We recently spoke to Regis Resources’ Vacation Student and Curtin University Graduate Chol Manyang Angok about his journey to Australia and into Australia’s gold industry.
Congratulations on graduating from Curtin University! What inspired you to study engineering?
Thank you very much, it has been a long journey. When I started my academic journey, I did not know what engineering was, however, my father had an idea of what he wanted me to study. He wanted me to get into Jäth (in my mother tongue), which translates to Petroleum in English. According to him, this was the main driving force for the civil war that my country was enduring.
After high school, it became clear that everything we use from day-to-day is a result of engineering. At this point, I decided that I would like to know how many different things worked, and engineering was the option that could allow me to learn about things and solve problems to improve them.
I started University with the aim of specialising in petroleum engineering, which lasted until my second year. Due to the Oil and Gas job market in Australia, I decided to do something that my dad was not aware of and that was switching to a major that would provide me with more career security. So I decided to pursue a Bachelor of Engineering (with Honours), Oil and Gas Stream (with Honours) and Chemical Engineering Major (with Honours).
What does your day-to-day work involve at Regis, and what is your favourite part of your current role?
Being a vacation student means that you learn as you go from department to department; everything is different as it is all practical learning.
As part of the processing department, my day-to-day work focuses on optimising the extraction of gold, and this is conducted stage-by-stage: through ore crushing, leaching, adsorption and desorption.
My favourite part would be working together as a team to meet shift handover summary requirements and, if you are starting, this is where you learn about any problems that the other shift has encountered, how they have solved it and what they want you to continue doing. If you are finishing, it means that it is time for you to rest and reset for the next day.
You’ve grown up in different countries and in various living conditions, what kept you motivated during tough times?
When you are from a third world country, hardship and adversity become your friends. The living conditions kept on changing for the better as I moved from country to country.
South Sudan provided the most challenging time as it lacked many needs such as a proper education system, healthcare system, and general stability of peace, not being able to settle in one place because of war volatility.
Similarly, but better than Sudan, was Kenya and better of them all being Australia. Whether the disruption has been a personal tragedy or global, there were times where I felt uncertain about how to move on with things being totally out of control. However, being from a country that breaths war, you learn that there is no way to avoid adversity, sorrow and distress in life, so you take it as it comes. Growing up, I was taught how to be resilient, which has helped me to adapt, tolerate stress, anxiety, sadness and maintain a positive outlook.
What has been your biggest learning curve or challenge in getting to where you are?
My biggest learning curve was time management. Being from a developing country and residing in a developed country comes with high expectations. During this journey, the two most important things have been my family and school itself; having a displaced family due to war meant I had to provide for them. I was enrolled on a full-time basis while working full-time hours to meet my financial needs and theirs. At the beginning of my second year, it became relevant, as I failed one of my units. But as vital as they were, I continued to pursue both of them.
As units became more practical and more challenging in the third year, I had to establish time management skills as I did not want to fail or be behind on my bills. Hence, I reduced my socialising time and started using it for studying, understanding how to be effective and efficient instead of trying to learn everything at once.
Similarly, I had to learn to understand that my studies and work differed as I worked in logistics and was studying engineering. I had to differentiate what time at work incorporated and what time to learn included. Towards the end of my studies, time management became a critical key as it was a big challenge I had to overcome.
What inspires you about working in the gold industry?
As gold is one of the most valuable mineral commodities, it became an inspiring industry to work in due to many factors, and the decision was not hard to make. It is a fast-paced, operational focused career and I am a hands-on person, and gold mining is more adventurous than a typical office job. Any hands-on experience that I will gain and opportunities explored in this industry will all count towards building career capital (office job).
What is your greatest achievement to date?
I am happy to be where I am today, so in terms of achievements, I can say that being resilient throughout my studies and managing to own the title of Engineer is an extraordinary achievement on a personal level.
Secondly, adapting to new situations as a went from country to country, different living conditions, fitting into new cultures, making new friends and maintaining old friends is something I am also proud of.
Thirdly, when I started my academic journey, I thought I was doing it for my father because I had no idea what school was. I was born into a culture where farming, herding cattle and livestock and participating in cultural activities, such as wrestling, brings people happiness. It has become more apparent that it was never for him at this stage and I am grateful for that. Being the first graduate from my family feels like I have fulfilled my father’s vision and I can say that I am proud I have not let him down, along with my family and friends who believed in me.
What have you learnt as a vacation student?
This vacation program, to me, has been a comparison between my in-class knowledge and industry knowledge, with the aid of gaining work experience and exploring opportunities. What I have learned as a vacation student and a new employee in the gold industry/mineral resources sector, in general, is that all industries are different; being a previous employee in logistics is different to working in the mineral sector.
The biggest lesson I have learned above all is that practical knowledge or understanding is very different from in-class expertise and experience. Yes, I may have read and learnt about how chemicals and process plan equipment works, particularly the gold production circuits (crushing, milling, leaching, desorption and adsorption), but that does not mean I can practically operate them.
My first day as a vac student was slightly stressful. Starting in the crushing circuits, I could not read some of the trends. As this was my first engineering-related job, there was pressure to learn as quickly as possible without breaking anything. Applying my in-class knowledge was not the solution.
Lastly, you have to be assertive and proactive while practising safety; if you know something or can fix something safely, you need to be confident, act quickly and not be afraid to be wrong. In addition, you need to ask questions; this is the only way to learn there is no such thing as a “stupid question”.
What advice would you give to people looking at studying a mining-related discipline?
Engineering, in general, is the field that aids in solving the most impactful problems in the world. Some of its benefits include intellectual development, potential to benefit society, variety of career opportunities, job satisfaction and many more.
The mining engineering discipline becomes different from others as there is a strong focus on operations. As a piece of advice, if you are a hands-on person and like working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment, mining is a perfect career for you because things are continually improving and there is always something going on.
In general, it is a well satisfying discipline with initiatives that are constantly and continuously improving.