree atm. There have been talks that once I’m taught how to do cables in deswik drill and blast I’ll probably be designing drill holes. That being said, in Australia because the mining engineer degrees still exist, that is generally the expected qual.
Increasingly common in Australian coal mines for geos to simply take a job as a mining engineer without any further formal training.
I’ve seen lots of people do it by moving externally at their mines/companies
I was a production geologist for a few years and am now a geotechnical engineer. My bachelors degree is in geological engineering, so that helped quite a bit. Your operational and software knowledge (Deswik, Vulcan, etc) would help immensely in switching. Look at getting a mining engineering certificate and switching internally first. Good luck!