Mine to Market November-December 2012 - Mount Isa Mines

Paul Telford
General Manager
Copper Smelter and
Major Projects
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Proserpine, and grew
up as the eldest of seven children
in an area known as Strathdickie, halfway
between Proserpine and Airlie Beach, where
my parents owned and operated a cane
farm. I finished my schooling in Proserpine,
then completed a four-year apprenticeship
at the local sugar mill as an Instrument Fitter.
Once I received my trade, I enrolled in
a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering course
at James Cook University in Townsville.
I finished my degree at 25, and with just
enough cash in the bank to pay the bond
on a rental house, I set off to Launceston,
Tasmania, to start my engineering career
with Rio Tinto at their Comalco Bell Bay
Aluminium smelter.
Why mining? Was it something you’d
always been interested in?
As a child I did dream of working on the
family farm; however, once I finished
Year 12 I was convinced I should get
some additional skills first which is why I
completed my apprenticeship.
Everything in mining is on a massive
scale, we get to build and play with huge
pieces of equipment, which as an engineer,
is fascinating. Also, as a child growing up in
a small town, I was never really interested
in city life. Mining was attractive because
it provided the opportunity to work on
massive projects, with the added benefit
of living in smaller, laid-back country
communities. Now, with a family of my own
Mount Isa is an ideal community to live in.
How long have you been in the industry?
I’ve worked in metallurgical operations for
22 years, 17 of which I’ve spent in Mount
Isa. My exposure to the actual mining side
of our activities – that is, pulling ore out of
the ground – is limited, as I’ve spent my
career focussing on turning that ore into the
concentrate or metal that can be sold. Our
Mount Isa operations provide a valuable
opportunity to gain exposure to numerous
metallurgical operations. There are not
many operations in the world that offer the
number of different metallurgical processes
that we have here.
So, why Xstrata?
I started work with Mount Isa Mines on
October 2 1995, and stayed on after Xstrata
acquired Mount Isa Mines in 2003. Looking
back, I have enjoyed the opportunities
and overcoming the challenges we’ve
been faced with during my time here. The
business has evolved significantly over the
past ten years, but I think these changes
have all been positive for everybody, and
this makes it a pleasure to come to work.
What does your role entail?
My current role has me focused on three
key areas; firstly ensuring that the copper
smelter continues to add value to Xstrata
Copper’s north Queensland operations.
Secondly, I oversee the execution of three
major refurbishment projects for our Mount
Isa operations, including the R62 winder
control system and the Mount Isa Copper
Operations crude ore bin and concentrator
flotation banks. Finally I assist our risk
champions across the Xstrata Copper North
Queensland business in improving our risk
management processes.
What is the highlight of your career?
I like that I’ve had the chance to work in
so many of our surface operations, from
learning about receipting and dispatching
items in our stores, to the different
processes in our metallurgical plants. It’s also
satisfying getting to know our people.
We have a number of employees who
have been with the business upwards of
thirty, forty, even fifty years and it’s always
interesting hearing about their different
experiences, and getting to celebrate their
careers with them at our anniversary dinners.
When you’re not working, how do you
like to spend your time?
I like to spend my downtime with my
family. We take trips to Lake Moondarra to
go fishing or skiing, have barbeques with
friends and get involved in my children’s
sporting and dancing activities. I also like
spending time in the garden at home and
I’ve been trying to establish a good vegie
patch so we can start eating vegetables
fresh from the garden, but to be honest, my
efforts so far haven’t always been successful.
What is the best thing about living and
working in Mount Isa?
My family love it here. We enjoy the
friendships we have developed and the
small community means you are only
10 minutes from anywhere, which makes
it much easier to get involved in lots of
activities. My children dance and play sport
regularly outside of school, which wouldn’t
be as easy if we lived in a bigger city. With
the exception of a few months of the year,
the weather here is perfect for enjoying
the outdoors.
At work, the best part of the job is the
people I get to work with. Everybody here
is passionate about what they do and want
to make a difference, and that creates an
inspiring and positive environment to walk
into every day.
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