Meet the Miners: Dmitriy Kan from Kazakhstan

If you could pick only one word to describe Dmitriy Kan, it would definitely be 'optimistic'. The glass is always half full, and there is always a new corner of the earth to explore, with Australia as his latest destination. Dmitriy and his family arrived in Melbourne about four months ago from Moscow, Russia, where he was previously working as a Senior Mining Tech Specialist for BASF Russia.

Originally from Kazakhstan, where he was raised and received his higher education in the form of a Bachelor’s of Chemical Engineering from Kazakh-British Technical University, the mining industry is certainly not foreign to Dmitriy. In fact, one of the places he's called home, Balkhash, is a mining town, and also home to one of the largest lakes in Asia (and 15th largest in the world), Lake Balkhash.

Before joining BASF, Dmitriy worked at various mining sites in Kazakhstan in roles ranging from Technical Translator to the Chief Metallurgist's Personal Assistant, to Process Engineer, Deputy Chief Metallurgist and finally the Chief Metallurgist at a major copper production company based near Balklash. In 2018, Dmitriy moved to Moscow to join BASF as a Senior Mining Tech Specialist (Hydromet).

All in, Dmitriy spent a total of 3.5 years with BASF Russia in Mining Solutions, supporting both Europe and Central Asia regions, before he got a transfer to Australia in May 2022. He shares, “My role now is the Regional Segment Lead for Hydromet in the APAC region, a wider role, with a much larger geographical expanse to cover. So far, I've been very excited to learn and work on unique heavy metal solvent extraction plants. It's something I had never done prior to this and I'm very grateful to learn, understand and support the technical solvent extraction systems in the region."

In his current role, Dmitriy travels significantly to mining sites around the region and in the past four months has already visited a few Australian mine sites as well as some in Mongolia. His next international destinations include Indonesia, India, Korea and Japan, with upcoming plans for the region meaning that he will continue travelling extensively around Asia Pacific region over the next few years.

When asked about his future planning, Dmitriy responded, “My family and I are already planning to settle here permanently as Australia is an amazing country with an abundance of opportunities and better environment. There are a lot of opportunities for me to learn for as well, like uranium extraction and developments in copper extraction. So, for the next 5 - 10 years, I see myself continuing to do what I am doing now, developing my skills and progressing professionally.”

With years of experiences and many countries travelled, it seems Dmitriy and family have now found their way ‘home’ in Australia. Welcome to the BASF ANZ family, Dmitriy!