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Mining Engineer - Job outlook

Mataaro Waro

What are the chances of getting a job?

Mining engineers are in short supply in New Zealand and the job features on Immigration New Zealand's immediate skill shortage list. This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled mining engineers from overseas to work in New Zealand.

Demand for mining engineers is particularly high due to:

several new mining projects in New Zealand
stiff international competition for skills due to demand for raw materials caused by an international construction and resources boom.

In order to attract and retain mining engineers the industry has increased its salary packages, with some engineers now being offered up to $1,700 a week. Mines are also increasingly using short-term contracts to respond to immediate demand for staff.

HAYS Recruitment – 2007 Mining Market and Salary Report (PDF – 67.3KB)

Census	Number of mining engineers
1996	66
2001	84
2006	66

Source: Department of Labour, Occupational Indicators Tool

New opportunities for mining engineers

Pike River Coal’s new mine in Greymouth will commence production mid-2008. An accelerated recruitment process, with New Zealand qualification and training authorities, allows potential employees at Pike River to obtain formal recognitions faster.

Pike River Coal brochure – current and future employment opportunities (PDF – 5.0MB)

What types of employers can I work for?

Mining engineers work for:

state-owned enterprises
trust owned corporations
public companies.

The size of mining operations varies, ranging from large opencast mines to small two-person enterprises.

Some of the main employers are:

Coal

State-owned Solid Energy makes up around 83% of New Zealand production.

Solid Energy website

Gold, minerals and aggregates

OceanaGold currently employs approximately 310 staff and owns two of the largest gold mines in the South Island.

OceanaGold website

Newmont Waihi Gold owns and operates Martha mine at Waihi, and directly employs about 300 people. As production from Martha mine comes to an end new developments are taking place at the nearby Favona underground mine.

Newmont Waihi Gold website

Where can I do this job?

According to the 2006 Census, the highest proportion of mining engineers were employed in the Auckland (29%), Waikato (18%) and West Coast (13%) regions.