STUDENTS who attended the Rex Minerals Immersion Day may not have had their driver’s licences yet, but that did not stop them getting behind the wheel of some of the biggest machinery on display.

More than 160 high school students from along Yorke Peninsula attended the annual expo at Ardrossan last Wednesday, October 23. Rex chief operating officer Jason Schell said the immersion day was a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate what mining has to offer and to get involved in immersive education.

The all-day event covered the full scope of opportunities the resource industry has to offer, including exploration, mining, mineral processing, automation, administration, scientific research, innovation and engineering.

“Students also explored exciting career opportunities at Hillside in construction, operations and discovered pathways into the broader diverse resources sector,” Mr Schell said.

“Rex Minerals also announced the launch of a VR/Simulator School.

“This initiative will provide immersive education and hands-on training with essential equipment used in the resources and construction sectors, offering local students a unique opportunity to gain practical, industry-relevant experience.”

In response to one of the big questions of the day regarding the recent sale of the Hillside Project to MACH Metals Australia, a Rex Minerals spokesperson confirmed the sale would not impact future employment opportunities available for these students at the mine.

The Hillside Project, south of Ardrossan, will tap into the significant iron oxide copper gold deposit located there via open-pit mining.

Year 10 student from Kadina Memorial School, Jasmine said she already knew mining was where she wanted to be once she finished her schooling.

“I want to be a driller or a truck driver in the mines and go to Western Australia, if I get the chance,” Jasmine said.

The hands-on work and the opportunity to travel is what originally drew her into a potential career in mining, but it was also a love for big trucks.

“It just seems so powerful and being up high seeing everything — I think it would be fun to be in a big vehicle,” she said. Despite having a clear ambition for heavy machinery, Jasmine said the best part of the immersion day was actually the smallest part.

“The space VR was really cool, but I liked the microscope and seeing all the different minerals and the different ways to separate them from the dirt — it was really cool,” she said.

Ardrossan Area School year 10 student Ashlee said she was also interested in a career in mining and was eager to drive the big machinery.

“We had an immersion day last year and I tried the simulator and I really liked it,” Ashlee said.

“We had to drive the truck from one point in the mines to another without hitting anything.

"The steering is a little bit touchy, and the pedals as well, so it was a bit tricky.”

However, the difficulty of operating the dump truck clearly did not faze Ashlee as she managed to get her vehicle to the end of the route with 100 per cent accuracy.

State Minister for Energy and Mining Tom Koutsantonis helped open the day and said Rex’s copper Hillside Mine was a remarkable opportunity for the next generation of YP’s young people to prosper in their own community.

“South Australia is home to nearly 80 per cent of Australia’s copper deposits and copper is a commodity of decarbonisation as we electrify, as we move on into the 21st century more and more copper will be in demand,” Minister Koutsantonis said. “South Australia is the centre of that demand — that means jobs, that means opportunities, that means investment, that means capital, and it’s up to you, the young people of the Yorke Peninsula to take full advantage of it.

“(You have) the opportunity to live and stay in the homes you grew up in, and the opportunity to gain new skills.”