“DS” IS A NEWSPAPER ON DRILLING, GEOLOGY AND SUBSOIL USE. THEREFORE WHEN CHOOSING THE TOPIC, WE ARE ORIENTED TOWARDS SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES ONE OF WHICH IS ALTYNTAU KOKSHETAU LOCATED IN THE AQMOLA PROVINCE, THIS MINING AND MINERAL PROCESSING COMPLEX DEVELOPS THE LARGEST GOLD DEPOSIT IN KAZAKHSTAN – VASILKOVSKIY. THE CHIEF GEOLOGIST OF THE COMPANY – TIMUR IBRAEV SPEAKS ABOUT HIS WORKDAYS.
Timur Maratovich, you work as the chief geologist at the enterprise. What was the reason for your choice of profession?
Honestly, when I finished school, I did not know where to go further. Of course, I realized that I had to make a serious choice, because I would follow it for the rest of my life. It was all simple. My parents recommended me to become an oilman. Primarily, I entered the Semipalatinsk geological exploration college and studied the oil and gas course, I attended it during the first year, and then was transferred to the department of geology. After graduation from this college I entered and then graduated from the East Kazakhstan State University in Ust-Kamenogorsk. And since 2008 I work here – at Vasilkovskiy gold deposit.
You have rather a vast experience in this industry, tell us about your work routine.
A working day for us begins, like for everyone else, from a daily production meeting. All site supervisors and geologists get together at 6.30 am near the open pit wall to discuss plans for the coming day. That is, you agree the work plan for one day, don’t you? Yes, exactly. In the pit, we discuss general plans for the day, after which we come to the office, and here we purposefully give assignments to their direct performers.
Do you work in shifts in your enterpriseday shift and night shift?
Yes, the enterprise operates around the clock, and geologists work day and night as well, without days off. In the morning, I come from a daily production meeting and give assignments to the senior geologists, geologist engineers for one shift. Accordingly, at about 5 pm, we have the second daily production meeting with site supervisors where we discuss the results of the day shift and plan work for the night shift. And fulfillment of the assignments is checked the next morning.
How do you measure the volume of your production?
We can see the results of our daily work in the real time mode, in a special program called Pysystem. It tracks the key indicator which is the target grade of the useful component in the ore fed to the concentrating mill. That is, if the geologists have completed the planned volume, it means that we have worked well.
Altyntau Kokshetau is a mining enterprise, surely you need to perform large amounts of drilling operations?
Yes, of course, we perform drilling operations. We have two directions: the first one is geological exploration, and the second one is grade control where drilling is used. In our company, we use reverse circulation (RC) drilling.
Do you organize tenders for drilling operations to choose the best contractors, and what requirements do you specify to those who submit their applications for the tender?
Of course, we hold tenders. The main requirement for us is the availability of the necessary drilling rigs with representative performance, as well as samplers for quality sampling. In addition, timely fulfillment of the specified scopes of works is very important for us. And how do you budget yout drilling works? We agree an annual budget for drilling works. At the same time, we form the budget for the next year at the beginning of the second half of the current year.
What helps you make decisions in difficult situations?
It’s not easy to make the right decision. As a rule, I rely on life experience (the main rule is not to rush anywhere) and, of course, you cannot do without the advice of your manager.
How do you develop your competencies and skills?
I raise my professional qualification participating in internal and external training workshops on various mining and geological projects.
And in the conclusion of our interview, tell us a little about yourself. Do you have a hobby? How do you spend your free time?
I spend almost all my free time with my family (he brings up a daughter – ed.). Occasionally, we play football and lawn tennis with colleagues and friends. And what kind of literature do you read? Since my childhood, I prefer science fiction. Mainly, Sergey Lukyanenko. He has amazing books that are read at one go and very exciting. Recently I started to read Jeffrey Liker’s book “Dao Toyota”.
The editorial staff of “DS” expresses gratitude to T. Ibraev for an interesting narration about his work and wishes him further success in his professional activities. Timur Maratovich, let all you have achieved become an impetus for solution of new tasks, for the benefit of development of your enterprise and the entire mining and metallurgical complex of Kazakhstan.