With mining in the blood, Josue’s pursuit of a career in mining started at the age of 14 where he attended a mining technical school in the Democratic Republic of Congo. While following in his father’s footsteps as a Metallurgist, he says he would probably be a farmer had he not moved to the United States to follow his dream.
“A scientist through and through, I think I would be running a farm and applying science and technology to farming practices had I not studied metallurgy,” Josue said.
“But it was while I was conducting an experiment extracting copper metal from a copper sulphate solution at school that I knew that metallurgy was for me. It was pure magic,” he said.
OceanaGold was in his sights and became Josue’s first professional opportunity in the industry. After studying in Colorado for eight years including completing a master’s degree in Extractive Metallurgy, the company offered him an internship. He commenced in 2016 as a graduate and, and all things going to plan, he intends to stay long-term.
“I’m doing what I love, and the company provides me with a sense of ownership and professional opportunities that larger companies can’t offer.”
Josue said while there have been challenges, he can look back with a sense of pride at his achievements and honestly say that he has delivered process improvements.
“I think we’ve got something good going on here,” he said.
“I feel informed – not just about the Haile operation but about the business globally and how it performs and what the plans are for the future.
“And when you feel informed, you feel empowered. That makes me do my best every day.”
