The Position

• Providing direction and support to the operations group to help achieve and surpass the mine’s safety and production targets and to add value to the operation.
• Design and issue all breakthrough patterns, probes, layouts and investigate any subsidence’s or unusual ground movement related to subsidence.
• Identifies and mitigates potential and actual problems on a continuous basis and ensures alternatives are available to offset impact

Safety & Sustainability Expectations

• Be familiar with the safety rules and policies and incorporate these into our day to day work.
• Be proactive with respect to safety and help design and operate a site that is the safest possible, through input and thoughts shared with others.
• Design blast patterns and probe holes and define engineering controls needed to ensure safety of personnel and safe operation of the pit.
• Schedule mine priorities in the safest and most efficient manor.
• Attain triple zero, both individually and collectively within the pit engineering group.
• Identify substandard conditions and practices, during pit tours, and take appropriate corrective action.

Key Responsibilities

• Promote innovation and continuous improvement in safety by reviewing existing engineering designs and implementing new designs.
• Develop plans and designs for regulatory compliance and compliance to Company policies, procedures and standards.
• Promote and adhere to Company safety policies
• Design specialized detailed drilling layouts and breakthrough plans employing established guidelines that allow safe drilling, proper blasting and good mining conditions in breakthrough areas.
• Take leadership role in the review, approval and issuing of breakthrough plans and ensuring that only approved plans are in circulation.
• Collect and document actual breakthrough information (as-builts) reported by drillers on standard daily reporting sheets (void sheets), and updating plans if required.
• Design probe drilling layouts to delineate subsurface voids more accurately where information is lacking
• Assist with pit surveying, short range planning and projects to help manage workloads and as part of cross-training to strengthen the team;
• Undertake projects, as time permits, including road and ramp layouts, land reclamation calculations
• Identify all known underground workings affecting the open pit by studying underground plans and consulting with other knowledgeable staff.
• Work with pit planning and operations staff to align on mining direction and sequence.
• Project the outlines of stopes, shafts, raises and drifts that daylight within the pit, and ensuring such outlines are shown by the Open Pit Planner or Open Pit Engineer on all pit “dig plan” maps.
• Arrange with the Open Pit Surveyors to ensure that all underground hazards - particularly shafts and raises - in the pit are clearly and visibly marked;
• Establish temporary limits (track limits) to halt mining advance into newly-filled void areas, and designing probe drilling layouts to confirm whether voids have been adequately filled in advance of mining.
• Investigate unplanned subsidence’s and unexpected drilling breakthroughs;
• Help to educate operators and supervisors about the potential hazards and required procedures for mining into underground workings.
• Scheduling and prioritizing activities, creating week plans and ensuring compliance to the week plans

Skills and Qualifications

• Engineering degree, Mining technology or technical diploma or equivalent with related practical experience.
• 2+ years experience in open pit mining
• Valid "G" driver's license
• Advanced skills in AutoCAD, Deswik & Vulcan. Ability to visualize and work in 3-D.
• Ability to organize workloads and modify priorities in a dynamic fast-paced continuous production environment.
• Ability to draw on personnel and collective experience to develop creative solutions to unique and unprecedented breakthrough planning challenges

Additional Information