David Monteith

David Monteith shares his journey through Europe, from studying geology to a career in mine engineering.

My time at University

I applied for physics originally, and then I wasn't necessarily enjoying it so much. So, I did the first year of physics and then, gradually transitioned over to geophysics – and then I realised I just really like geology. So I finally ended up choosing to study geology.

One thing I remember from before the mapping course at University, was Florian Fusseis (Reader in Structural Geology) strongly suggesting to our cohort to go map outside of the UK for the dissertation. I did that with my mapping project having mapped in Naxos, Greece. And I guess I followed that advice into my master’s as well.

My experiences since leaving University

I went away to study mining engineering on a multi-university program at TU Delft in the Netherlands, RWTH Aachen in Germany and Aalto University in Finland. So I was living abroad for two years doing a triple degree master’s, spending six months at each university.

Edinburgh's quite multicultural, but then this was completely multicultural – it's a totally different experience studying with class mates from over 10 different countries. It was good to study abroad and broaden my horizons. I really enjoyed Finland, it’s a cool country and its people are really friendly.

After that, I went to work on my master’s thesis with Galantas Gold in Northern Ireland on ‘stope optimization’. The project had me building models to determine the most stable extraction pattern for the stopes (mined ore volumes) for their life of mine-plan. Much more mine engineering than geology.

When I graduated, I got a job offer from LKAB Exploration, and I went straight back into very much geology. I do use my mining engineering knowledge from time to time, but I’m very much focused on geology work at the moment.

A typical day for me in LKAB, at the moment varies a lot, but almost every morning starts with a typical ‘Svenska Fika’ (coffee and sometimes cake) with the rest of the team. Currently, I aim to geologically log drill core 50 to 60% of my time, with the other time being taken up with modelling, drill rig management, administration, and teaching.

The highlight of my time at LKAB has been receiving the responsibility for the geology and ore models for the Per Geijer deposit (Europe’s largest rare earth element deposit). That opportunity allowed me to learn a lot about the workflows within Leapfrog (geological implicit modelling software) and develop a good understanding of the deposit. One thing I appreciate more than anything, is being in a multinational, hardworking team, who all support each other.

Alumni wisdom

Geology opens the door to the world. I've lived in four different countries now from having studied a master’s, and now I’m living in Sweden. And I mean, it's probably not the end of me living abroad. I’m not too sure if I’ll live in Scotland ever again.

I think – especially in Europe – we have the opportunity to make a real difference. Both in terms of what we can do, what we want to do, and what’s possible.

One thing that I regret from studying was not doing summer internships. Having lived in Europe, that's something that most people do and, in Scotland, it's not necessarily common. So, I think you should try and get industrial experience, or get experience in geology or in mining, as soon as you can.

I think the most important thing I have learned is to be open to opportunities and take the time to talk to people in industry, as it really opens the door to many possibilities.