Viv Naidu – Mining and much more

When I was awarded the AusIMM/Playford Memorial Trust Scholarship, one of the supporting partners was Hillgrove Resources, with whom, after I finished my degree, I was fortunate enough to secure a Graduate Mining Engineering role.

I undertook various open pit practical roles at the Kanmantoo Copper Mine, such as truck driving, blast crew and surveying, before transitioning into a technical drill and blast role. After a while, I had an itch to burrow into the depths of the Earth and give underground mining a go, so I moved to Prominent Hill in South Australia. I once again got my hands dirty and learnt the foundational skills of operating various types of trucks, loaders, drills and explosives. 

Before I started in the workforce, my goal had been to expand my breadth of knowledge and experience early on. Driven by this desire, I decided to pursue a career in consulting and contracting and I was fortunate enough to gain a position as a Mine Planner at the Golden Grove Mine in Western Australia. Not long after, my travels back and forth from WA to Adelaide came to a screeching halt when COVID changed my working arrangements to remote work.

I next moved to Olympic Dam and took on a Mine Backfill role and assisted with a capital project, all while living in Roxby Downs. This change from traditional FIFO to a residential role gave me a great perspective of the two traditional mining arrangements.

Once again, I got itchy feet and I saw myself back on a plane, this time to NSW to work at the Dargues Gold Mine as a Production Engineer. Again, another change of pace, moving from a site with over 2000 people to one with fewer than 100. After some time, an opportunity arose for me to step up into a Senior Engineering role back in WA, at the Carosue Dam mine.

This was a fantastic move because I soon found my stride in people management and leadership. Not long after, I got jaw-dropping phone call about a rare chance to go back to Dargues Gold Mine in NSW as the statutory Mine Manager. I could not pass that up – and to this date, it has been my ultimate achievement as I steered the mine to a planned closure.

 Then one day, as fate may have it, I stumbled across an old work colleague who invited me back to Hillgrove Resources at the Kanmantoo Copper Mine. At that time, I had just become a new Dad and my fresh perspective on life made this transition into a more family friendly role a difficult, but easy choice.

I have worn many hats since returning, including as Sustainability Superintendent, responsible for all things safety, training, risk, emergency response and environment. My career has taken me on an expansive journey, all of which now sees me back to where it all started. Without that support of the Playford Trust to help ignite this adventure, none of this would be possible.

Never stop growing, never stop learning, be open to change, and never be afraid to take on a challenge or opportunity.