Letitia Tremain, geologist and former CVO scholarship recipient
“I grew up in the country on a rural property outside of Canowindra. I always wanted to stay in the country and wasn’t sure what to do after school until I attended a mining careers dinner at the Orange TAFE. I listened to a geologist from Newcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley Operations (CVO) speaking about her experience in the mining industry and decided that it sounded like an interesting and rewarding career. “I successfully applied for a NSW Minerals Council bursary for students wishing to enter the mining industry. The bursary program furthered my interest in mining so I was encouraged to apply for and was subsequently awarded a Newcrest Mining scholarship in 2006 to study a Bachelor of Science (Geology) at the University of Wollongong. “Winning a scholarship through CVO virtually made my career. Not only does it cover the costs of the university degree for up to four years it also allowed me to complete three months of paid vacation work. This means I did not have to put in dozens of applications to different companies to get work experience and it also helped out with the cost of living while at Uni. “The practical experience I received in my vacation work was extremely beneficial to my career. As a student I was given a huge amount of responsibility – my duties included rock chip logging, measuring and modelling structures, modelling the grade of blasts, communicating the results to engineers, metallurgists and operators and directing where to send material of various gold/copper grades. I also spent time in other departments learning about the general mining operations. My personal favourite was spending time with drill and blast where I helped to load the blast holes and then watch the blast at the end – it was pretty spectacular. “Most importantly, winning a CVO Scholarship greatly increased my chances of being offered a graduate position at the end of my degree. I was offered a graduate position with Newcrest at the end of my third year of university which cemented my future in mining and opened up the opportunity to work at Newcrest’s Indonesian mine site as part of my job rotation. “I am now a full time employee with Newcrest at CVO, working in the Geology department doing what I love. I live in the local area close to my friends and family and enjoy a full and challenging career at one of the largest mines in Australia. “What I love most about being a Geologist is working with other departments to maximise production, having a huge amount of responsibility and being able to make big decisions which are taken seriously by the whole company and working on my project – modelling rock type in the block cave. “I would encourage anyone who is interested in a mining discipline at university to apply for a scholarship with Newcrest’s Cadia Valley Operations, near Orange, as it opens up a world of opportunities within the industry.”
