Peter Poni, an open pit operator of a level 4 excavator with Ramu NiCo had never been to school but his tireless commitment had now made him a senior operator with Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited (RNML) at Kurumbukari Mine site.
Poni hails from Kouye Village in Usino at Usino-Bundi District, Madang.
He had no experience in operating heavy equipment including Volvo Trucks, loader and excavators.
In 2011, he applied to RNML after hearing about the local hire (training) program to recruit youths to do heavy equipment training for excavator operators to work in the mine which he got selected.
“I never operate a machine in my life but when I heard there was recruitment for operator trainings, I applied, got selected, began training that was conducted by RNML and started working as a roller operator. I always observe operators on how they work with trucks, rollers, and excavators and with a good memory I passed the tests,” said Poni with proudness.
He said when he started taking the operator training, he learned a lot on how to operate an excavator and now he is one of the senior operators with RNML Mining Department at KBK Mine site.
Poni joined RNML as a fulltime (2011) employee after 5 years of the actual construction phase of the largest Nickel and Cobalt Project operated by Ramu NiCo Management (MCC) Limited that started in 2006.
The proud excavator operator now has 13 years of experience working with RNML KBK mine with vast knowledge in identifying problems encountered from the different parts of the machine he operates and has the knowledge to fix them when break down with the assistance from RNML maintenance team.
He now has a competency certificate to operate any Excavator and Volvo trucks in the mine.
Peter Poni(right) at the Kurumbukari Open pit mine