Razia Adam, the chief geologist at Sasol-owned Middelbult Colliery and Shondoni Mine, describes her job as powerful, enlightening and explorative.
At the tender age of 31 years, Adam, who has worked in mining for eight years, sits at the pedestal of one of the five coal mines owned by the energy utility.
Her duties include directing the operations of the mining of coal and offering solutions when miners encounter geological obstacles.
Middelbult is also in the top 10 of South African coal mines with the biggest coal reserves. This, says Adam, is both fascinating and challenging.
Being a woman, she adds, is another encouraging achievement in what is considered a male-dominated industry.
Question: Why did you choose geology as a career move?
Answer: I initially wanted to do medicine. I enrolled at the University of Free State, but after a year I decided medicine was not for me. I was introduced to geology. I went on to graduate with an honours degree in geology.
Q: Where did you work before Middelbult?
A: My last job was at BHP Billiton where I was a senior geologist.
Q: Why did you decide to move to Middelbult?
A: It was an attractive, exciting offer that I wanted to pursue.
Q: What are your duties?
A: My duties are to study and advise the mine on where to find the coal and how to go about extracting the raw material.
Q: Explain more.
A: I basically advise the mine on the direction of where the coal is and the quality of the grade of the coal. This also includes a study on possible obstacles that we can encounter when mining.
Q: How often do miners encounter obstacles and what happens when they approach an obstacle that involves geology?
A: There are some obstacles that we might not have foreseen during the study of the coal location and even during the actual mining. When this happens, I have to go underground and by studying and observing the rocks, I am able to guide miners on which degrees or directions they should move towards.
And this can happen during the day, or any time during the night. I am always ready.
Q: How is your week schedule like?
A: How it works is that on on Mondays and Tuesdays I go underground (to check all my sections).
On Wednesday I do mine audits whilst on Thursdays we look at all the geological problems and aspects we encounter.
On the other days, we compile geological reports and liaise with management on all (the various) issues.
Q: How difficult is the job?
A: The technical side is not difficult. When we encounter problems we have to find the best measures to trouble-shoot.
Q: How do you feel as a woman in this industry?
A: Coming in as a woman is sometimes difficult, but once people get used to you they start respecting you for your work and not your gender.
Q: What are the dangers of working underground?
A: The most common hazards include roof falls while mapping geological structures underground.
I have to look out for moving machinery while carrying out my duties, we have heavy machinery and bakkies operating underground.
One can also slip and fall while mapping because it's dark and your only source of light is your lamp attached to your hard hat.
Q: What kind of qualification is needed to do this job?
A: You need a BSC Honours in Geology, which I have to be registered as a professional geologist.
Coal mining all in a day's work
Razia Adam, the chief geologist at Sasol-owned Middelbult Colliery and Shondoni Mine, describes her job as powerful, enlightening and explorative.
At the tender age of 31 years, Adam, who has worked in mining for eight years, sits at the pedestal of one of the five coal mines owned by the energy utility.
Her duties include directing the operations of the mining of coal and offering solutions when miners encounter geological obstacles.
Middelbult is also in the top 10 of South African coal mines with the biggest coal reserves. This, says Adam, is both fascinating and challenging.
Being a woman, she adds, is another encouraging achievement in what is considered a male-dominated industry.
Question: Why did you choose geology as a career move?
Answer: I initially wanted to do medicine. I enrolled at the University of Free State, but after a year I decided medicine was not for me. I was introduced to geology. I went on to graduate with an honours degree in geology.
Q: Where did you work before Middelbult?
A: My last job was at BHP Billiton where I was a senior geologist.
Q: Why did you decide to move to Middelbult?
A: It was an attractive, exciting offer that I wanted to pursue.
Q: What are your duties?
A: My duties are to study and advise the mine on where to find the coal and how to go about extracting the raw material.
Q: Explain more.
A: I basically advise the mine on the direction of where the coal is and the quality of the grade of the coal. This also includes a study on possible obstacles that we can encounter when mining.
Q: How often do miners encounter obstacles and what happens when they approach an obstacle that involves geology?
A: There are some obstacles that we might not have foreseen during the study of the coal location and even during the actual mining. When this happens, I have to go underground and by studying and observing the rocks, I am able to guide miners on which degrees or directions they should move towards.
And this can happen during the day, or any time during the night. I am always ready.
Q: How is your week schedule like?
A: How it works is that on on Mondays and Tuesdays I go underground (to check all my sections).
On Wednesday I do mine audits whilst on Thursdays we look at all the geological problems and aspects we encounter.
On the other days, we compile geological reports and liaise with management on all (the various) issues.
Q: How difficult is the job?
A: The technical side is not difficult. When we encounter problems we have to find the best measures to trouble-shoot.
Q: How do you feel as a woman in this industry?
A: Coming in as a woman is sometimes difficult, but once people get used to you they start respecting you for your work and not your gender.
Q: What are the dangers of working underground?
A: The most common hazards include roof falls while mapping geological structures underground.
I have to look out for moving machinery while carrying out my duties, we have heavy machinery and bakkies operating underground.
One can also slip and fall while mapping because it's dark and your only source of light is your lamp attached to your hard hat.
Q: What kind of qualification is needed to do this job?
A: You need a BSC Honours in Geology, which I have to be registered as a professional geologist.
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