And here is the third instalment of a Greenie on a Gold Mine!
This is a continuation of the posts that I have been writing about my experience as an Environmental Scientist in the mining industry. You can read the first entries in this series here and here.
In my last entry I broadly discussed what it was like to work in the extreme conditions of the Western Australian desert along with some fun facts about cyanide. In this entry I'd like to give you an understanding of what it is actually like to live on a mine site. I'm sure there are plenty of misconceptions out there about mining camps. Many people actually believe that the workers are literally camping at the mine sites, and while there are some examples of this still happening, the reality is that most aren't really camps any longer, but are more comparable to small towns (with terrible wifi).
Mining Villages, Isolation and Mental Health
Over the years I was able to visit many mining camps (or villages as they are commonly called now) at various locations throughout Australia. I've worked at one of the best camps in the country, and have visited some of the worst. I've been fortunate that most of the mines that I have worked at did their best to look after their employees in the mining villages.
In recent times, mining companies have become better at recognising that the fly in fly out (FIFO) lifestyle can be quite damaging to a person's mental health. And in an attempt to combat this, they have designed the mining camps to be as comfortable as possible. But there are many aspects of living at your workplace that you just can't solve with nice accomodation and a swimming pool or two.
And it's not just about managing the employees mental health. If the camps are uncomfortable, or lacking in the creature comforts that a person is used to, then the employee won't hang around for long. They'll work for a little while, save up some money, quit their job, and move back to their home town where they'll be more comfortable.
When I say that the FIFO lifestyle is damaging to a person's mental health, I'm not over exaggerating. There's plenty of evidence to back up this claim.
Two years ago, the WA government conducted a 10-month investigation into the factors that lead to suicide among fly-in, fly-out workers.
"The impact of FIFO work practices on mental health" report made 42 key findings and 30 recommendations regarding depression, workplace bullying, alcohol, harassment and suicide.
In my final years in the mining industry, there was a period of time where I was responsible for the Health and Safety, Emergency Services, Medical, and Environment team. During this time, we saw 4 people commit suicide in less than 3 months across the sites that my employer owned. So it's clear that some people really struggle to cope with the intense and at times isolating environment that FIFO employees work and live in.
But with all this said, the mining villages are often a hell of a lot nicer than what is commonly perceived. The image above is actually from a mine that I spent a few years at. This image shows the sleeping quarters. Each is a single room with an ensuite bathroom. All rooms have televisions, a movie and television streaming service (such as Foxtel), internet and telephones. You're really not lacking much in these rooms, unless you don't like the pillow provided...
Mining villages also have many other luxuries that you might find surprising. While working near Wiluna, which I described in my last post, the village had a huge hall for meals, BBQ areas, a swimming pool, a bar serving very cheap drinks, a small shop, a squash court, golf driving range, tennis courts and a very well equipped gym.
Alcohol and Mine Sites Rarely Mix Well
So you were never short of things to do after work. Most people found that they'd end up at the bar after work every day. And heavy drinking was always encouraged. This as amplified by the fact that a beer only a cost a couple of dollars, about a quarter of the price that you'd pay in the city.
There are many drunken stories that pop up on mine sites. One of my managers tells a story about how him and a bunch of other guys thought it would be fun to steal a vehicle to go for a hoon down to the open pit after drinking at the bar all night. They rolled the car on the way down to the pit of course and wrote the car off. This manager now has a scar down the side of his face as a reminder of his stupidity.
Then there's the incident that I had to help investigate, where a bunch of guys were drinking heavily into the early hours of the morning and arguing about football. Naturally the argument got heated, and the one guy who didn't follow the right team started getting physical. The fight ended up in a laundry room of all places and got incredibly messy. The next day, when I went in to take a look at the mess they made, I saw blood everywhere. That group of lads really went to town on that one poor guy. They all lost their jobs of course.
The Food, Endless Food... Just Avoid the "Lemon Fish"
Personally, I didn't enjoy drinking while on site. I found that after working for 12 hours, the last thing I needed was a beer. All I wanted to do was, eat a meal, head to the gym and go to bed. You might be wondering what the food is like on a mine site. It's plentiful, that's for sure, in fact it is quite literally "all you can eat" every night of the week. The meals are prepared buffet style, so you serve yourself whatever you like and as much as you like. You eat your meals in a large hall, so depending on the size of the mine, you could either be surrounded by 50 - 60 people or surrounded by hundreds while you eat your meal.
You often get people going back for second and third helpings. And not exactly choosing the healthy options (if they're available). The quality of food is heavily variable, and really dependent on how profitable the mine is at the time. During boom times, when the money is flowing in, the food is great. But when times are tough, the first budget that gets cut is the food budget, and all of a sudden you find yourself eating 2 day old fluorescent yellow deep fried fish.
I visited a mine in the Northern Territory one year. The food was so shockingly bad that I lived on bread, beer and green apples for the entire time I was there. For some reason, the only fruit that they could afford were green apples. At least they had beer.
I know I should be grateful that I was being fed and someone was cooking for me but there were some nights where I just had to go hungry. I also discovered that many people actually brought their own food to site, just to avoid eating in the dinner hall. Because food is so readily available, it becomes a huge deal. And people eat constantly and complain about the quality of the food even more. Weight problems are common, so it isn't at all surprising when you see that a huge percentage of people on site are overweight.
Bullies, Stalkers and Sex Pests
Mine sites are funny places. You're constantly surrounded by people, and restricted to a fairly small area of land. The only time where you are on your own is when you are in your room. And even then, you can still hear the people around you in their rooms. It's a strange feeling when you can't escape people. And people often find that their emotional reactions to things become amplified. So conflicts are common, thankfully not the physically violent kind too often.
Bullying and harassment can be common on site. And because it's a male dominated space, sexual harassment can also be quite common, and very under-reported. I've personally seen my female staff members get stalked on site, I've had reports of men trying to peer through the curtains into their rooms at night, and even had reports of men, in a very drunken state, knock on their doors and ask them for sex in the middle of the night. Mine sites can be very unpleasant places if you're female. Thankfully, as time passed and females on mine sites became more common, this type of behaviour became less common. But it was still an issue when I left the industry.
Mining Tips for the Introverted and Managing a Crisis from 1100km Away
I'm an introvert, and need time away from people, so working on a mine site was a real challenge for me. This is why I spent time in the gym and in my room instead of socialising at the bar after work. And when you're away for days on end and missing your loved ones, the last thing you need is some pathetic conflict cropping up with a work-mate who you wouldn't normally interact with in a normal social setting.
And this is why you see so many mental health issues cropping up on mine-sites. If harassment is a problem for a person, they can't escape the workplace for days on end until they leave site. And if the person has a mental health issue, they often won't seek treatment until they are off site, meaning they live with the problem on site until they return.
And then there are the family issues. If something happens at home, while you are away on site. Such as a relationship problem or a family emergency. You often can't leave site to deal with the problem. For example, I was on site for my 30th Birthday near Wiluna. Being on site for my birthday wasn't really a problem, but at 11:30pm at night I received a call from my wife. My dog had escaped and she couldn't find him anywhere. I didn't sleep that night. I felt useless and couldn't do anything to help. All I could do was sit in my room and wait for updates. My dog did eventually get found, two days later while I was still on site. He'd been eating spaghetti and swimming in a pool at a house a few streets away. The lady who found him thought she had a new pet.
So imagine how you'd feel if you're relationship was breaking down while you were stuck on site. The mental anguish can be extreme. And it's no wonder that some people take drastic measures when things go wrong at home.
I remember hearing about a guy whose girlfriend broke up with him over the phone while he was stuck on site. He was so frustrated about being stuck on site that he stole a work vehicle, and drove 1100km (about 12 hours of constant driving) to Perth so that he could see her and hopefully fix his relationship. He lost is job of course.
Concluding Remarks
Of course it's not all bad living on site though. Often the people you work with can become great friends. And the location where you work can also be incredibly beautiful. I spent many evenings photographing the sunset over pristine landscapes, and because you're in a place where there is so little light pollution, the stars are amazing in the desert. If you're into photographing the night sky, you'll be in your element.
At the end of the day though, one of the reasons why I had to leave the mining industry, was because I could feel my mental health deteriorating very quickly. And it was partly due to the isolating feeling of being on site and away from my loved ones for so much of the year. The lifestyle isn't for everyone, and it didn't suit my personality at all. I feel like my 10 years in the industry was plenty and I am very glad to have left the industry when I did.
It's an industry that gave me a lot of experiences and helped me immensely financially. So I could never be too negative about it. Working in the industry does come with many sacrifices however, and you need to be very conscious of these before entering the industry. One the biggest sacrifices that you will make is time with your family and loved ones. And this is a sacrifice that I am no longer willing to make.
I wanted to write this post to give you an understanding of what it is actually like to live on a mine site. It's a truly bizarre lifestyle that can be both rewarding, hilarious and challenging. So I hope I have achieved highlighting that here.