Senior Geotechnical Data Engineer - AngloGold Ashanti

AngloGold Ashanti (Ghana) Limited, Obuasi Gold Mine is currently near completion of the redevelopment phase to become a modern, efficient and long-term profitable operation. The underground mining operation has been fully mechanized and designed to produce up to an average maximum of 5,000 t/day of ore mined.

We are seeking an experienced and self-motivated person to join our dedicated team as a Senior Geotechnical Data Engineer.

ROLE PURPOSE AND CONTEXT

To develop and lead an effective site Geotechnical Engineering team capable of continuously enhancing performance whilst delivering on the business objectives/targets. To mitigate geotechnical risk by identifying geotechnical hazards and advising appropriate actions.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:

• Establish the necessary Geotechnical processes and practices for the operations of the Obuasi Mine.
• Provide unequivocal Geotechnical planning data to enable the quarterly updates of the rolling 18-month plan to be produced on time.
• Develop the annual Geotechnical cost centre budget to achieve the required targets for achieving annual, medium-term and LoM business plans.

• Deliver the work of the Geotechnical function within approved budget targets and specified timeframes, costs and related KPIs.
• Demonstrate Safety Leadership and improve the Culture across the Geotechnical department and with own Geotechnical team regarding Safety, Health, Environmental and Sustainable Development.
• Responsible and accountable for their team’s environmental obligations and performances by conducting informal meetings with the team and reporting any weaknesses in the environmental procedures.
• Enforce all environmental work procedures that have been issued by the Departmental Manager.
• Investigate all environmental incidents in their assigned work areas. Immediately after an incident, complete an incident report form and submit it to the Departmental Manager for onward submission to the Environmental Manager or his representative. A preliminary investigation report and any recommendations for preventing a recurrence should be included on the incident report form.
• Attend all scheduled and assigned environmental training meetings.
• Provide the resources and expertise to develop the team to capably and consistently deliver the annual budget, according to their role and level of authority.
• Rigorously drive implementation of projects and nurture and sustain a culture of Accountability and Continuous Improvement within the Geotechnical team
• Develop and maintain constructive relationships with Internal Stakeholders (Corporate, Group Planning & Technical, sister mines, etc.) and external Stakeholders (Regulatory Agencies and Authorities, Minerals Commission) to establish existing and changing societal and regulatory expectations and requirements.

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

Qualification

• BSc in Geological Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering or similar

Experience 

• A minimum of 5 years of experience and demonstrated technical capability and knowledge of open pit and/or underground mining geotechnical design and implementation.
• Capable of analyzing and interpreting geotechnical data and the requisite rock mass classification and Characterization methods
• Demonstrated capability to conduct technical geotechnical work with limited supervision.
• A high level of computer literacy with specialized mining geotechnical software such as RocScience, Map3D, GEM4D, Surpac, AutoCAD etc.

Legal Requirements

• Blasting certificate
• Valid national drivers’ license
• Valid First Aid certificate

Technical Competencies

Design Basis (Basic Application)

• Understands all the aspects of design basis and mechanisms identification and has demonstrated the ability to address their impact on the design with minimal supervision.
• Knows when to engage Specialist’s support.

Design Specification (Basic Application)

• Understand how inputs & outputs to design specification contributes to the design parameters and how they can be manipulated to reduce variability.
• Can implement a new design specification philosophy under the supervision

Integrated Monitoring (Basic Application)

• Commission and maintain a fit-for-purpose monitoring system for the mining method.
• Investigates areas of significant deviation from the LOM design predicted operational limits.
• Conducts advanced evaluation and trend assessments and reports the results at daily/weekly production meetings (short term focus) – knows when to engage Specialist support.

Data-Based Decision making (Basic Application)

• Collects and manages relevant data to a high standard of quality assurance and control.
• Uses relevant statistical analysis, technical models, systems and tools as part of the analytical process.
• Makes & supports conclusions with accurate information & analysis suited to the mining method.

Engineering Science (Basic Application)

• Construct numerical models and rock mass models in simple codes.
• Understands the critical operational parameters to operate numerical codes and equipment within design tolerances.
• Understand the basic assumptions and reliability of numerical codes and equipment and can identify when results are outside of the norm.

Leadership Competencies

• Creating a disciplined team to deliver the planned work to the defined standards.
• Managing oneself – taking ownership of one’s personal development
• Building effective working relationships – the ability to build and maintain effective collateral and cross-functional working relationship.
• Building trust & accountability – displaying high levels of integrity and honesty

• Maximizing performance & achievement of results – solving problems and analysing issues, driving for results