Vada Radford

• I spent the summer working with the Geotechnical Engineering team at St. Ives Invincible Underground Mine. My daily role included monitoring and managing paste samples, checking on seismic activity, and joining the engineers underground. While underground, we would do our weekly ground support checks, as well as investigate other drives and stopes upon request.
• I participated in two projects while on site. The fist was a paste testing trial to see if using 50 mm cylinders could replace 100 mm cylinders. This project took into account their different curing times, and required maximum data collection. The second project I helped out with was an MDX bit trail. This was aimed at seeing.
• I also spent time at the paste plant conducting paste testing, and time at the core shed logging core.

Summer and Winter breaks working at St Ives Gold Mine for Gold Fields situated in Kambalda WA. My role was Geology Vacation Student working for the exploration department. This was my first time working in exploration and my responsibilities included Field Technician work, Core logging and Drill rig visits.

Assisting the Field Technicians daily helped me gain a solid understanding of the processes for core logging in an exploration setting, which was very different to my previous experience logging the mine production core.

Carrying out regular inspections of the Diamond and RC drill rigs, for me was a highlight as I was able to communicate with the drilling crews, ask questions and learn more about how the equipment worked. This also included a few days on the RC rig logging chips with the other geologists.

I assisted with a geology tenement project which included mapping of the area and with the data we collected, setting up a soil sampling plan which we then carried out and dispatched the samples to the assay lab for analysis.

I began my time as a Geology Vacation Student at Granny Smith Gold Mine, situated near Laverton WA, where I participated in both Summer and Winter sessions. Throughout these periods, I acquired valuable insights into the realm of underground mining and gained proficiency in core logging. My responsibilities included tasks such as mapping geological features, including faces and walls, as well as utilising laser measurements. I also participated in rig audits and maintained communication with drillers, all the while gaining fundamental knowledge of underground LV driving techniques.

My time in the core shed was particularly enriching as I was exposed to diverse lithologies, alterations, and geological structures. I assisted the Geology Technicians in their sampling endeavors. Lastly, I received hands-on training in utilising various software applications, including Acquire and Deswick, for digitising and verifying face maps.

Commenced as a Casual Student Geologist engaged in conducting XRF analysis on geological pulp samples. This involved carrying out quality control assessments and entering data into the Evident software system. Additionally, I accomplished a certification in Radiation Safety specifically tailored for Portable XRF analyzers.