The OpportunityThe Underground Operations Supervisor is responsible for safely and efficiently supervising underground mining activities within a gold mining operation. This role provides frontline leadership to mining crews, coordinates daily production activities, ensures compliance with mine safety and regulatory requirements, and supports the achievement of production, development, cost, and quality targets.
The successful candidate will have strong underground mining experience, demonstrated leadership capability, and a thorough understanding of underground hard-rock mining practices, ground control, mine ventilation, equipment operations, and production processes.
Responsibilities- Supervise and provide day-to-day leadership to underground mining crews, contractors, and equipment operators.
- Coordinate underground production and development activities in accordance with mine plans, schedules, and operating priorities.
- Ensure all work is conducted safely and in compliance with company policies, mine standards, and applicable health and safety regulations.
- Conduct workplace inspections, pre-shift meetings, toolbox talks, and safety observations.
- Identify and address hazards, unsafe conditions, and operational risks, including ground-control and ventilation concerns.
- Monitor underground mining activities such as drilling, blasting, mucking, hauling, ground support, scaling, development, and production stoping.
- Coordinate equipment, personnel, materials, and services to maintain efficient underground operations.
- Monitor daily production against planned targets and take corrective action when required.
- Work closely with Mine Planning, Engineering, Geology, Maintenance, Ventilation, and Safety departments to resolve operational issues.
- Ensure development headings and production areas are prepared and maintained to required design, quality, and ground-control standards.
- Monitor ore extraction and dilution, ore/waste handling, and adherence to grade-control requirements.
- Promote efficient equipment utilization and minimize operational delays, downtime, rework, and unnecessary costs.
- Ensure crews follow approved work procedures, operating standards, blasting protocols, and ground-control practices.
- Investigate incidents, near misses, equipment damage, and production interruptions, and participate in corrective-action programs.
- Maintain accurate shift reports, production records, inspection documentation, and other required operational records.
- Coach, mentor, and develop employees to improve technical capability, safety performance, productivity, and accountability.
- Manage shift handovers and communicate operational priorities, hazards, equipment status, and production performance effectively.
- Support continuous-improvement initiatives focused on safety, productivity, cost control, and mining efficiency.
- Demonstrate visible safety leadership and foster a workplace culture based on accountability, teamwork, and operational discipline.
- Perform other duties consistent with the responsibilities of an underground mining supervisor.
The above responsibilities are representative and may not include all assigned duties.
Education and Experience- High school diploma or equivalent required.
- Relevant mining supervision, leadership, or technical certifications are advantageous.
- Must be able to obtain ATF clearance.
- 5+ years of underground hard-rock mining experience, preferably in a gold mining environment.
- 2+ years of experience in an underground supervisory or leadership position with direct responsibility for mining crews.
- Demonstrated experience with underground production and/or development mining.
- Practical knowledge of drilling, blasting, ground support, scaling, mucking, hauling, and underground mining cycles.
- Experience working with underground mobile equipment and coordinating equipment availability with production requirements.
- Strong understanding of underground ground-control principles and safe work practices.
- Working knowledge of mine ventilation, dewatering, backfill, and other underground infrastructure is preferred.
- Experience interpreting mine plans, development designs, production schedules, and geological information.
- Demonstrated ability to monitor production performance and respond effectively to operational problems.
- Experience supervising employees and/or mining contractors in a safety-critical environment.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively across multiple departments and levels of the organization.
- Demonstrated ability to work rotating shifts, including nights, weekends, holidays, and extended underground shifts as required.
