Extractive and Mineral Processing Operations

This Apprenticeship is about extracting (this includes quarrying, dredging and mining) solid minerals from the ground and turning them into important raw materials used in other industries like construction, manufacturing and agriculture.

From toothpaste to bricks, many essential products are made from minerals found in the ground. Getting at these minerals is a major undertaking – finding a site, digging a quarry or mine, setting off explosives, crushing rocks, extracting the correct minerals, and then patching everything up again.

As an apprentice, you’ll choose whether you want to be behind the explosives or behind the scenes in the laboratory testing mineral samples. Depending on your employer, you could be driving heavy machinery, processing rocks and minerals, drilling, or storing extracted goods. You could assist a field technician, help maintain plant and equipment, or even repair and build roads.

On the Advanced Apprenticeship, you’ll take on a supervisory role and ensure things are done correctly – and safely (you may be dealing with heavy rocks and explosives, after all).

It’s an ideal sector if you like being outside and working with your hands. And with the current demand for a younger trained workforce, Apprenticeships are a great way in.