Episode Details

In this episode, we chat to Richard Murrell who is the site director at Anglo American on the Woodsmith mine here in the UK. Having studied at the Camborne School of mine and worked both here in the UK and in Australia, Richard has a passion and desire to help the younger generation and graduates in the mining industry.

He is coming onto the podcast to give some advice to graduates in their early years. But also, to advise managers and more senior mining professionals in hiring young engineers for their business and operations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Don´t send a generic letter. Do your homework, send it to the right person and make it specific.
• Be sure to follow up on the emails or letters you send.
• Research is essential. The more you know about a company and its projects the better.
• Networking is vital. Many, many people have found jobs at networking events.
• Being on the tools underground may not be what you want to do forever, but it’s still very good experience.
• When at university seek out jobs that teach you related skills. For example, work on a building site instead of in a cafe.
• Build up your own skills, don´t expect your company to always pay for training.
• The industry has to be proactive about selling mining as a career to stand any chance of filling the skill gap.
• People need to be made aware that mining can be done in an environmentally friendly way.
• Many people just assume that a mining career means having to move abroad. Increasingly, that is not the case. The industry needs to make that clearer.
• The UK mining industry is buoyant, environmentally friendly and has a bright future.
• Apprenticeships are vital to the industry.
• Get children building as soon as possible. Technical Lego or Meccano are great. Teach your children about fossils, geology, and visit quarries and engineered facilities.

BEST MOMENTS

‘Keep sending those emails off, keep approaching, but also keep following up. ´

‘If you can start at the bottom maybe as a nipper or a truck driver underground it´s invaluable experience.’

‘There are around 2000 mines and quarries operating in the UK.’

EPISODE RESOURCES

Website: Re-imagining mining to improve people's lives | Anglo American

LinkedIn: Richard Murrell - Site Director - Anglo American | LinkedIn

Email: richard.murrell@angloamerican.com

Lego Caterpillar D11 Bulldozer set - https://brickset.com/article/63317/first-look-at-42131-cat-d11-bulldozer

VALUABLE RESOURCES

mailto:rob@mining-international.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/

http://www.mining-international.org

https://twitter.com/MiningConsult

https://www.facebook.com/MiningInternational.org

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC69dGPS29lmakv-D7LWJg_Q?guided_help_flow=3

ABOUT THE HOST

Rob Tyson is the Founder and Director of Mining International Ltd, a leading global recruitment and headhunting consultancy based in the UK specialising in all areas of mining across the globe from first world to third world countries from Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia. We source, headhunt, and discover new and top talent thr