Drill Supervisor at Newmont Mining Corporation

About This Role

• To coordinate, direct and lead blast hole drilling activities, in a safe manner, and coordinate resource allocations to effectively complete the activities.

In This Role You WIll:

Drilling Operations Planning

• Execute short, medium and long-term mine drilling plans.
• Implement goals, objectives, policies, procedures and work standards for the area.
• Oversee and coordinate the weekly plan for initiating drilling schedules.
• Coordinate, prioritise and assign drilling tasks for completion to meet blasting target goals.
• Prepare the drill pattern for blasting, and conduct final priority drilling inspection.
• Conduct pre-drilling risk assessments on drilling areas to provide assurance on the safety of all equipment and staff, and to prevent the possible rock fall and / or collapse.
• Send all drilling requisition requests to the General Foreman for review and obtain sign-off from both the General Foreman and the Mine Manager.

Drill Operations Execution

• Receive guidance from the General Foreman – Drill and Blast for optimal drilling locations.
• Install physical critical controls (i.e. demarcations, flags, cones) and make sure that all are in place, prior to drilling.
• Obtain survey limits from the relevant stakeholders to determine drill sites.
• Coordinate and pair the drilling crew with the relevant equipment required to execute tasks.
• Undertake safety inspections of the drilling work sites, before, during and after drilling activities.
• Schedule and supervise all drilling activities, by overseeing and evaluating works-in-progress, and ensure that all activities meet quality control standards, specifications, codes and regulations.
• Identify opportunities for both short, medium and long-term interval controls, based on the drilling plan, and make any necessary adjustments and changes to the shift, to meet daily target projections.
• Oversee all drilling activities such as:
  • areas to be drilled.
  • areas to be developed.
  • rate of development required.
  • distribution of labour, supplies and equipment.
• Oversee all contractors assigned to designated drilling work areas within the department.
• Provide technical guidance and transfer of knowledge to the drill crew through active coaching and mentoring on drill techniques.
• Examine the extent to which issued instructions are being followed, and escalate any non-adherences to the General Foreman.
• Hold drilling crew accountable for the work completed by:
  • Administering discipline and facilitating corrective actions.
  • Monitoring crew key performance indicators, specifically quality assurance / quality control.
  • Explaining the drilling plan to the crew and providing clear instructions.
  • Implementing continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Managing shift changeovers between crews.
• Analyse daily drill production to confirm that the department is operating within overall blasting production.
• Work to decrease the overall cost of drilling activities by reducing any unnecessary delays and increasing the provision of consumables.
• Coordinate the maintenance of drill equipment with the maintenance department.
• Provide feedback reports regarding drilling activities to the General Foreman – Drill and Blast for review.
• Complete drill logs and load sheets, in accordance with Newmont policies.
• Maintain accurate records and archives of all drilling activities.

Blast Optimisation and Continuous Improvement

• Suggest opportunities for continuous improvement of drilling activities.
• Report and escalate all accidents and incidents occurring in the shift to the General Foreman – Drill and Blast for immediate review.

Additional Responsibilities:

Stakeholder Management and Engagement

• Coordinate with the Supply Chain department to procure and keep raw consumable stock levels up-to-date.
• Coordinate with the Mine Maintenance team to ensure that maintenance requirements are reported timeously, and to secure maintenance equipment availability.
• Communicate with dispatch regarding the capturing of drilling delays in the JIGSAW system for updating real-time consumable information for better future planning and continuous improvement purposes.
• Coordinate activities with all departments to ensure continuity of the total mine operation.
• Obtain suggestions from other Newmont departments, in identifying opportunities for improving drilling efficiency and productivity.
• Liaise with the Learning & Development department to arrange the receipt of training schedules and times for the national workforce.
• Oversee that drilling shift work meets established statutory standards.

Health and Safety Management

• Verify that the demarcated drill areas are safe and secure to promote worker health and safety.
• Adhere strictly to internal Newmont health and safety standards.
• Comply with safe drilling procedures for both Newmont and Contractor staff.
• Verify that all Newmont health and safety principles are upheld by staff.
• Accept personal responsibility for the health and safety of every employee under or assigned to his / her supervision.
• Provide hands-on assistance during operations activities and ensure that safe work practices are followed by the Operators.
• Coordinate the inspection of drill areas on a consistent basis to detect and resolve immediate safety, personnel and production problems.
• Revert to the Engineering team to potentially change shift plans for a particular area, arising out of work hazard detection.
• Conduct periodic safety meetings and safety inspections.
• Lead daily pre-shift staff debriefings.
• Attend monthly safety inspection and meetings.

Staff Supervision

• Create a suitable shift work environment to motivate Operators to achieve optimum effectiveness and productivity.
• Supervise all direct reports by:
  • participating in the recruitment and selection of staff.
  • recommending the selection of new staff.
  • conducting crew assessments.
  • developing the team to perform at their best capabilities.
  • contributing to performance appraisals.
  • participating in team performance management calibrations.
  • recommending further / relevant training courses and development actions in accordance with Newmont’s people development program(s).
  • implementing training schedules for staff.
  • coaching and mentoring staff.
  • enhancing communication with staff through regular feedback, contact, meetings and briefings.

Your Training, Skills & Experience Checklist:

Formal Qualification (including Professional Registrations):

• Bachelors’ degree in Mine / Civil Engineering, Geology or related field.

Additional Knowledge:

• Mine Foreman Certificate.
• Detailed knowledge of safety management systems.
• Detailed knowledge in drilling accessories.
• General knowledge in heavy equipment operation.

Experience:

• Minimum of 4 – 5 years’ drilling and blasting experience in large open pit mining environments, of which at least 2 – 3 years’ experience should be in a shift supervisory capacity.
• Experience of delivering grade control and exploratory drilling operations.

Technical Skills:

• Advanced planning, organising and prioritising skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong technical communication (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills.
• Strong computer literacy skills – MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook), MS Project and SAP.
• Strong information monitoring and management skills.
• Strong presentation skills.
• Strong facilitation and consultation skills.
• Strong negotiation and conflict resolution skills.
• Strong supervisory skills.
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills.
• Ability to adapt to constant shift changes.

Behavioural Attributes:

• Act professional and show respect.
• Assertive and influential.
• Customer focused.
• High level of integrity and trustworthiness.
• Always maintain confidentiality.
• Reliable and independent.
• Safety conscious.
• Show initiative, be results driven and proactive.
• Strong attention to detail and deliver high levels of accuracy.

Working Conditions

• The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representatives of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job.
  • Specific vision abilities required by the job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, and ability to adjust focus.
  • Physical Demands: While performing the duties of the job, the employee is required to sit at a desk for extended periods, climb stairs, walk and stand.
  • Work Environment: The noise level in the field environment is high. The incumbent is frequently exposed to noise, fumes, pinch-points, vibration, slippery surfaces, and extreme weather conditions.
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Work requires mandatory PPE such as helmet, goggles, high visible clothing, safety harness, ear plugs and dust mask according to working conditions.
  • Incumbent occasionally has to work overtime.