Curtin Metallurgical Engineering graduate Sandrine Symons made it her mission to pursue the impossible.
From struggling in chemistry and physics at school, Curtin Metallurgical Engineering graduate Sandrine Symons made it her mission to pursue a career she was told wouldn’t be possible.
“I still remember my physics teacher telling me not to pursue engineering because of my grades.
“But this only motivated me to learn more about this intriguing career path,” she said.
After attending various career conventions, it wasn’t long before Sandrine enrolled to study a chemical engineering degree at Curtin.
The moment she saw a mine site for herself at Curtin’s inaugural first-year week-long Kalgoorlie camp, Sandrine realised that she was in the right place.
Since graduating from Curtin with First Class Honours in Metallurgical Engineering (2022), Sandrine is now a Project Metallurgist for PLS, one of the world’s largest, independent hard rock lithium operations.
What does your role involve as a Project Metallurgist?
My role involves crushing big rocks from an orebody into little rocks and extracting specific minerals from the rock, which is then concentrated into a lithium spodumene product through our process plant.
As Metallurgists, we find the best ways to extract that mineral from the host rock.
In my role, I help the Plant Metallurgists determine how to best optimise the overall plant. We complete lab test work and work on six-month projects that investigate ways to help lower operating costs or increase efficiency to enhance the plant.
Mining is a 24-hour operation where different challenges arise each day, and I love collaborating with all the departments and engineers to find solutions.
Mining is a 24-hour operation where different challenges arise each day, and I love collaborating with all the departments and engineers to find solutions.
We put our brains together to figure out what went wrong, how to solve the problem, and then determine how to decrease the likelihood of it recurring as well as overall improvements to maximise the concentrate product quality we make.
As a young woman in the mining industry, what are some of the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When I first started my career in mining at the age of 18, I was the only female on the whole mine site.
Now, I’m the only female in my department, so there has been progress over the last seven years, which has been great to see.
As the youngest in the room, one of the biggest obstacles I’ve encountered was always feeling the need to prove myself, because often people would perceive me in a certain way and have these expectations based on their previous experiences.
However, at the end of the day, you should focus on doing your best in every aspect of what you do, learn and progress as much as you can, and avoid focusing on trying to get people to like you.
If you have a point to prove, then that’s great, but don’t let that be the end goal.
Also, don’t be afraid to lean on colleagues older than you for support. Don’t get me wrong, the FIFO lifestyle can be great, but it gets lonely, and often, you may not have anyone back home who can relate to your unique experiences. So, finding someone you can trust and speak to on-site has been a game-changer.
What advice would you have for young aspiring women who want to pursue a career in mining?
Say yes to every opportunity that comes to you, don’t let your first ‘no’ be the barrier that stops you. The more you say yes, the more doors will start to open. Sometimes rejection may push you in a different direction but stay open-minded, and the right opportunities will find you.
I truly believe that I would not be where I am today if I had not reached out to PLS about a graduate program. This curiosity is what sparked the creation of their award-winning graduate program. So, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want.
To get the opportunities you want, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. There’s only so much a website can share. I encourage you to go out and experience a mine site for yourself, because that’s when you get to see and feel what it’s like to work in this industry.
There’s so much power in having real conversations with those working in the industry. I love speaking to students about the mining industry because when I was in school, I knew very little about mining. Yet, it’s one of the biggest economic powerhouse industries in Australia, and WA is the mining hub of the world.
Don’t let your job run your life. If your job is the same every single day, then get out. It’s so important to constantly find new ways to grow both personally and professionally. Working in the industry for a few years now, I’ve seen a lot of people who are doing the same thing they’ve been doing for the last five years, and I don’t want to fall into that trap. So, if you don’t love your job, then you need to get out.
Finally, don’t let your grades define you and your career choices. Your marks are not reflective of where you are in life. If you are passionate about a subject and want to learn more about it or pursue it, don’t let a subject mark be your roadblock. There is still a lot of practical knowledge to learn that is beyond the books!
Watch Sandrine share what a week in her life looks like as a Project Metallurgist at the Pilgangoora mine located in far-north WA here.
Sandrine Symons, Project Metallurgist at PLS (formerly Pilbara Minerals Limited)
Graduating from Curtin with a Bachelor of Metallurgical Engineering (2022) (First Class Honours), Sandrine has carved an impressive career working across a variety of Australian mining companies. During her time at Curtin, Sandrine was the Metallurgy Club President at the WA School of Mines and was also President of Women of WASM.
