Thito Khathola

B.Eng. Mining Engineering, Laurentian University
Mining Engineer
Dwyka Mining Services

Why a career in mining?

The mining industry has always had a direct influence in my life right from grade school all the way to university. I grew up in the diamond-rich country of Botswana, Sub-Saharan Africa, where the mining industry has played an important role in the development of the country and its citizens. When I was young, I remember always being told about the “Prince of Mines”; a diamond mine in my home country that is considered the richest diamond mine by value in the world, the Jwaneng Mine. I was always fascinated about this Prince of Mines along with its sister diamond mines that afforded the government an opportunity to offer free education to all it’s citizens; of which I was a beneficiary of. I knew with certainty that I loved the industry and I wanted to get involved in provided the same benefits for future generations.

Why do I love my job?

At my workplace, I get to work with mining tech companies across the world from Canada to Australia and all the way to Africa in the adoption and implementation of modern mining tech at our underground mining operations. I love my job because I get to work with autonomous survey drones that are capable of work in GPS denied environments. We get to modify them for client specific work and fly them when scanning different mining environments both underground and on surface; all while having fun with my colleagues and our clients at the different mine sites. I also get to work with our partners in adopting Ventilation On Demand (VOD) solutions at different mine sites across the continent of Africa. It’s amazing to see how mining operations all over the world are constantly looking to adopt new tech that is relevant to their sites and I enjoy working with professionals from different cultures and backgrounds all connected through mining.

Benefits to a career in mining:

The mining industry is a global industry that speaks the same language right though. It affords you the opportunity to get involved in the international arena, contributing your knowledge and skills that could potentially be used somewhere across the world if you are innovative. It is a mixture of blue and white-collar work environments with fantastic people from all walks of life that eventually become close friends and family. The industry also gives you the opportunity to steer your career in any direction you choose; I’m a mining engineer that flies survey drones and provides ventilation solutions.