Diamond drillers — Come work in Australia!
We're looking for 40 experienced diamond drillers.
G'day, I'm Ben from Yakr. I own an Australian recruitment and migration firm. We've placed 250+ skilled workers into Australian mining and trades roles, and we run the visa side in-house — one team, from your first message to your first shift.
Look us up at www.yakr.com.au and on LinkedIn before you go any further. I'd want to check out a stranger offering me work overseas too.
The work
We're after experienced underground and surface diamond core drillers for two established Tier 1 contractors, working long-term contracts on producing mines.
Surface: collar in PQ, rock roll and case, HQ through the middle, case off to NQ. Holes run deep — NQ out past 3,000 metres on some programs, PQ to 1,000 on one of them. EDM 45K and 2000, UDR 1200, KWL 1600, DA 200, hands-free rod feeders.
Underground: LM and LF families, production drilling, tight ground and tight stations.
What's on the table
This is a move, not just a job. Australia is an amazing place to live and the people who do well here come over for the life as much as the work.
Your roster, your call.
- 14/14 — even time. Half the year at home.
- 14/7 — the earning roster, around 240 working days a year.
Most Canadian drillers we speak to are coming off 28/14 in Nunavut or 4/1 in Snow Lake. Either of these is a different life.
- Production bonus from metre zero. On most seats the bonus starts at the first metre — not after you've drilled a threshold for someone else's benefit.
- A real ladder. D1 through D6, then Supervisor. A published progression with a rate attached to each rung, so you can see what the next step is worth before you take it.
- Full-time, year-round work with strong extension potential. No seasonal start-stop.
- Camp standards is a massive step up. Incredible camp accomodation, food, care, facilities.
The Visa
There's a visa involved, and you don't work it out yourself. We handle it in-house, and we do it for a living.
It has eligibility requirements. The first thing we do is check whether you qualify, before you get invested in the idea. If you don't, I'll tell you straight and point you somewhere else where I can.
On money
The pay range on this ad is base earnings. What you take home moves with the client, the stream, the roster and the site, and there's many bonuses on top.
I'm not putting a hero number in a job ad. Ask me on the call and you'll get the real figure for the seat you'd actually be sitting in, against what you earned last year. That comparison is why most people take the call.
Who we're after
- Already drilling in your own right — this is for drillers, not offsiders
- 2+ years actually drilling, not just time in the industry
- Diamond core experience — underground, surface, or both
- Tell us what you run: Boart LM/LF (LM90, LM110), MDR700, Zinex, Hydracore, Fordia, JKS Boyles, or similar core rigs
- Confident with basic rig servicing — oils, preventative maintenance, simple troubleshooting
- Strong safety mindset. Works with the crew, and sets the cross-shift up properly.
Safe, reliable, team-first operators — not cowboys chasing metres.
Interested?
Hit apply with your resume, and please answer the screening questions honestly.
If you're not an experienced diamond driller, we won't be responding to your application. No hard feelings — it just saves us both the time.
Everyone else: I'll come back to you personally — rigs, roster, sites, money, visa, timing, and whether the move actually makes sense for you. If it doesn't, I'll say so. Plenty of people have a good conversation with me and stay in Canada, and that's a fine outcome.
Pay: $45.00-$75.00 per hour
Benefits:
Application question(s):
- Are you willing and able to move to Australia?
Experience:
- Diamond Drilling : 1 year (required)
Licence/Certification:
- Diamond Drilling Certification (preferred)
Work Location: In person
