Core Resources Pty Ltd Founder and Director, Jon Loraine, has been featured in Industry Queensland, sharing his perspective on the important role migrant professionals continue to play across Australia’s mining and resources sector.
In the article, Jon highlights the value that internationally experienced professionals bring to the industry and the immediate impact skilled migrants can have across mining operations and technical disciplines.
“It’s a very, very good source of high-level skills that are immediately applicable in industry in Australia. People migrate around the world and in Australia the people from many nations work in the mines,” Jon said.
The article explores how migration continues to support Australia’s mining workforce, particularly as the industry faces increasing demand for specialised technical expertise across engineering, metallurgy, processing and operations.
Read the full article below.
Mining community underpinned by migrants
There’s a call for a better appreciation of Australia’s multicultural mining community.
Core Resources chair and founder Jon Loraine, a mining engineer, said the domestic mining industry was underpinned professionally and operationally by migrant communities.
There was quite a strong history of Iranian engineers and scientists coming to the University of Queensland and doing PhDs and then either remaining in research or going into industry, Mr Loraine said.
“It’s a very, very good source of high-level skills that are immediately applicable in industry in Australia. People migrate around the world and in Australia the people from many nations work in the mines.
“They’re absolutely vital to the Australian mining industry. If you went to Mount Isa, to take one example, you’ll find many engineers from, for instance, India, from the Philippines and other places around the world where there’s a mining industry.
“In fact, Mount Isa has interestingly got quite a Filipino community from decades of Filipino people coming and working Mount Isa and settling there.
“You might remember that Mount Isa, going back to earlier days, had an incredible Finnish community and Finnish surnames are still quite common in Mount Isa.”
Mr Loraine, who is originally from England, said Australia attracted talented geoscientists.
“Australia’s got a top-class mining industry. It pays well. Australia’s seen as an attractive place to work,” he said.
“I’m one of them. I did my studies in England and I came here because I saw it as an attractive place to live and where there were job opportunities in the minerals industry.
“Core Resources has got quite a long history of working in Russian-speaking countries. We currently do a lot of work in Kazakhstan, and in many of these countries, there’s a very good classical education and a very good fundamental science education that we might be missing in some respects in Australia. There’s a real respect for fundamental science.”
Migrant professionals, technicians, operators and workers were plugging the gaps in the Australian mining industry, Mr Loraine said.
“It should be recognised as a great source of skills in our industry. And we have obviously quite a challenge in Australia in developing and retaining high-level engineering skills. The high-level immigrant scientists and engineers have become very important..
“They come with entrepreneurial skills as well. I think that’s part of coming from countries that are troubled. I think it gives you quite a drive to get on in life.
“Some of the Iranians that I had the honour of working with are extremely entrepreneurial, so they’ve got a real drive to succeed.”
Core Resources provides services in all aspects of metallurgical testing, process engineering/flowsheet development and site support services for the global mining industry.
