Pros
Shop floor are all top quality people. If Albemarle got anything right, it was the selection process. Wonderful people across all departments, positive, hard working, kind and considerate.
Cons
Site leadership is practically non-existant. My superintendent was never seen unless there was a topic requiring roll-out, or something had gone wrong. Terrible relationship building skills. An STL who frequently breaches life saving rules and management that refused to act on it. Horrendous training. Arriving at a new refinery attempting a process no one has done before, with half the shop floor green individuals with no prior experience, I expected training to be thorough and intense. It proved to be the opposite and unfortunately, the most shallow training I've witnessed working across 6 sites. Corporate (in America) leave a lot to be desired after investing several hundred million dollars into multiple failed trains, without actually getting the process right for its first train. The result? The inability to produce consistent quality lithium at customer specs, for low cost per tonne and unable to handle a downturn in market. 300 local people made redundant as a result, myself included. I also came with over 20 years experience in the industry, but was let go while others unqualified and with no prior experience were kept on, because my salary was too high. Ironically, this is why I was hired and relocated to the region. My experience and ability was to oversee, train and mentor new and inexperienced staff. While I do believe this is fantastic for those new to the resource sector as they gain further experience, it doesn't bode well for the future of a site on its last legs. I hope for all those new that the site defies the odds and gives these people opportunities for long careers. For some of them, the income is life altering and something not previously available to them.