Resourceful: Stories From The Site

In order to achieve your career goals in the mining and resources industry, it’s necessary to move to where the opportunities present themselves. This can cause quite a strain on your relationships, friendships and your health. Throughout the Resourceful podcast series thus far we’ve heard from the engineers who’s careers have caused this shift and the ways they have been directly affected. Today we’re diving into another episode focused on families to gain insight into how the lives of our loved ones are affected. We’re joined by Tricia Morland, partner to Richard who we’ve previously had the pleasure of interviewing on the podcast. In fact, Richard’s episode is our most downloaded episode so far and we’re sure Tricia would be up for a little bit of healthy competition to knock him off the top spot. Tricia's honesty and positive outlook when discussing Richard’s career trajectory filled us with a warm, cosy feeling. With a focus on teamwork, communication and open-mindedness, it’s clear that Tricia and Rich

We’ve got something a little different lined up for you as we’re putting our very own, Brett Cribb in the hot seat. An ex-mining engineer, Brett is the founder of Resources Unearthed, a director of Stratus Financial Group and the host of this podcast. He started his career in Mt Isa and progressed quickly through the ranks to Underground Mine Manager. After some time working in the field, Brett came to realise that his passion was in a different industry. With a keen interest in financial services, Brett took the leap and joined the financial planning community. In previous episodes, Brett has mentioned the “hedgehog theory”, and today he delves into greater detail as to what this means, and how this can be applied to find the career path that will work for you. If you'd like to speak to Brett about your own career journey, you're more than welcome to connect with him on LinkedIn. For more useful tips and resources head to the Resources Unearthed website.

Today we’re sitting down with Matt O’Neill, the Chief Operating Officer of Glencore, North Queensland Assets, based out of Mt Isa. Although Matt grew up in Mt Isa and his father was heavily involved in the resources industry, he had originally been determined not to work in the area himself. However, years later this is exactly where he has ended up. Although originally Matt felt it was necessary to leave the small town, pave his own way, and find opportunities in a bigger city, he discovered upon returning to Mt Isa, that there are very unique benefits from working in a regional area. The opportunities that are available to truly make a difference to the lives of those living in the area are unlike anything Matt experienced throughout his time living in Melbourne as a partner in a consulting firm. Matt reflects on the learnings that he has taken away from this experience, and that when it comes to business, it’s best not to take things personally. Matt touches on some key principles today that have held him

Sometimes as a manager, you need to make extremely tough decisions, and these decisions can be even tougher if you don’t feel that you have the support of your team. Our podcast guest today, Paul Harvey has had to make many of these tough decisions throughout his career, and he talks us through how a manager can work towards the best outcome for the greatest number of people. Paul is the Chief Operating Officer of South32. He is a highly motivated and skilled leader that has worked in both small and large scale operations all over the world.  When discussing his strategies on leadership and management, Paul emphasises the importance of care above all else, helping him to understand the impact of decisions on his employees.  He takes the time and utmost care in supporting their needs which in turn helps establish trust, the basis for any high performing operation. If you'd like to speak to Paul about your own career journey, you're more than welcome to connect with him on LinkedIn. For more useful tips and r

On the Resourceful podcast series so far we’ve spoken to successful and highly knowledgeable leaders in the mining and resources industry. We’ve picked their brains regarding career highlights, lessons they’ve learned and obtained invaluable insights. But behind every great person, there is another great person willing to sacrifice and support their partner through a career that is constantly changing and evolving. To kick off our focus on families, we’ve brought our previous guest, John Landmark’s wife, Vicki in to provide us with an honest and inspirational look at what it’s really like to live and breathe mining and resources. John and Vicki Landmark have recently embarked on their 10th international move and although John has previously discussed with us how he got to where he is today, we’re interested to hear how Vicki and their children have adjusted to a life where the only constant seems to be inconsistency. Vicki is honest about the hard times that they have had to endure as a family, but also exud

With a career spanning over 30 years in the maintenance sector of the mining and resources industry, our guest today Gerard Wood has seen his fair share of machinery failure and productivity loss. It was a common occurrence for machinery to fail unexpectedly, and require considerable downtime to fix. Through Gerard’s experience in a variety of roles within the maintenance sector and a stint in the Global Maintenance Network, he developed a unique set of skills enabling him the ability to asses these maintenance issues and work towards positive business outcomes. In his experience, Gerard has found that the most important factor to increasing fleet availability is not the documentation or procedures, but the work culture. There are good people at every mine site that genuinely want to do a great job, but getting everyone on the same page is the most common challenge. If you can create and foster a cohesive team, your productivity and profits will increase. After years working on mine sites, Gerard’s inner entr

There’s no denying that the mining and resources industry can involve a lot of travel and change. Fly-in-fly-out contracts are extremely common and long commutes can become a big part of your life, It’s important to recognise that change is inevitable, and in order to thrive in this industry, you need to embrace it. Our guest today, John Landmark has done more than his fair share of travel throughout his 30 year career. In fact, along with his wife Vicky, they are just about to embark on their 10th international move. Through his experience in organisational change management, John understands the importance of flexibility in business and the opportunities that present themselves when you’re open to extensive travel.   John is a geologist by trade who’s held roles all around the world in exploration, mining operations and safety risk management.  Although he started out in exploration, he’s now Vice President of Human Resources for Kirkland Lake Gold in Toronto, a field that seems far removed from where he st

In order to empower your workforce to feel good about the work that they’re doing, you need to be willing to listen to their needs. Perhaps this takes the form of a monthly town hall meeting, conducting a survey or going to the site and discussing directly with those on the ground. Whatever form it takes, as a leader, it’s important to let your staff know that their opinion matters and that you’re willing to make changes. Our guest today, Richard Morland strongly believes in the power of communication. He emphasises the importance of asking for help, which he believes is always more available than you might imagine, as well as relationship building within a team environment. He discusses the steps that are required to positively transform your workplace, improve mental health and reassess the needs of the business. Richard also shares his view that we’re not defined by the industry we work in and that the skills you learn on the job can be applied to many others in order to benefit your community. If you feel

It would be great to do what you love and get paid to do it. Sometimes however this feels impossible. There’s too many hurdles, not enough time and definitely not enough capital to get your ideas off the ground. Craig Stewart of Chasm Consulting has been there and has fantastic insights to share with you today. With the support of industry mentors, colleagues and his family, Craig was able to turn his vision into a reality. Craig is a mining engineer turned software developer and is the creator of Ventism ventilation software and safety management software C-Safe. It may have taken him over a decade, but his perseverance and dedication to achieving his goals have lead him to where he is today. Throughout this episode, Craig discusses the importance of maintaining good working relationships and the benefits this can have on the growth of your business. He also shares how you can combine your interests and skills to create a niche in a field that you truly enjoy. To find out more about Chasm Consulting head to

It’s a dirty job, but does it have to be? Shane Summers from FutureMine Solutions is positive the mining and resources industry can do better. On the podcast today we discuss the next industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 and the benefits this will have on the mining and resources industry. With the move towards electric powered mining equipment, AI integration and sophisticated software systems, Shane discusses how we can achieve a cleaner, safer and more sustainable mining environment. His message is clear: If you don’t adapt to the new technology there’s the potential to be left behind. Shane also emphasises the importance of recognising the limit to your knowledge and understanding when it’s necessary to ask others for advice. To find out more about FutureMine Solutions head to their website, or connect with Shane on LinkedIn For more useful tips and resources head to our website.

Today we’re chatting with Ian Goodwin – a man full of experience, enthusiasm, and great stories. Ian has consulted as an executive coach and mentor within the mining and resources industry for over 30 years. It is clear from this cheerful conversation that Ian has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the industry and is eager to share his wisdom. He emphasises the importance of surrounding yourself with mentors and how networking is not just for work events. Ian also tells an amusing story about his time working with some little fairy penguins in Tasmania.   Ian professes his love for the region of Yellowknife in Canada where he ended up spending 8 years of his working life.   For more information on Yellowknife, head to https://extraordinaryyk.com/ For more information on how Resources Unearthed can help you, or follow the Resourceful Podcast series, head to our website: https://www.resourcesunearthed.com.au/