Lawrence Alago

5.00 AM

I am woken up by one of my many consecutive alarms that stops me from sleeping in (I’ve learnt this lesson the hard way). I take a super long shower to help me wake up. Once fully awake, I put on my hi-vis long sleeve shirt and pants, and my steel toecaps only to find out that it is stupendously hot once I get out of my donga (room). Off I head to the dry mess (food hall) where I have my breakfast to help me kick start my day and pack my lunch for the day ahead.

5.45 AM

By this time, I await the first bus from the mine campsite to the processing plant where I work.

6.00 AM

First thing in mind when I get to work is to always grab a coffee to help kick-start my day. I check my emails and the processing plant trends to see how it performed during the night (as they say, “Trends are your friends”).

6.45 AM

The first meeting I attend is for my department and we summarise what things went well and what did not from both a safety and production point of views. The second meeting is across different departments for processing and in here, we discuss yesterday’s safety and KPI performance, as well as an outlook and critical tasks for today.

8.30 AM

This week on-site, I am in charge of doing the daily accounting for the processing plant. This involves collating all gold production-related data across different departments and logging it in our metallurgy database. It so happens to be time for another cup of coffee to help me get through my day.

10.00 AM

I undertake different daily routine checks for different sections of the plant. Today, I am doing an inspection with oxygen addition to our leaching tanks. I do a check on the additions to ensure that oxygen additions are higher at the front end than at the back. This is crucial for our gold recovery.

11.30 AM

Positive communication is key at work. Before taking a plant sample, I let the area operator and the processing plant control room know of my actions. I then take these samples and pre-condition them before doing my tests. These tests go for 24 hours, with interval sample collections. Sample collection would be complete by tomorrow where I would submit it to the lab for analysis.

2.00 PM

At this time, I have an appointment with the Graduate Environmental Advisor regarding the water balance for the whole site. Between the two of us, we look after the data collection and collation required to run simulations that we use to project water usage and identify areas for usage reduction.

4.00 PM

At this time, Lab results from yesterday’s plant performance are complete. I assess these values, update our daily accounting and prepare this for tomorrow’s KPI reporting. I have my last coffee to give me that extra boost to get to the end of the day.

5.00 PM

I attend my last meeting of the day. This meeting reviews the day that happened across different departments in processing. Critical tasks for tomorrow are also discussed in this meeting.

6.00 PM

I start to wind down from a busy day that I had today. As I am flying out tomorrow, I start on my handover notes that summarises all the events that happened on my week here on-site. Once completed, I pack up and take the bus back to camp.

7.30 PM

After having dinner at the dry mess, I celebrate the successful week on-site by having drinks with coworkers at the wet mess (bar) in a responsible way. Before hunkering down, I triple-check that my alarms are in place so that I do not miss my flight back home!