With the mining sector in a slump, it is no surprise that the contentious market for fly-in, fly-out — or FIFO — jobs in the industry has shrunk.
…Meanwhile, industry employer group Australian Mines and Metals Association, or AREEA, believes the cuts to FIFO jobs is not inherently driven by the commodity price slide, but more largely a product of the transition from construction to production.
“Resource companies typically make considered long-term, multibillion-dollar investment decisions when deciding to proceed to construct and operate a mine,” says senior industry policy adviser Tristan Menalda told SNL Metals & Mining.
“What we are seeing now across Australia and throughout other resource-reliant countries like Canada is that a large number of major projects that were commissioned in record high commodity pricing times are now transitioning from construction into production, for example the Gorgon, Wheatstone and Roy Hill projects.”