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Chief Mine Engineer

Employer
Hecla Mining Company
Location
Juneau, AK, United States
Salary
Competitive
Closing date
Apr 22, 2021

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POSITION SUMMARY

This position manages daily engineering functions and special projects in a producing underground hard rock mining operation.

Safety, Health & Environmental Responsibilities AND Accountabilities

All Hecla personnel shall strive to achieve best practice in safety and health, and assist in the control of incidents, injuries and loss. Duties include, but are not limited to:
  • Complying with all necessary requirements put in place to prevent incidents, injuries or losses
  • Ensuring the safety and health of themselves and others in the workplace by being responsible for their actions and taking due care while performing their work
  • Identifying, eliminating, and reporting hazards as soon as practicable
  • Reporting incidents and accidents as soon as practicable
  • Disclosing all information regarding incidents and cooperating in incident investigations
  • Assisting in the resolution of health and safety matters in a positive and timely manner
  • Using and maintaining PPE
  • Providing suggestions for improving work processes
  • Assisting Management by supporting change to achieve desired targets
  • Ensuring that plant and equipment operate within their safe working limits
  • Ensuring that correct equipment is used for the job
  • Participating in risk assessment methodology
  • Participating in safety initiatives
  • Receiving training and instruction as required
  • Maintaining good housekeeping standards
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS – Other Duties May be Assigned

Technical functions are executed at a subject-matter-expert level of capability with little to no supervisor input required. Technical functions for the role include:
  • Mine planning:
  • Understands and sets expectations for short-range and long range mine planning including development design, drift & fill and long-hole stope design, and backfill design;
  • Recognizes mining safety problems during the planning phase; reviews mining plans to ensure they do not create hazards;
  • Reviews and approves schedules for development, production, and backfill;
  • Supervises surveying duties;
  • Reports mining progress and KPIs; reconciles theschedule and plan with actual;
  • Oversees reserves determination;
  • Coordinates with geology, survey, and mine operations groups daily;
  • Mine utilities, projects, and ventilation:
  • Plans and troubleshoots mine services including power, ventilation, compressed air, and water;
  • Optimizes techniques for explosives utilization and storage; provides project management and project controls for underground construction activities.
  • Creates AFE (authorization for expenditure) documents for capital projects and purchases.Provides recommendations for mine mobile equipment selection.
  • Geotechnical oversight:
  • Reviews all designs and provides QA/QC for all ground control practices including various rock bolting methods, shotcrete, and backfill.
  • Identifies and mitigates potential geotechnical hazards related to current activities and future mining plans through inspections, monitoring, and review of modeling.
  • Mine Automation & Technology:
  • Assists with implementation and troubleshooting related to mine technology systems
  • Systems within the scope of the role include autonomous and teleremote-operated equipment, underground WiFi networks, personnel tracking sensors, proximity detection, centralized blasting, distributed control systems, and other mine technologies which may not yet exist.

In addition to the technical functions above, the following behavioral functions are a key element of the role:
  • Problem solving: identifies and resolves problems in a timely manner and gathers and analyzes information skillfully
  • Interpersonal Skills: maintains confidentiality, remains open to others’ ideas and exhibits willingness to try new things. Cross-trains with other roles in order to expand skillset of self and others.
  • Oral communication: speaks clearly and persuasively in positive or negative situations, demonstrates group presentation skills and conducts meetings.
  • Written Communication: edits work for spelling and grammar, presents numerical data effectively and is able to read and interpret written information.
  • Planning/organizing: prioritizes and plans work activities, uses time efficiently and develops realistic action plans.
  • Quality control: demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness and monitors own work to ensure quality. Ensures technical deliverables are provided to customers within time and quality expectations.
  • Adaptability: adapts to changes in the work environment, manages competing demands and is able to deal with frequent change, delays or unexpected events.
  • Dependability: consistently at work, follows instructions, responds to management direction and solicits feedback to improve performance.
  • Safety and security: actively promotes and personally observes safety and security procedures, and uses equipment and materials properly.

The Chief Mine Engineer is responsible for direct supervision of entry level to senior engineers, summer interns, and the surveying group. In addition, a key component of this role includes informal mentoring, training and technical leadership of the mine department.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience Requirements
  • B.S. in Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, or equivalent degree.
  • 8 yearsof engineering experience required in a mining or heavy industrial environment
  • Professional Engineer (PE) licensure preferred
  • Supervisory experience preferred

Technical Competencies

Extensive experience and expert-level capabilities with any of the following skillsets:
  • Underground mine planning software including Deswik, AutoCAD, VentSim, ShotPlus
  • Underground surveying techniques
  • Ground support techniques and geotechnical modeling
  • Mine ventilation, dewatering, compressed air and electrical systems
  • Project management techniques
  • Autonomous mining equipment, centralized blasting systems and underground WiFi networks
  • Mine costing and financial analysis techniques to explain variances, evaluate projects and prioritize allocation of resources
PERSONAL & LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES

The following competencies are required:

Behavioral Skills
  • Organizational/planning skills will be necessary to organize, schedule and prioritize work activities to manage time effectively and ensure timely completion of projects, programs, and objectives.
  • Analytical and statistical skills are needed to evaluate opportunities for process improvement or optimization, process or quality trends.
  • Interpersonal skills are necessary in order to facilitate teamwork while working with internal and external contacts.
  • Self-motivation and initiative is necessary to insure that the work progresses independent of supervision. Being a self-starter is essential.
  • Communications skills are necessary to ensure excellence in verbal and written communications, and effectively interact with associates at all levels of the organization as well as external contacts.
  • Administrative skills are required to manage paperwork, meet reporting requirements, and oversee various systems.
  • Detail-orientation and ability to multi-task.
  • Planning skills are needed to ensure the timely completion of programs and objectives.
  • Knowledge of safety, health and environmental methods, rules, regulations and procedures, and related behavioral competencies.
  • Knowledge of developing technology, preferably specific knowledge of the mineral/metals business.

Language Skills

Ability to read and interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively to employees of the organization.

Mathematical Skills

Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret bar graphs.

Reasoning Abilities

Good decision making skills, working with limited oversight based on conceptual end goals.

Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations. Ability to deal with ambiguity, incomplete information. Ability to prioritize based on conflicting criteria.

Other Qualifications

ATF possessor’s clearance required.

Must complete MSHA 40-hour training or provide 5000-23 documentation of completed training.

Must pass pre-employment physical and drug screen.


Physical Demands


While performing the duties of this job, employees may be frequently required to stand, walk, or sit for extended periods of time; use hand and fingers to handle or feel; reach with hands and arms; climb and balance; stoop, kneel, crouch, and crawl. The employee must be able to talk and hear.

Other Physical Demands

Vision - Constant:
  • Able to judge distances and spatial relationships to avoid accidents while driving and walking underground
  • Have clarity of vision while operating machinery, reading gauges, and placing tools
  • Have clarity of vision for distances while navigating within the mine and access roads efficiently and safely
  • Able to adjust varying points of reference while safely navigating the terrain, maintaining awareness of traffic, and operating tools and machinery
  • Able to identify vehicles, machinery, and people in peripheral vision

Speaking - Occasional:

  • Able to clearly communicate with co-workers and supervisors on the radio and in person
Hearing - Occasional:

  • Must wear hearing protection while working in the mine


Work Environment & Job Schedule
Employees may be frequently exposed to underground work environments; outside weather conditions, wet and/or humid conditions; extreme cold, extreme heat, potentially hazardous wildlife; moving mechanical parts; high precarious places; fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals; risk of electrical shock; explosives and vibration. The noise level in most work environments is usually very loud. This position may occasionally require work on nights or weekends.

The intended regular work schedule for this position is four days on, three days off (4/3) with daily transportation from the Auke Bay dock in Juneau. An eight day on, six day off (8/6) schedule may also be utilized depending on the needs of the operation.

ABOUT US

Greens Creek

The Greens Creek Mine, located on Admiralty Island, 18 miles south of Juneau, is an underground polymetallic mine employing approximately 425 people. The mine is owned and operated by Hecla Mining Company, headquartered in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Established in 1891, Hecla has a rich history as a distinguished and respected precious metals producer. Winner of numerous safety and environmental awards, Greens Creek is seeking new team members committed to professional growth and success.



Community

Juneau, Alaska's capital, is the third largest city in the state. Like Alaska, Juneau is full of contrasts, a sophisticated cosmopolitan city in the heart of the Tongass National Forest. Nestled at the base of mountains overlooking the Gastineau Channel, Juneau is surrounded by intercoastal waterways, lush rain forests, rugged mountainsides, and awe-inspiring glaciers. This small city has it all, the adventure of the "last frontier" as well as a good education system, year-round cultural and sports activities, a wide variety of entertainment, world class fishing and wildlife viewing, temperate weather, and a strong sense of community. Juneau is rich in mining history and Greens Creek is proud to contribute to that heritage by operating in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.



Compensation & Benefits

Hecla Greens Creek offers competitive pay based on experience and an excellent low-cost benefits package for medical, prescription, dental, and vision insurance as well as other coverages such as disability coverage and life insurance. Retirement benefits include a pension plan and 401(k) with company match.

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