Digging Deeper with @ The Coalface

Fishing has always been part of Ken Bayley's life, but it was during some of his toughest periods that he realised it was far more than just a hobby. Ken has worked in the mining industry for the last eight years after returning home from the military. Whatever job Ken as has had, or wherever he has lived, fishing has always remained a constant. Something he did to settle his mind and find peace i...

Nick Jorss is the founder of Coal Australia, founder of Stanmore Coal, former Executive Chairman of Bowen Coking Coal and Non Executive Director of Ballymore Resources among many other things including QLD Beer Co. Jess sits down with Nick to talk all things Coal Australia, coal, mining, activists, and beer. Enjoy this episode! Let us know what you think, leave a rating and review!

Craig Semple was a career detective in the New South Wales Police Force for twenty-five years, investigating homicides, outlaw motorcycle gangs and hundreds of other serious crimes. Medically retired from law enforcement in 2013 due to psychological injuries, Craig is now a sought-after keynote speaker and mental health advocate. Craig is the founding director of Mentality Plus delivering mental h...

Sharon Bushby is the Policy Manager: Industry Skills and Education with NSW Mining. There are a few miners across the industry who would have come across Sharon during her six years at Zeal Futures, five in recruitment at Centennial, and now through the various outreach and school programs she's part of with NSW Mining. Jess sat down with Sharon to find out about all the programs and events NSW Mi...

You wouldn’t meet anyone more approachable and humble than Rae O’Brien. Starting out as a mining engineer, she has spent 30 years quietly lifting the sustainability standards of mine sites across NSW and Queensland, while breaking quite a few records along the way. Rae got engaged to a fellow mining engineer in the final year of her university degree, and they began their life together in Middlemo...

Levi Grima grew up in Mackay on his family's sugarcane farm. He joined the army and was deployed overseas, thinking that was what he wanted. Turns out being deployed overseas made Levi miss Mackay and his home, so he came back and found himself a job in mining. Levi started as a coal technician and has climbed up the chain at SGS to become the Natural Resources Operations Manager. Levi is also par...

Hannah Legg is the CEO and Founder of HER Engineering. She has three trade qualifications and a certificate to her name, all because she was curious, determined to know how everything worked and determined to be the best she could be. The 32-year-old from the Hunter Valley has a few firsts to her name, including being the first tradeswoman in more than 90 years to be employed at Kings Engineering,...

Chris Uhlmann is a veteran Australian journalist. He's been a political reporter for many years and these days is a freelance political contributor for Sky News and The Australian. Chris presented at the recent Asia Pacific Carbon Connect conference in Newcastle, talking about the wealth generated by fossil fuels and the simple fact we wouldn't be where we are today without coal, gas and oil and w...

The Australian Coal Preparation Society is celebrating 60 years in 2026. 60 years of education and connection for the coal preparation part of the coal supply chain. Their annual conference was held in Pokolbin in March and Jess went along to chat to a few of the suppliers, innovators, and people working to get the best value and quality coal out to buyers. In the second episode Jess caught up wit...

The Australian Coal Preparation Society (ACPS) is celebrating 60 years of connection and education this year. In March the ACPD get together for their conference, an opportunity to network, meet new people, learn about the innovation going on in the industry and get some insight into what is happening on the ground at various sites. Jess had the opportunity to catch up with a few people at the con...

It was an accident that Richard Campbell ended up in mining over in New Zealand. He was enrolled to become a mechanial engineer, went to an open day at university and came out signed up for geology instead. From that accident, some mining work in New Zealand, and then working in mines over the ditch in Australia, he was sitting in Bunbury WA with a couple of mates having a beer, and they came up w...

NSW Mining has some of the best social media content around, promoting the critical mineral and coal mining industry across NSW. Everything from 'day in the life' videos, to underground, open cut, the lesser known jobs, and tips from everyone you can think of about how to get into the industry or how it works. That positive messaging is making a real impact on social media and spreading the word t...

We first met Emily-Jane "EJ" Schutte at the IMARC Conference in Sydney last year. EJ is the President of the Hunter Student Chapter of AusIMM at the University of Newcastle (UoN). She's passionate about getting young people excited about the mining industry and all the different career paths it offers to students. UoN doesn't offer a mining-specific Engineering degree, with students having to comp...

@ The Coalface first met Jai, Lachlan and Jim just after they started their business Night Work Nutrition. All three had been working in the mining industry, doing their fair share of shift work at mines in the Hunter Valley for years. If you've met these three, you know they get along like a house on fire and as soon as Jim mentioned they should start a business to help their fellow shift workers...

Jade Woodsen grew up in the thick of the Queensland mining industry at Mt Isa. She has spent 14 years in the mining industry herself and built her mining career across many roles at different sites including the QCoal Northern Hub. It was all that experience across various machines and in numerous roles that saw her offered the opportunity to undertake her OCE course. She has been successful in ob...

Brock Mendyk was born and raised in the Hunter Valley. He finished school and got his boilermaker trade and started working at Bulga near Singleton. Brock built some special bonds and made lifelong friends on site who helped him through the hardest time in his life: losing his father and his sister to suicide. Fast forward, Brock has left the Hunter Valley and completely changed careers. He's movi...

Kim Nguyen is the Director and Founder of Core Mine, a business created to make leaders better and equip them with what they need to become better leaders. Kim spent 23 years in open cut mining working his way up the leadership chain. Kim firmly believes that his parents and his upbringing helping shape him into the person he is today. His parents came to Australia with nothing, displaced by war i...

Katie Siemsen worked in the health and safety area of coal mining for about ten years. Earlier this year she decided it was time to step out on her own and take on being her own boss with 'Empower Business Solutions'. Without planning it, Katie has become something of a disrupter. Sharing her thoughts on LinkedIn about the harsh realities she experienced while she worked in the industry and what s...

The @ The Coalface team are at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2025 at the ICC in Sydney. IMARC brings together people in industry not just from down under but from right across the globe. 11,000 people are expected to walk through the IMARC doors over the next three days and Jess has caught up with some of them on Digging Deeper, recorded live from the bustling floors of...

The @ The Coalface team are at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2025 at the ICC in Sydney. IMARC brings together people in industry not just from down under but from right across the globe. 11,000 people are expected to walk through the IMARC doors over the next three days and Jess has caught up with some of them on Digging Deeper, recorded live from the bustling floors of...

The @ The Coalface team are at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2025 at the ICC in Sydney. IMARC brings together people in industry not just from down under but from right across the globe. 11,000 people are expected to walk through the IMARC doors over the next three days and Jess has caught up with some of them on Digging Deeper, recorded live from the bustling floors of...

The @ The Coalface team are at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2025 at the ICC in Sydney. IMARC brings together people in industry not just from down under but from right across the globe. 11,000 people are expected to walk through the IMARC doors over the next three days and Jess has caught up with some of them on Digging Deeper, recorded live from the bustling floors of...

The @ The Coalface team are at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) 2025 at the ICC in Sydney. IMARC brings together people in industry not just from down under but from right across the globe. 11,000 people are expected to walk through the IMARC doors over the next three days and Jess has caught up with some of them on Digging Deeper, recorded live from the bustling floors of...

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service (WRHS) is celebrating 50 years of saving lives across northern NSW this year. David Gatwood isn't just a volunteer, he was rescued by the WRHS in 2021. It was on the October long weekend that he was riding with his mates in the Upper Hunter and rode over a cattle grid coming off his bicycle. David thought that was it. Until he heard the comforting sounds of th...

BHP's Mt Arthur Coal Mine is finishing up mining in 2030. Since the announcement was made, there has been plenty of planning happening behind the scenes and a lot of engagement with the employees, local businesses and the community. So, where is that planning up to? What is the sentiment on site? Is there any chance mining could continue post-BHP? Jess sat down with some of the BHP team including...