Project Engineer, Mine Planning - First Quantum Minerals Ltd - Zambia

Project Engineer, Mine Planning

First Quantum Minerals Ltd - Zambia

Job Description

Two businesses, wholly owned by First Quantum, manage our operations in Zambia. FQMO is responsible for mining activities and KMP for processing ore from our mines. Together these businesses have built Kansanshi into the largest copper mine in Africa and will be responsible for almost double production levels once Sentinel, one of our flagship project, reaches its peak.



Summary / Purpose of the Role

Reporting into Kansanshi's Mine Manager, the Project Engineer, Mine Planning will be responsible for all mine planning activities required for Kansanshi's large open-pit operation, mining copper and gold, in Zambia.



Responsibilities

• Developing long term mining plans and schedules to achieve consistency with the life of mine objectives, and taking ownership of mining schedules for the annual financial budgets and 5-year plans.
• Compilation of annual reserves according to NI 43-101 standards.
• Mine optimisations based on Whittle, involving liaison with geologists, mining engineers, metallurgists, financial personnel, geotechnical engineers, etc., to compile optimisation parameters. Be able to oversee the optimisation processes and sensitivity studies.
• Final and staged mine designs of a standard able to directly set out crests, toes and ramps in the pit; interrogation of block models and grade control models.
• Scheduling on various time and geographical scales, from life of mine to monthly plans, from whole pits to cutbacks and benches.
• Haul profiling and equipment studies; stockpile and waste dump designs, productivity studies.
• Input into mine costing and assist the financial department in the calculation and presentation of financial data. Be responsible for mine planning statistical data.
• Ensuring quality output from the Mine Planning Section.
• Ensure compliance from all mining contractors.
• Planning and execution of other Mining Projects.

Desired Skills & Experience

• Bachelor of Science in Mine Engineering or similar; blasting ticket required.
• Minimum of 8 to 10 years of related work experience; previous experience in the mining industry is essential.
• Proven track record in mine planning of hard-rock open-pits, and some exposure to an ore-blending strategy. Some knowledge of ore body modelling would be advantageous.
• A competent user of a 3D-mine planning software, preferably Surpac, as well as of a mine scheduling package such as MineScheduler.
• A good knowledge of a haul profile and fleet optimisation packages, such as FPC.
• English speaking with strong communication skills both written and verbal.
• Be able to work in a dynamic team environment.
• Leadership skills, be able to mentor and train colleagues / team members.
• An eye for detail and the ability to identify opportunities for improvement.

Company Description

First Quantum Minerals has grown from a small mineral operation in Zambia into a multinational mining business in less than two decades, with a global portfolio of copper and nickel assets in Europe, Africa, Australia and South America. This phenomenal growth is down to FQM people who have strived to be Bolder, Smarter and Driven in everything they do.

Recently, First Quantum Minerals acquired Inmet Mining Corporation, a Canadian-based mining company primarily producing copper and zinc from mines in Finland, Spain and Turkey, with a major copper deposit under development in Panama, known as Cobre Panama. The combination of the First Quantum and Inmet assets has created one of the world's leading copper producers with a geographically diversified portfolio of high-quality operations and development projects in eight countries across five continents.

With a strategic plan to produce more than 1.3 million tonnes per annum of copper within five years, the Company is poised to become the largest, widely-held pure-play copper producer and one of the top five copper producers in the world.

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