Torchora
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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Underground Manager

💰 $110,000 - $180,000

MiningOperationsManagement

🎯 Role Definition

The Underground Manager is the senior on-site leader responsible for planning, executing and continuously improving all underground mining activities. This role sets and delivers production targets, enforces safety and regulatory compliance (MSHA/other local regulators), manages mine planning and ground control programs, oversees ventilation and emergency response, coordinates equipment and contractor fleets, and fosters high-performing, safety-focused teams. The ideal candidate combines deep technical competence in underground mining methods with proven leadership, budgeting and stakeholder management skills, and a relentless focus on operational excellence and risk reduction.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Underground Supervisor / Shift Supervisor with 3–5 years of underground experience
  • Senior Mining Engineer or Mine Planner with practical underground exposure
  • Underground Production Foreman or Shift Boss in hard- or soft-rock mines

Advancement To:

  • Mine Manager / Senior Mine Manager (site-wide responsibility)
  • Regional Operations Manager / Head of Underground Operations
  • General Manager or Director of Mining Operations

Lateral Moves:

  • Surface Operations Manager
  • Project Manager (mine development)
  • Safety & Risk Manager (specializing in mining safety systems)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and be accountable for safe, compliant and cost-effective underground production to meet or exceed monthly and annual tonnage and grade targets, using systematic planning and daily operational control.
  • Develop, implement and continually refine the underground mine plan in coordination with geology, mine planning and processing teams to optimise ore recovery, dilution control, and long-term resource value.
  • Own and drive the site ground control and strata control program, including rock mechanics assessments, bolt and support plans, monitoring systems, and remediation actions to ensure stable working areas and regulatory compliance.
  • Design, monitor and maintain effective mine ventilation systems and strategies to control dust, gases and heat; coordinate ventilation changes with production and ensure compliance with statutory limits.
  • Oversee drilling and blasting programs for development and production, ensure explosives handling and licensing compliance, authorise blast plans, and work with blasting contractors to balance fragmentation, safety and cost.
  • Manage and optimise underground mobile fleet utilisation, maintenance planning and lifecycle strategies to maximise availability, minimise operating costs, and enforce equipment safety standards.
  • Prepare, manage and control the underground operating budget and capital plans — forecast costs, track performance vs. budget, identify cost-saving opportunities and implement corrective actions.
  • Set clear production, safety and maintenance KPIs, monitor performance daily/weekly, prepare operational reports for senior leadership and implement targeted improvement plans where needed.
  • Direct and supervise multi-disciplinary teams (production crews, maintenance, ventilation, stores, logistics, surveying), including hiring, development, performance management and succession planning.
  • Establish and maintain robust emergency preparedness and incident response systems for underground incidents, conduct drills, maintain rescue equipment and ensure worker competence in emergency procedures.
  • Implement and maintain a proactive occupational health and safety culture: lead safety walks, incident investigations, root cause analysis and corrective action tracking to drive continuous reduction in lost-time incidents.
  • Coordinate and manage external contractors and service providers underground — set performance standards, ensure contract compliance, and integrate contractors into site safety and production systems.
  • Lead ore control processes underground, including face mapping, sampling programs, reconciliation procedures and grade control decisions to protect mill feed quality and metallurgical outcomes.
  • Oversee surveying and control networks, ensure accurate development and production surveys, and integrate survey data into the mine planning cycle to maintain spatial accuracy of orebody models.
  • Ensure environmental compliance for underground activities: manage water ingress, dewatering strategies, waste handling, noise and vibration monitoring and implement mitigations per permit requirements.
  • Drive continuous improvement and productivity initiatives (lean mining, cost-per-ton reduction, cycle time improvements), sponsor pilot projects, and scale successful innovations across underground operations.
  • Ensure robust permit-to-work and change-management controls for all underground activities, including electrical isolations, confined space entry, and hazardous energy management.
  • Develop and deliver mentoring, training and competency programs for underground personnel, from new entrant induction to technical upskilling for supervisors and engineers.
  • Manage union or workforce relations underground as applicable, negotiate shift rostering or operational changes, and maintain positive, transparent communications to minimise industrial risk.
  • Maintain strong stakeholder engagement with production, processing, geology, maintenance, procurement and corporate functions to align priorities and resolve cross-functional constraints promptly.
  • Maintain and improve digital systems for underground operations (maintenance management, fleet telematics, mine planning tools), champion data-driven decisions and ensure integrity of operational data for leadership reporting.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer production, safety and cost questions from site leadership and corporate functions.
  • Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by identifying high-impact underground operational data sources and KPIs for digitisation.
  • Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements for fleet telematics, CMMS, mine planning and performance dashboards.
  • Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team when implementing digital projects affecting underground workflows.
  • Support mineral resource and reserve reporting by providing operational inputs for reconciliation and validating as-mined records.
  • Assist procurement and inventory teams by specifying underground equipment requirements, spares criticality and stocking strategies to reduce downtime.
  • Prepare and present clear operational briefings, safety summaries and budget updates for executive leadership, boards and regulatory inspections.
  • Participate in mine development and expansion studies, providing operational feasibility input, cost estimates and constructability reviews.
  • Support community and stakeholder engagement activities as needed, explaining underground activities and mitigation measures that influence local stakeholders.
  • Actively participate in cross-site benchmarking reviews and share best practices for underground operations across the company network.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Deep knowledge of underground mining methods (cut-and-fill, room-and-pillar, longhole stoping, sublevel caving) and practical experience applying the appropriate method to geology and orebody geometry.
  • Mine planning and scheduling expertise using industry tools such as Deswik, Surpac, Vulcan, Datamine or equivalent software for short-term planning and development scheduling.
  • Strong understanding of ground control engineering and rock mechanics principles including rock bolt design, shotcrete, mesh, and backfill systems.
  • Ventilation design, monitoring and management skills, including experience with Ventsim or equivalent ventilation modelling tools and regulatory ventilation standards.
  • Experience in managing drilling and blasting programs, including blast design, stemming, flyrock control and compliance with explosives legislation.
  • Competence with maintenance management systems (CMMS) and asset management practices — experience with SAP PM, IBM Maximo or similar systems preferred.
  • Fleet management and equipment lifecycle planning for underground mobile equipment (LHDs, trucks, drill rigs); familiarity with fleet telematics and fuel/energy management.
  • Strong incident investigation and root cause analysis skills (e.g., IRCA, 5-Why, or equivalent methodologies) and experience implementing corrective action plans.
  • Budgeting, cost control and financial reporting experience — ability to prepare CAPEX/OPEX submissions and monitor variance drivers.
  • Proficiency with mine surveying practices and software, and understanding of spatial data integration to support mine plans and grade control.
  • Regulatory knowledge relevant to underground operations (MSHA, OSHA, local mining acts, environmental permits) and experience managing inspections and audits.
  • Data literacy with the ability to interpret production, maintenance and ventilation datasets and work with data teams to build dashboards and decision-support tools.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people-management skills with the ability to build high-performing teams, develop supervisors and sustain accountability.
  • Excellent verbal and written communication: able to produce concise operational reports and present to senior leadership, community stakeholders and regulators.
  • Decisive problem-solving and critical thinking under pressure, with a track record of making safe, timely operational decisions.
  • Collaborative mindset: adept at cross-functional coordination with geology, processing, maintenance, procurement and safety teams.
  • Coaching and mentoring capability to grow technical competence and leadership capability across the underground workforce.
  • High personal integrity and commitment to safety culture — role-modeling behaviours and enforcing standards consistently.
  • Negotiation and conflict resolution skills for managing contractors, labour relations and cross-functional trade-offs.
  • Attention to detail and process orientation to ensure compliance with permits, SOPs and legal requirements.
  • Adaptability and resilience to manage changing production priorities, seasonal conditions and unexpected operational challenges.
  • Project management skills to lead capital projects, development drives and continuous improvement initiatives underground.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, or a related engineering/technical discipline; or equivalent vocational qualifications with extensive underground experience.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor's plus post-graduate qualifications (MBA, MSc in Mining Engineering, Rock Mechanics) or professional registration (PE, CEng, or equivalent).
  • Relevant certifications in safety, emergency response, blasting, or ventilation (site-specific or nationally recognised).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Mining Engineering
  • Geological Engineering
  • Geotechnical / Rock Mechanics
  • Metallurgical Engineering
  • Occupational Health & Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 7–15+ years of progressive underground mining experience with at least 3–5 years in a supervisory or management role responsible for production, safety and budgets.

Preferred:

  • 10+ years of underground operational experience including mine planning, ground control, ventilation, blasting oversight and multi-disciplinary team leadership, ideally across different mine types and ore bodies.
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