Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Underground Operations Engineer

🎯 Role Definition

The Underground Operations Engineer is responsible for planning, coordinating and optimizing underground mining and tunnelling activities to deliver safe, efficient and predictable production. This role integrates operational planning, ground control, ventilation, fleet and equipment coordination, risk management and compliance with regulatory and environmental requirements. The successful candidate will work closely with mine planning, maintenance, geology, safety, and contractor teams to translate designs into operational sequences, drive continuous improvement, and achieve production, cost and safety targets.

Primary focus keywords: underground operations engineer, underground mining operations, ventilation management, ground control, mine planning, production optimization, safety compliance, mining software (Deswik, Vulcan, Surpac), Ventsim, fleet management.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Graduate Mining Engineer or Mining Engineering Intern
Underground Shift Supervisor or Deputy Mine Manager
Underground Mine Technician or Operations Coordinator

Advancement To:

Underground Operations Manager / Superintendent
Mine Manager or Site Operations Manager
Regional Underground Operations Lead or Head of Mining

Lateral Moves:

Mine Planning Engineer / Scheduling Engineer
Ventilation or Ground Control Engineer
Maintenance or Reliability Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the planning, scheduling and execution of daily, weekly and monthly underground production activities to meet tonnage, grade and cost targets while maintaining safety and environmental compliance.
Develop, implement and continuously improve short-term and medium-term underground development and production plans in coordination with mine planning and geology teams to optimize ore recovery and minimize dilution.
Create and maintain production schedules, shift rosters and resource allocations that synchronize equipment availability, workforce, contractors and materials for uninterrupted underground operations.
Supervise and coordinate underground development, stoping, backfill, and ore handling operations including load–haul–dump (LHD) fleets, trucks, conveyors, crushers and chutes to ensure efficient material flow and production continuity.
Oversee drilling and blasting programs underground, providing technical direction on blast design, burden/spacing, initiation systems and fragmentation optimization in collaboration with blasting specialists.
Manage ground support and rock mechanics programs, including face and rib support design, bolting, mesh, shotcrete applications and monitoring of deformation to prevent ground falls and ensure stability.
Design and maintain effective mine ventilation strategies, including Ventsim/Onsite modeling, monitoring of airflow, contaminant control, control of diesel particulate/fumes and ensuring compliance with regulatory ventilation standards.
Lead dewatering and sump/pump management strategies underground to control inflows, maintain safe working conditions and protect production schedules.
Monitor and manage equipment maintenance and availability in partnership with maintenance teams and contractors to maximize fleet reliability and reduce unscheduled downtime.
Implement and enforce mine health, safety and environmental standards, including hazard identification, risk assessments, pre-shift inspections, permit-to-work processes, and emergency response planning for underground settings.
Conduct operational risk assessments and initiate mitigation strategies for critical control points such as gas, water ingress, seismicity, ground instability and ventilation failures.
Coordinate grade control, sampling and ore control processes underground to validate ore boundaries, manage reconciliation, and support metallurgical and processing requirements.
Provide technical leadership for new infrastructure installations and modifications underground (ventilation raises, access drives, decline headings, conveyors, and services), ensuring designs are buildable and maintainable.
Manage contractor selection, scopes of work, performance monitoring and compliance for underground contractors undertaking development, rehabilitation, and specialist services.
Prepare and control operating budgets, forecasts and capital requirements for underground operations, driving productivity improvements and cost reduction initiatives.
Compile, analyze and report operational performance metrics and KPIs (tonnes, meters development, equipment utilization, cost per tonne, safety incidents) to site leadership and corporate stakeholders.
Drive continuous improvement initiatives using lean mining principles and data-driven problem solving to improve cycle times, equipment productivity, and material handling efficiency.
Integrate mine control systems, SCADA, telemetry and fleet management data into operational decision-making to improve responsiveness and reduce variability.
Champion training, mentoring and competency development for underground crews, ensuring operators and supervisors are competent in procedures, equipment use and safety standards.
Ensure compliance with all regulatory requirements, permits, and reporting obligations related to underground mining activities and maintain strong relationships with regulators and local communities where required.
Lead incident investigations, root cause analysis and corrective action tracking for underground incidents and near-misses to drive systemic improvements and prevent recurrence.
Implement and manage ventilation, gas monitoring and emergency refuge protocols, including maintenance of gas monitoring systems and training on refuge alternatives and evacuation procedures.
Coordinate interface management between surface and underground operations, ensuring timely supply of consumables, explosives, spare parts and workshop support.
Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs), work instructions and job safety analyses (JSAs) specific to underground tasks and ensure adherence at all shifts.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Support feasibility studies, prefeasibility and detailed design inputs for future underground projects.
Participate in technical audits, due diligence and operational readiness reviews for underground expansions.
Provide input to environmental management plans for subsurface works including contamination control and rehabilitation planning.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strong knowledge of underground mining methods (benching, cut-and-fill, room-and-pillar, block caving, longhole stoping) and practical experience implementing them.
Proficiency with mine planning and scheduling software such as Deswik, Vulcan, Surpac, MineSched or equivalent for short-term and medium-term planning.
Ventilation modelling and control experience using Ventsim, Ventsim CONTROL, MineVent or similar tools, including ventilation network analysis and degassing strategies.
Competence in ground control and rock mechanics principles, including design and specification of bolting, shotcrete, mesh, cable anchors and ground monitoring systems.
Experience with fleet management systems, telematics and production control systems (e.g., Wenco, Modular, Caterpillar MineStar) and integrating telematics data into performance dashboards.
Practical understanding of drilling and blasting design and the safe management of explosives underground.
Familiarity with underground dewatering systems, pump selection, sump design and water management strategies.
Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings, design packages, and to work with CAD/AutoCAD or similar drafting tools.
Strong competence in MS Excel (pivot tables, advanced formulas), data analysis, and experience with business intelligence tools (Power BI, Tableau) for KPI reporting.
Knowledge of SCADA, PLC fundamentals and use of monitoring systems for ventilation, pumping and critical plant control.
Understanding of health, safety and environmental legislation specific to underground mining and ability to implement compliance systems.
Experience with ore control processes, sampling protocols, and reconciliation procedures to support processing facilities.
Budgeting, cost control and project costing experience for operating and capital expenses in underground operations.

Soft Skills

Demonstrated leadership and team management skills with the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams and contractors in a high-risk environment.
Strong analytical and problem-solving capability with a data-driven approach to root cause analysis and continuous improvement.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills for clear handover, reporting and stakeholder engagement across technical and non-technical audiences.
Decision-making under pressure, with proven ability to prioritize tasks and manage competing operational demands.
Collaborative mindset and strong interpersonal skills to liaise with geology, processing, maintenance, safety and commercial teams.
High level of personal accountability, safety-first attitude and ability to champion a positive safety culture at all levels.
Adaptability and resilience to operate in variable underground conditions, shift work patterns and remote site environments.
Training and mentoring ability to develop operator competency and promote a culture of learning and knowledge sharing.
Project management skills including planning, scheduling, scope control and contractor performance management.
Commercial awareness and customer-focus orientation to balance production targets with cost, quality and regulatory obligations.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor of Science (BSc) or Bachelor of Engineering (BEng/Bachelor of Engineering Technology) in Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, Civil Engineering or related engineering discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MSc/MEng) in Mining Engineering, Rock Mechanics, Ventilation or related field, or professional certifications (e.g., Chartered Engineer, Registered Professional Engineer).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Mining Engineering
Geological Engineering
Civil/Structural Engineering (with mining focus)
Mechanical/Electrical Engineering (for equipment and systems focus)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–12 years of progressive experience in underground mining operations, including hands-on supervisory or engineering roles.

Preferred: 7+ years of focused underground operations experience with demonstrated leadership of teams, proven track record in production delivery, mine planning integration, ventilation and ground control, and experience with modern mine control and planning software.

Keywords to optimize for SEO and LLMs: underground operations engineer, underground mining, mine ventilation, ground control, mine planning, Deswik, Ventsim, Vulcan, production optimization, LHD, fleet management, mine safety, blasting, dewatering, ore control, underground supervisor.