To provide real world context for the geology being taught in the Year 8 Science classrooms, we invited ex Timboon P-12 student and local geotechnical engineer, Jeremy Doolan, into the classroom to provide his expertise to help us better understand rocks, minerals and geology. After obtaining a Bachelor Degree in Geological Engineering he worked in open pit and underground mines in Mount Isa in Queensland before becoming a Geotechnical Engineer at the Ballarat Gold Mine then the Cadia Mine near Orange where he worked on Technology and Innovation. Returning to Port Campbell in 2017, he worked in a Fly-in, Fly-out (FIFO) capacity as a Geotechnical Superintendent and Underground Mine Manager. Currently he is working for a consulting/ contracting firm, Operational Geotechs, which allows him to work from home with adhoc mine site visits around the world when necessary. Jeremy explained that Australia contains all known rock types and the age of some rocks spans over 3.8 billion years. Discussing the history of mining in Australia, Jeremy explained that indigenous peoples mined orche for ceremonial purposes and the first settlers dug for coal for heating. Since the gold rush in the 1850s, Australian mining has become much more industrialized and automated including the use of AI and it is one of the most important producers of raw mineral product in the world. Jeremy was able to help students understand the difference between open pit and underground mines and the various types of raw materials, equipment, work practices, technology and career options available in today's mining industry in Australia. He left students with a final thought, “If mining didn’t exist to extract valuable minerals from the rocks beneath our feet, what would our world be like?” Comments are closed.
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March 2024
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