Senior Underground Mine Engineer

About the Company:

The mining industry has steadily become worse at finding new ore deposits, requiring >10X more capital to make discoveries compared to 30 years ago. The easy-to-find, near-surface deposits have largely been found, and the industry has chronically under-invested in new exploration technology, relying on the manual techniques of yesteryear – even as demand accelerates for copper, lithium, and other metals to build electric vehicles, renewable energy, and data centers.

KoBold builds AI models for mineral exploration and deploys those models—alongside our novel sensors—to guide decisions on KoBold-owned-and-operated exploration programs. Since our founding in 2018, KoBold has become by far both the largest independent mineral exploration company and the largest exploration technology developer. Our data scientists and software engineers, who come from leading technology companies, jointly lead exploration programs with our renowned exploration geologists.

KoBold has proven its first discovery with materially less capital than the industry average and found one of the best copper deposits ever discovered: the copper is far more concentrated than the global average of copper mines, and this asset alone is expected to generate meaningful revenue for decades. KoBold has a portfolio of more than 60 other projects, each of which has the potential for another high-quality discovery.

KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and natural resources companies Equinor, BHP, and Mitsubishi.

About the job:

The Senior Underground Mine Engineer will lead the mine design efforts for KoBold’s Mingomba project, including pre-feasibility and feasibility engineering studies. You will help to identify, design, and execute all mining engineering programs necessary to maximize the safety, feasibility, and value of our future mine. In addition, you will be responsible for the strategy, implementation and execution of mine design strategies consistent with development plans and in coordination with operations teams. You will also support all modeling work from district to mine scales in support of these goals. You will be responsible for building and fostering a collaborative relationship to support synergies with surrounding operators.

You will join an outstanding team of geoscientists, data scientists, and software engineers. You will be a core part of the project teams, supporting the advancement of the science and practice of exploration. You will support the development of novel data collection and monitoring programs. Working closely with geologists, hydrogeologists, and data scientists you will support construction of physics-based and data-driven models of the hydrogeology of our exploration sites and state-of-the-art water management strategies. A key challenge will be to quantify uncertainties relevant to mining, and to identify efficient means for reducing these uncertainties as the project advances.

Job Responsibilities and Duties:

Senior Mine Engineer

As a technical lead, perform strategic mine design and engineering analyses, including mine design sequencing & scheduling utilizing Deswik software suite.

• Conduct or support a full range of mine engineering functions, including:
• Detailed design of Mingomba underground mine
• Engineering trade-off studies
• Cost estimation and economic analysis of alternatives
• Preparation of technical documents including public disclosure documents for Mineral Resources and Reserves
• Provide feedback to geological and geotechnical modeling as necessary.
• Support both surface and underground facilities engineering
• Apply KoBold’s Project Management standards to manage all aspects of projects
• Work collaboratively across engineering disciplines and technical staff to develop the skills and procedures needed to effectively deliver mining engineering assignments
• Serve as an internal technical resource and provide guidance and mentorship to junior-level staff.
• Identify, develop, and follow through on value engineering opportunities
• Mentor staff to support their growth and professional development.
• Exercise responsible and ethical decision-making regarding company resources and conduct and adhere to KoBold’s Code of Conduct and related policies and procedures.
• Perform additional responsibilities as required by business needs.

Qualifications and skills:

Bachelor’s Degree in Mining Engineering, or closely related discipline.

• Minimum of 7 years relevant post qualification experience in engineering with an emphasis on underground mine planning, design and scheduling.
• EIZ Certification (preferred)
• Experience working with multiple consultants within the mining industry.
• Strong technical writing skills with experience writing technical reports.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and strategic planning skills
• Experience utilizing mine planning, design and scheduling software packages such as MineScape, MineSight 3D, Vulcan, Surpac, Deswik, Datamine, Gemcom, Mine 2-4D, and EPS
• Effective interpersonal and communication skills when interacting with others, expressing intricate ideas effectively and professionally to an engineering and non-engineering audience.
• Strong self-leadership and interpersonal communication skills with the ability to effectively, persuasively, and tactfully interact with clients, regulators, project managers, and employees at all levels of the organization.
• Ability to work independently and provide guidance and leadership to junior team or project members, with strict adherence to QA/QC.
• Experienced with providing critical review for documents and preparing technical deliverables and plans with a high degree of complexity.
• Developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills required to apply technical knowledge to reach conclusions from testing results, data collation, statistical analysis and arriving at the most effective, economical, and logical solution.
• Ability to assertively direct others in the field such as subcontractors, drillers, and others to consistently complete tasks safely and efficiently.
• Proven track record of upholding workplace safety and ability to abide by KoBold’s health, safety and drug/alcohol and harassment policies.
• Ability to work schedules conducive to project-specific requirements that may extend beyond the typical workweek.
• The role will require travel to Mingomba and other KoBold project locations.

We are committed to equal employment opportunities for all people.

Location: Preference will be given to candidates who are legally authorized to work in the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa, United Kingdom, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Finland, Sweden, or Botswana, though candidates in other locations may also be considered.

What to Expect

Joining KoBold means getting the opportunity for hands-on exposure to our exploration projects around the world. All employees are expected to travel to project sites, with a minimum of one week per year. Field-facing and technical roles spend significantly more time in the field.