Senior Mine Planning Engineer - Surface Coal Mining

About the role

A mining company in Maamba, Sinazongwe District, Southern Province, Zambia is looking for a Senior Mine Planning Engineer. The role covers planning and optimising surface coal mining operations, keeping production forecasts and mine plans accurate and controlling mining costs.

Key responsibilities

• Achieve approved coal and waste movement targets and ensure mining activities comply with approved mine plans and designs.
• Improve contractor performance and KPI compliance, and reduce variances between plans and actual performance.
• Maintain accurate production forecasts and mine plans, and control mining costs against budget.
• Optimise stripping ratios, coal recovery and mining sequences, and identify and mitigate production risks promptly.
• Improve mine-planning systems, processes and reporting, and integrate technical planning with mining operations.

Required profile

• Grade 12 certificate or equivalent, and a Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering or a closely related discipline.
• At least 10 years of relevant mine-planning experience in an operating mine, including five years in surface coal mining; proven surface-coal planning experience is mandatory.
• Postgraduate qualification in Mining, Engineering, Mineral Economics, Management or a related field is an advantage.
• Paid-up membership of EIZ and ERB or another equivalent body, where applicable.

Required skills

• Experience with pit/pushback, haul-road and dump designs, sequencing, coal exposure, recovery, dilution and losses, overburden, scheduling, forecasting, budgets and cost models, contractor compliance and KPIs, reconciliation and corrective actions with Mining Operations, Geology and Survey, and life-of-mine, long-, medium- and short-term planning.
• Deswik or equivalent is highly desirable; large mechanised coal operations, contractor-managed mining, advanced planning/reporting software and Excel are advantageous.
• Strong analytical, reporting, coordination, leadership, safety and decision-making capabilities.