The 61-year-old was among 90 employees made redundant from Ballarat Goldfields last week and will join the job hunt when he is officially out of work on March 26.

It is the second time Mr Russell has been made redundant in Ballarat . He had moved here from Brisbane five years ago.

He worked at Neighbourhood Cable in logistics but was put off with six others, before starting work at Ballarat Goldfields 18 months ago as a purchasing officer.

Mr Russell was disappointed at being made redundant but was hopeful of getting another job in Ballarat.

"Age goes against me, but I've got lots of experience," he said.

Mr Russell was one of dozens of Lihir Gold workers participating in a series of sessions in Ballarat this week to help equip them for the labour market.

The sessions included a range of agencies, such as Centrelink, providing advice and support on what to do next.

Geologist Dave Sharp spent seven years at Ballarat Goldfield.

The 30-year-old attended the sessions to find out about skills training and to take advantage of tickets he was eligible for, such as his forklift licence.

He said it was a relief to be put off last week, after nine months of not knowing when he would be made redundant.

Now, he said, he would take a month off to spend some time at home on his 16ha property at Smythesdale, where he runs sheep and grows native grasses.

While Mr Sharp said he would receive a payout from Lihir Gold, he said he would wait and see if Castlemaine Goldfields would re-employ him back at the mine.

"I love Ballarat, but if they won't keep me, I might go back and do fly-in fly-out (mining) work, it's the way a few of the boys are talking," Dave said.