From China to Australia - how cultural habits can change mine operations
Geotechnical Engineer Kevin Li grew up in China but studied in Australia and has worked in both countries. In this article Kevin shares how misunderstood mining is in his homeland, and says it’s the people, not the equipment, that changes the most across borders.
It took me a really long time to get my Mum and Dad onboard with me entering the mining industry in Australia. When I went to my first few pits they were so concerned, they would call me after work every day, just constantly checking I was still alive!
They’d say, “You’re okay? Good. Well, don’t go to places that are dangerous.’’ And I would say, “You know, I’m the geotech guy, right? So, I will definitely not be going to a dangerous place because it’s my job to identify what places are dangerous.’’
It’s funny. They have a very different perspective because where I grew up in China, they don’t have any mines. Mining is really far away from our daily lives, not like it is in Australia. They think we stand under a wall with a pick and shovel. It’s hard for them to understand the industry here - the level of machinery and automation. And, of course, that safety is one of the key things here.
I moved to Australia on my own in 2008 when I was 16, to finish high school at John Paul College in Logan, before I starting an engineering degree at the University of Queensland. It was a big culture shock as my English was limited. I only did well in maths, but I had to work hard to understand the other subjects.
I always wanted to be an engineer and when I started my degree in 2011, mining had good career prospects. I found geotech subjects very interesting. It is an understated field but is so important to mine development and mine safety. I also understood that geotech was going to become increasingly important because mining conditions are becoming more challenging as the easy deposits approach the end of their mine life.
During my vacation placement, I worked in two copper mines in China, an underground and an open pit. I found the software used in those mines were quite limited and didn’t integrate well with other aspect of the mining operation such as scheduling, drill and blast and the geological database. You could still achieve the same things but it often required many more hours of work.
But by far the biggest difference between countries was the people and communication style. Australians are very approachable and the communication is very open. Chinese are friendly, don’t get me wrong, but they do have a serious hierarchy at work. Australians tend to treat everyone as equal which makes the collaboration between different departments easier.
It’s why I enjoy being on site. Generally, everyone knows me straight away because I'm the only Asian in the pit! And I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s quite good instead because it helps break the ice and start a conversation.
Being on site is the most interesting part of the job. In China, the relationship between the Production team and the geotechs is not close. But in Australia, we have very open communications channels.
I can talk to the operator in the pit, then come back to the office to run analysis with what they see, and go back and say, ``Hey, here are the results from the analysis and these are my recommendations.’’ By doing this, it’s not just a model in an office, it brings it to the real world.
We were dealing with quite unfavourable geotechnical conditions at a mine site recently and I was able to present my plan to alleviate some of these challenges with design alternations. I was able to present my plan to the entire workforce from upper management to the Production team. It was satisfying to see that my design suggestions were adopted and implemented so they could safely achieve their mining targets for consecutive months. To have this level of influence on such a complex pit in Australia is really rewarding.
