Alumni Akash Mokal shares his thoughts..

 

Mr Akash Mokal, an alumni of Department of geology (2016-19), Parvatibai Chowgule College of Arts and Science ( Autonomous) and is currently working as drill and blast engineer at Panoramic resources limited in Australia. In this interview he shares his experiences in the department and in the field of mining, his academic progress and insights on his future plans.

 

·       Tell us about yourself

I feel like I am a regular human being who is passionate about enjoying life and constantly trying to give my best no matter what the situation is. I AM Currently, a mining engineer with Panoramic Resources.

 

·       What are your job duties? Can you tell us about your day-to-day responsibilities?

As a Drill & Blast Engineer, I am responsible for generating, scheduling, and implementing short-term Drilling, Blasting and Ancillary mine plans to achieve the operational plan in a safe and cost-effective manner. Reporting to the Senior Mining Engineer, I work collaboratively and coordinate the production activities with the Scheduling Engineer to ensure the production plans align with the weekly and monthly plans. This is a participatory role that involves Working closely with operations, ore control, mine, and geotechnical engineering, environment and community, and processing to ensure across-site focus to optimal drill and blast design. I am responsible for recording and using production data to domain the orebody in drill and blast domains that will enable the development and refinement of a drill and blast best practice for operations, with the ultimate aim of optimizing the whole of business drill and blasting operations also involved in inspecting and assessing the underground production areas, liaising with the survey departments when generating production plans and providing technical support to the underground supervisors and crew members. The role takes on a variety of essential tasks, including (but not limited to) Production Drill Designs, daily and weekly data management for reporting purposes, blast vibration monitoring and declarations, and having technical input into the large-scale production plans.

 

·       How did your academic progress go about and what are the challenges you faced?

 I wouldn't call anything as challenging as I was passionate about studying at the time. The unique challenge I had to typically face was to properly manage personal and professional life together, and I tried to do my best by not mixing both. If I experienced any issues with my personal life, I never allow it to affect my professional life. When I talk about professional life, it was about the sports that I play and my studies. As far as my academic history is concerned, I completed my High School in 2015 with first division obtaining from St. Joseph Convent High School, Nagoa, Goa, India. Then after I decided to study higher secondary in the stream of sciences. I successfully completed my HSSC from Fr. Agnel Multipurpose Higher Secondary School, Verna, Goa, India in 2016. Then I engaged in my Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology at Parvatibai Chowgule College, Margao, Goa. I completed my master’s in mining engineering (M.E) in 2021 from Curtin University (Western Australian School of Mines). I also got a valuable opportunity to participate in two summer vacation programs During my Master of Mining Engineering. I got a chance to work for two of the very well-known mining companies like Rio Tinto and South 32 where I undoubtedly gained most of my practical knowledge. Working with Rio Tinto at Hope Downs 1 Open cut Iron Ore Operations I gained invaluable insight into the Autonomous Hauling Systems critical operations of the mining industry. I was Heavily involved in maximizing the effective utilization of the mining fleet, implementing traffic management solutions and design work as well as a significant aspect of the role was orientated around daily and weekly reporting and have personally driven significant improvements in the way the reports are derived, formatted, and distributed. During my short time working with South 32 at Cannington Underground Operations, I have been fortunate enough to get my hands dirty working Underground with various crews, participate in site risk assessments, and take part in several of my own projects as part of the site's Engineering team. I am incredibly appreciative for the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and work on projects utilizing Deswik-CAD.

 

 

·       What made you choose mining?

 The concept of Mining Engineering has evolved from being just a process of mining to a complex system of technological enhancements, which involves using state-of-the-art machinery for finding prospects of ore bodies, extraction, and final recovery of the land after the process of extraction. The importance of natural resources and exploration of the same through mining activities have become increasingly important, especially, for non-oil producing countries like India, which absolutely depend on natural resources for their growing energy needs. Ranging from making complex parts of airplanes to manufacturing paints, minerals determine a variety of uses in diverse industries. The road we drive on and the building we live in are all made of minerals or their necessary by-products. Because of such extensive reach of minerals in our ordinary lives, their proper development and economic production have always been essential.

 

·       How did you decide on your college and the country?

India is experiencing a critical period in history, and on that account, everybody concerned with education has a responsibility for knowing what s/he is trying to do to bring up the next generation and why s/he is trying to do it. Higher education is faced with extremely severe challenges in the shape of various economic, social, political, and moral changes, and its future depends on the response made by its people to these challenges. None of the Indian institutions make it to the top 200 universities in the world, despite India having the third-largest education system in the world. Not even one of our IIMs and IITs. The opportunity of living and studying in Australia offered the kind of exposure, which I could never get in India. The cultural diversity, advanced technology, government facilities, and quality of life is far superior to those here in India. The education system at Curtin University is more focused on developing the practical skills of a student and producing them job ready, unlike India where the focus is purely on theoretical knowledge. I researched and gathered as much information as I could. I also visited different consultancies for counselling to get more information and finally I choose Australia as my academic destination. This course of Master of Mining Engineering offered by Curtin University degree itself assures excellence as Curtin University has been ranked 2nd in the world by QS World University Ranking by Subject in the year 2022 for Mining Engineering, the degree itself assured excellence. Furthermore, this qualification degree from an Australian institute is well-recognized by leading companies throughout the globe. With the successful completion of this course, I was able to apply scientific, engineering, technological, and management principles to mine development, plan, and being able to manage mining projects or mine geotechnical engineering projects by extending the knowledge base through research.

 

·       How has your experience been at the department of geology? What makes you stay connected to the department?

 If I had to describe it in one word, I would say #Amazing. Well, first things first the closeness of the staff and their interest in getting their students ahead in their lives is inspiring to me. They listen to you, if you have problems, you can go and talk to them. They are very open minded; they are extremely easy to approach. It is a department and your friends that brings out the best in you. We were taken outside for field trips. We get to discover ourselves along with nature, get to make good friends as well as learn a lot about life along the teaching and learning process.

 

 

·       Tell is about your future plans. Where do you see yourself in future?

 After gaining exceptional experience in mining operations, I will return to my native land. There is a saying "Think globally, act locally." Like this saying, I would like to state that after gaining experience and knowledge, I will be back in my home country India. There are lots of opportunities present for an internationally qualified Mining Engineer in India. There's a lot of variety in what I get to do and also so many areas I can go into after mining. I equally found that this specialization in engineering enables me to enter into an array of sectors like construction, petroleum, mining, and infrastructure. The importance of natural resources and exploration of the same through mining activities have become increasingly important, especially in my country INDIA which is non-oil producing and heavily depends on natural resources for its growing energy needs. The Mining Sector has the potential to increase its share of GDP to 5-6 percent in the next 5 years. It is the second largest employer in manufacturing, in India, after textiles. As the mining industry is performing a leading role in contributing to the GDP of India. If the mining industry must be upgraded with modern & improved facilities, then mining engineering is much required in order to boost the production capacity.

 

·       What advice would you like to give our aspiring geologist?

Well never stop questioning. Never feel that you have learned enough. I wouldn't tell you to do things that you have to do because people will tell you what you must do. I would rather tell you things that you should not do. Do not feel that you are at the top of the world even if you are scoring high marks because there's always room for improvement. Never think you are perfect. There's a very big world outside, your very own world, always think out of the box. Geology is a very versatile field. You don't have to have tunnel vision about geology or earth sciences because this field also opens your pathway to geoinformatics, GIS, Marine biology, Subsea Engineering, Petroleum engineering, mining engineering, fossil studies, palaeontology, archaeology, gemmology, and many other fields. My Strong suggestion would be to try looking for stuff outside India for future prospects. There is a very big world out there, and it is in need of very good talent especially in science-related fields so always keep yourself open to any sort of offers and opportunities

 It was really great to hear about Akash's experiences at the department, which made the department seem like a friendly community. Through the interview I also got to learn about the various fields in geology and their scope and would like to explore and learn more about them.

Interviewed by Preeti Ekawade      ( FY Geology, 2022-23)