Born and raised in Colac, Victoria, Australia, Lyn had an older brother and a younger sister, and always wanted to be different thanks to growing up with “middle child syndrome”. What once started as a desire to be a graphic designer and work in fashion design gradually changed to drilling. We sat down with Lyn Ferrari to find out more about her path to becoming a driller, her current experiences, and what it’s like to be the only driller in Australia working for Boart Longyear.

Boart Longyear: “When did you first decide you wanted to become a driller?”

Lyn Ferrari: “My Pop had a cattle farm in Beeac (just outside Colac) where he ran Murray Grey Cattle. When I was 14, my Pop taught me how to break the cattle in and I started showing them at local cattle shows where I won a few ‘Best in Show’. This led me to work for TeMania Angus, which led me up to Gyranda Station near Cracow in Queensland.

Gyranda specialized in Santa Gertrudis and just by chance, some Boart Longyear employees were drilling out on the station. The station employed a number of Jillaroo’s (female stockmen) and the Boart Longyear guys jokingly referred to the station as McLeod’s Daughters (which is a reference to a 90’s Australian TV drama about a farmer and his three daughters located on an outback property). The Boart Longyear guys challenged me to come out and give drilling a go – so I did! Eleven years later, I am still with Boart Longyear and still drilling!”

Boart Longyear: “What’s your most interesting experience drilling?”

Lyn Ferrari: “It’s amazing to me to think that you are drilling down sometimes hundreds of meters into the earth and pulling out core samples with fossils embedded in the core samples that are millions of years old. One of my most interesting experiences was as an offsider where I was sure we had struck gold, to the point where I noted down on the geo’s sheet ‘We found gold!’ only to find out later from my Driller that it was actually ‘fool’s gold’ otherwise known as Pyrite. I was very disappointed that day.”

Boart Longyear: “What’s the worst thing that has happened to you drilling?”

Lyn Ferrari: “One extremely cold (below zero) morning at Cracow, we were standing around the diesel salamander heaters trying to keep warm. I had bangs hanging down from under my hat when one of the Drillers said he noticed a burning smell. All of the sudden, we realized it was my hair smouldering. It took me a while to live that one down!”

Boart Longyear: “Where have you travelled to in your drilling career?”

Lyn Ferrari: “I have worked on Diamond Rigs – Underground and Surface Rigs, RC Rigs, and ‘super’ Sonic Rigs. Some of the places I have worked are Cracow – Newcrest, Lake Cowal – Barrick, Coolgardie in WA – Focus, Creswick and Horsham – CRC, Prominent Hill Surface – Oz Minerals, Olympic Dam – Underground and Surface – BHP and Whyalla – Arrium.”

Boart Longyear: “Who have you enjoyed working with at Boart Longyear? Who do you consider to be influential leaders in the workplace?”

Lyn Ferrari: “Neville ‘Hurricane’ Hodgetts and Jacko ‘Daddy’ Turnbull have been wonderful mentors and awesome bosses. In and out of work they are the ‘calm in the storm’.”

Boart Longyear: “Why do you enjoy working for Boart Longyear?”

Lyn Ferrari: “I really like the job, but I would have to say it’s the people I work with that keep me here. It doesn’t necessarily feel like work when you get to work with your mates every day. Being the only female driller working in Australia at present is also a motivation for me; it’s a privilege and I am glad I have been able to stick it out and prove I can stand the heat as much as the next fella.”

Boart Longyear: “Do you think drilling presents any unique challenges for women?”

Lyn Ferrari: “I’ve had amazing adventures working with the ‘BLY Boys’. I enjoy learning with the guys and due to the technology we employ to drill nowadays, it is more about using your brains than your brawn. There is nothing that a female should not be able to do. I go to the gym every day alongside the guys and look after my physical fitness. I feel this gives me the edge and keeps me fit and healthy to do my job. At my current job, the crew has all purchased Fit Bits and we track our steps each day on the rigs and compare our steps. It’s not unusual to come in with 20,000+ steps per day!”

Surrounded by deep rocky canyons, sandy white beaches, and untouched coral gardens, the Pilbara is also known as the “Engine Room” of Australia – home to a large mining industry… and Trove’s team.

Although the heart of Australia’s Northwest could be considered paradise, it’s not without challenges.

“I’ve always liked drilling… it sorta gets in your blood a bit. I enjoy the work up here, but it’s challenging with ground conditions and flows of water,” Trove remarks.

Not to mention, with daily temperatures exceeding 90 °F (32 °C) and with highs reaching 113 °F (45 °C), drillers like Trove are working in extreme conditions that are both mentally and physically exhausting.

Brian Maeck, Boart Longyear’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Global Director, recalls his experience working on a rig over a decade ago:

“I started my career as an underground drilling assistant with Boart Longyear almost 12 years ago now, and I have been given opportunities I had never dreamed of,” Maeck states. “I’ve worked as a driller, supervisor, trainer, EHS coordinator, national EHS manager, and now I manage the global EHS department; it truly has been an amazing journey.”

He continues, “The work was hard, in very challenging conditions and in unique geographical locations. But the mining and exploration industry (and drilling in particular) can open a lot of doors. I grew up in a small town in northern Ontario, Canada, and I never thought I’d see the world like I have; this company has allowed me to travel to five continents, where I’ve met thousands of terrific people over the years and enjoyed being exposed to their fascinating cultures. Working for Boart Longyear has been an experience of a lifetime for me,” Maeck concludes.

While a career in drilling is a path to success for many like Trove and Maeck, there are key factors to consider when researching jobs in the drilling and mining industry.

Most drill rigs operate on an around-the-clock basis, with drill team members working 10 or 12-hour shifts. This means early starts, late nights, or a combination of both.

“You wake up extremely early in the morning and head to the job site, where you meet with supervision who walk you through a Pre-Start Information (or PSI) meeting, which outlines the tasks for the day and any associated hazards we need to be prepared for. We change into our company coveralls and personal protective equipment and head to the job site,” Maeck recalls.

At the drill site, a certain level of physical fitness is required for employees to adequately carry out their tasks. Working on a drill rig involves labor-intensive activities such as heavy lifting and manual handling. For example, as a driller assistant, specific physical duties might include:

• Working with a driller to move and set up equipment to get the drill running
• Ensuring the rig is fueled at all times
• Keeping the work site hazard-free by conducting required risk assessments
• Rod handling
• Removing core samples from the tubes, or collecting soil or rock chip samples
• Preparing samples for clients
• General equipment maintenance
• Preparation of the site for the next shift
• Constant communication to cross shifts, supervision, EHS personnel, and management

If drillers are working on a project underground, employees will “tag themselves in” with personnel ID tags on the surface, so management is aware of everyone’s location. Then, drillers take a conveyance to travel under the earth.

“It’s a surreal experience,” Maeck relates, “I loved working underground from the start, it was and continues to be a real adventure. I have seen some people shy away from the underground environment, however, due to their personal comfort levels.”

Not only do drillers undertake long hours performing manual labor, but they’re also experiencing every condition in nature from temperature and altitude extremes, to encounters with local wildlife. Because of the strong demand for drilling services, worldwide operations are up and running regardless of the season.

“Safety, hazard, and risk awareness is a big part of the job, and we are always conducting risk assessments,” Maeck adds. “Because Boart Longyear employees work in over 30 countries, we have to be continually learning and assessing environmental job hazards. You could be working in cold or hot temperatures, contend with any type of wild animal, or work in various conditions found in the underground environment, forests, great plains, mountains, deserts, or even the arctic. We are always learning how to protect ourselves and others,” Maeck declares.

And with today’s standards, working in the drilling industry is often considered safer than other career options like construction-type work. For example, drillers frequently operate in areas that miners have already been to and secured with rock support, providing a much safer site for drilling.

A drilling crew usually consists of one driller and one or more driller assistants. Multi-rig operations will have a supervisor or project leader overseeing the operation.

So, what would it be like to work on a Boart Longyear team?

As part of the team, supervisors visit the rig and talk with the team to provide advice and assistance. The client may also visit the rig to view core, soil or rock chip samples, perform safety checks, or discuss production issues. At the end of the shift, all drill data and safety-related paperwork must be submitted to supervision for further communication requirements. Employees attend a shift changeover meeting to communicate with the incoming shift and discuss issues with supervisors.

“You truly form lifelong relationships with your drill crew and other company staff,” Maeck relates. “You work closely with your team every day for long hours, and we make the best of it. We work together, and we hang out together at the end of the day. In a lot of ways your drill crew becomes a second family.”

While many job sites are conveniently located in or near populated areas, drilling is usually performed in remote locations. In very isolated locations, employees could be away from family and friends from 2-6 weeks at a time. In these cases, the company usually provides accommodations which could be motels in nearby towns or camps located near the drill site.

“I’m quite happy,” David Trove declares, “There’s a tight-knit community because you’re always working in mining camps, so you get to meet everyone and socialize pretty well.”

A career in drilling is an important decision for both employees and their families. Individuals who work in drilling enjoy work that is often physically demanding in challenging conditions. But they’re also aware of the great benefits and rewards of this industry.

“Drilling is rewarding,” Maeck states. “Every day you are producing a product, whether it is a rock core sample, soil or rock chip samples, or even just a hole in the rock for blasting purposes. What’s nice about the job is that you spend the day towards a production goal ensuring processes are done the right way to ensure personal safety. You work hard, and you feel good about the effort at the end of the day.”

If a career in drilling seems like a good fit for you, visit http://careers.boartlongyear.com/ for current open positions in your area.

Near the coastlines of Northeastern Newfoundland sits the Ming Mine, operated by Rambler Metals and Mining. Rambler was in need of an important ventilation raise to install 400,000 cfm ventilation exhaust fans for their ventilation system up to the surface. 

Rambler first started out on the project utilizing two different surface drills but were unsuccessful. Then they contemplated using an Alimak raise climber or mining a conventional raise using stoper drills.

However, both of these alternatives were unattractive due to their time and costs.

Rambler then discussed the situation with Brian Winsor, Boart Longyear long hole driller, who proposed using a Boart Longyear Stopemaster to complete the complicated drop raise.

Brian drilled his first hole but did not break through. Undeterred, Brian approximated the location of that hole using the deviation distance and offset his second drill hole which ultimately did break through. Brian drilled the remaining holes using a pattern based on the initial breakthrough hole. The drilling went smoothly and as per the plan Brian created, based on the initial breakthrough hole.

Brian blasted the raise, squaring up the face and bringing up the cut to breakthrough to the surface. He blasted the remaining drill holes to the full design of the ventilation raise.

No damage was sustained to any of the high-voltage power lines and surface installations which were in close proximity to the surface collar location and the blasting was completed without delays to the underground mining.

Brian was able to complete this project to Rambler’s satisfaction using drilling intuition, critical thought, and hard work. He was able to, as Dan Kirkey, Division Manager, Drilling Services and Production Drilling Services, commented “Drill the raise by “feel” rather than by engineered drawings making this especially impactful showing his skill as a driller.” Brian has recieved a Bravo! award and client recognition for his success. Congratulations!

Learn more about Boart Longyear's Production Drilling Services