Recognising outstanding service and achievements
For Ray Camenzuli, consistency is key. After reaching an impressive 40 years of service in 2021 at Mount Isa Mines, Ray is showing no signs of slowing down.
Working in the George Fisher Mine core shed as a leading operator, Ray reminisces about his time working at Mount Isa Mines (MIM).
“I was born here in Mount Isa, and I finished high school in 1979. My mum told me about getting an apprenticeship at MIM, so that’s what I did.” Ray says.
At the tender age of 15, Ray attended an interview in the hope of gaining an entry level job at the mines.
In January 1980, his career began. Ray started an apprenticeship as an Automotive Electrician.
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Ray Camenzuli has been with Mount Isa Mines for over 40 years.
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The George Fisher Mine core shed.
But after two years, he decided that the trade was not for him. After a short hiatus, Ray returned to MIM in January 1983.
Working as a cleaner for 12 months, Ray soon progressed to other opportunities, with a new role as an underground trades assistant.
This marked the beginning of an eight-and-a-half-year underground journey, with roles including loading trucks, surveying wetfill pipelines and mobile equipment operation.
In July 1993, Ray returned to a surface role, working as an operator at the R62 core shed. In 2004, he moved to George Fisher Mine, where he continued to flourish.
To this day, Ray has been working in this role for more than 28 years.
Ray’s day to day work varies from cutting core samples, working with geologists and packing cores into storage.
As the leading operator at the GFM core shed, Ray’s day-to-day work includes cutting core samples for inspection, liaising with geologists and supervisors, loading and unloading core samples into storage, and mentoring new recruits.
Other team members load core samples into a scanning machine called a Minalyzer, which photographs and scans cores for geochemical composition.
These results provide information on where ore is concentrated in the ground, which in turn influences our mining operations.
Returning to surface operations as well as moving to a day shift roster were both highlights for Ray’s career.
“Before working at the core shed, I took on a role operating a Mars mud pump. A lot of people were surprised I took on the role, but a key reason was because I wanted to move back to day shift.”
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Core samples to be scanned by the Minalyzer, to determine their geochemical composition.
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Ray shows how Zinc can be easily spotted in core samples.
“The work-life balance of a day shift roster made it easier to spend time with my family,” Ray says.
Ray notes that one of the biggest changes in the industry since he began in 1981 is job flexibility.
“When I first started out, I had one role, and that’s all I did. Not like today where there has been so many changes, and now everybody multi-tasks. There’s a lot more flexibility.”
“I like the work. There’s a lot of variety here and I’m looking forward to the next milestone,” Ray says.
Mount Isa Mines Geology Superintendent, Chantelle Lower says Ray is a hardworking team player and demonstrates our Queensland Metals values of safety, integrity, responsibility, openness, simplicity and entrepreneurialism.
“Ray’s 40th anniversary is an exceptional milestone to reach. We really appreciate his commitment to our operations and the value he has added,” Chantelle says.