Drill & Blast Engineer - Newmont Mining Corporation

Newmont Mining Corporation is a leading global gold producer with key assets in Nevada, Peru, Australia, Ghana and Suriname.

Newmont’s Africa Operations holds two gold mining operations in Ghana: the Ahafo Mine located in the Brong-Ahafo region and the Akyem Mine located in the Eastern region. There is also near mine exploration and development focus in Ghana to annually replace gold reserves. Newmont Africa also has early-stage exploration programs in the African countries of Ethiopia and Morocco.

Our Africa operations employ approximately 5,900 employees and contractors, with the majority working at the Ahafo Mine. We offer an unparalleled blend of opportunity and career satisfaction with all the benefits you would expect from a global company. This, combined with our growth opportunities, makes Newmont a great company to work.

Our Akyem and Ahafo mines have made significant sustainable community development investments in our host communities. These include establishing Development Funds at our Akyem and Ahafo operational areas with each mine contributing US$1 per ounce of gold sold and 1% of net pre-tax annual profit into its community development fund.

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The only gold company listed in the S&P 500 index, Newmont in 2007 became the first gold company selected to be part of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. Newmont’s industry leading performance is reflected through our Africa operations’ high standards in environmental management, health and safety for our workforce and creating value and opportunity for our employees, host communities and Newmont’s shareholders.

About This Role:

• Are you able to perform drill and blast planning and design of production activities in the short-term and deliver underground stope drill and blast designs to enable the underground business partners to carry out drill and blast operations safely?

In This Role You Will:

Drill and Blasting Designs

• Sign off on blast designs before blasting, track cost and blast improvement parameters.
• Collate all drill and charge meters for the month in question.
• Conduct fragmentation analysis to see how drill parameters are translating on the ground.
• Design and issue drill and blast plans, remote bogging plans as per the site standard.
• Design and collate information for all stope close outs to support the stope reconciliation process.
• Update on daily basis the SLS drill and blast register.
• Conduct site inspection of all stopes pre & post production.
• Issue checklist for drilling sites prior to production drilling and prep plans for stope and raise charging.
• Monitor the draw percentage of SLS rings and backfill compliance to eradicate waste reporting on draw point of SLS rings.
• Perform QAQC check in stopes to ensure correct production drilling setup for Solo & ITH.
• Perform checks on loaders to ensure draw % for SLS rings are being complied with.
• Liaise with consultant and specialist supplier as required.
• Assist to create, implement and maintain the drill and blast engineering processes, standards and procedures for the Subika technical services team.

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Short Term Scheduling

• Support in mine scheduling activities to assist with drill and blast plan for weekly, monthly an three months scheduling.
• Monitor contractor’s equipment for compliance to KPI’s and schedule.
• Maintain an up to date SLS drill and blast register and reconcile actuals to design.

Additional Responsibilities:

Continuous Improvement

• Recommend improvement activities to achieve and exceed KPI’s.
• Conduct quality assessment of all drill and blast activities underground and inform management on actual performance against plan.
• Investigate and recommend modifications to present operations when more flexible and feasible. Engineering alternatives could render improvements.
• Consult with the scheduling Engineer to generate weekly schedules.

Compliance

• Ensure adherence to policies, standards and procedures in all areas of operations.
• Monitor blast variations and emissions to ensure compliance with the national and best practice guidelines.
• Ensure cave draw percentages are being tracked and communicated to the operations team.
• Ensure compliance with all safety procedures, codes and regulations and assist in securing permits.

Health and Safety Management

• Participate and contribute to safe practice and environmental awareness.
• Actively participate in all Newmont Ghana safety and environmental systems and initiatives.
• Demonstrate personal commitment regarding safety and environmental practices.
• Identification of potential hazards and action that is appropriately taken.
• Maintenance of a high standard of efficiency, safety and effectiveness.
• Raising, discussing and resolution of safety issues at regular meetings.

Your Training, Skills & Experience Checklist:

Formal Qualification (including Professional Registrations):

• Bachelors’ degree in Mining Engineering.

Experience:

• Minimum of 3 – 5 years’ experience in an underground mining environment of this;
  • Preferred a minimum of 2 years’ experience in underground mining operational time such as blasting, drilling, haulage and service crew works.
  • Preferred previous experience in ventilation and project engineering.

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Technical Skills:

• Proficient in the use of the design software (DESWIK).
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office software (Outlook, Word, Excel, Access).
• Sound analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Sound planning and organizational skills.

Behavioural Attributes:

• Accuracy.
• Analytical
• Deadline driven
• Safety conscious.
• Self-motivated.
• Team player
• Results-driven.
• Proactive.
• Resilience.

Working Conditions

• The position is located at the Ahafo South mine.
• Combination of office and underground mining conditions.
• Moist wet surfaces with section of continuous water fall.
• Potential for extreme dust particles and high heat/humidity.
• Noise exposure within the requirements for earplugs or/and ear muffs.