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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Underground Operations Manager

💰 $90,000 - $160,000

MiningUnderground OperationsTechnical ManagementSafety

🎯 Role Definition

The Underground Operations Manager is responsible for planning, coordinating and supervising all underground activities to achieve safe, efficient, and cost-effective production or tunneling delivery. This role owns operational performance metrics (safety, production, cost, quality), leads frontline and technical teams, manages contractors, and ensures compliance with legal and company standards for ground control, ventilation, blasting, and equipment maintenance. The position requires strong operational leadership, technical knowledge of underground systems, and the ability to translate strategy into daily execution while continuously improving processes.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Underground Shift Supervisor / Mine Supervisor
  • Senior Mining Engineer / Tunnelling Engineer
  • Maintenance Superintendent (Underground)

Advancement To:

  • General Manager — Underground Operations
  • Director of Mining / Director of Tunnelling
  • Vice President, Operations (Mining or Civil Infrastructure)

Lateral Moves:

  • Asset Manager / Site Manager
  • Geotechnical Manager
  • Safety & Risk Director (Mining or Construction)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead end-to-end underground operations: plan, schedule, and execute ore/tunnel development, production mining and service activities to meet monthly, quarterly and annual production plans while maintaining strict adherence to safety, environmental and regulatory requirements.
  • Develop and implement site-specific safe work systems and underground standard operating procedures (SOPs) including permits to work, critical control plans, and emergency response procedures to reduce incidents and ensure regulatory compliance.
  • Own and optimize the underground production plan and resource allocation (people, fleets, explosives, materials) to maximize productivity and minimize cost per tonne/meter while maintaining required dilution and ore recovery targets.
  • Provide strong visible leadership for safety and health programs underground including risk assessments, hazard registers, incident investigations, root-cause analyses, and corrective/preventive action tracking until closure.
  • Manage and coordinate ground control programs: design and execute support patterns, bolting schedules, shotcrete and mesh application, and backfill strategies in collaboration with geotechnical engineers to ensure stability and miners’ safety.
  • Oversee ventilation systems and control programs: ensure adequate airflow, gas monitoring, refrigeration, and ventilation modeling to maintain regulatory standards and worker comfort; coordinate ventilation changes with production schedules.
  • Direct shaft, winze, raiseboring, and development works including drill and blast programs, scaling, mucking, and ground support installation to achieve development meters targets and project milestones.
  • Supervise the maintenance strategy for underground mobile and fixed plant fleets, including preventative and predictive maintenance planning, spare parts control, and optimization of equipment availability and reliability metrics.
  • Manage contractor and subcontractor performance underground: scope work, tender and award contracts, set performance KPIs, lead pre-start meetings, and ensure contractual compliance with safety and quality standards.
  • Implement continuous improvement initiatives such as mechanization projects, automation pilots, production analytics, and Lean/6-Sigma practices to drive efficiency, reduce cycle times and lower operating costs.
  • Control underground inventory and logistics: manage magazines, explosives handling and storage, materials staging, underground supply chains, and hoisting/logistics to support uninterrupted operations.
  • Ensure compliance with local, state/provincial, and federal mining codes and environmental regulations; prepare and maintain accurate records, reports and permits for audits and inspections.
  • Prepare and manage the underground operations budget, forecasts and cost-control initiatives; report performance against budget and implement action plans for variances.
  • Lead cross-functional planning with geology, metallurgy, planning and surface operations to optimize grade control, mine sequencing, and processing plant feed schedules.
  • Recruit, develop and coach frontline supervisors, shift crews, tradespeople and support staff; establish competency matrices, training plans and succession pipelines for critical underground roles.
  • Drive effective communication practices: facilitate shift handovers, pre-shift meetings, toolbox talks and stakeholder briefings to ensure operational transparency and alignment.
  • Lead emergency response teams for underground incidents including rescue exercises, incident command, and coordination with external emergency services where required.
  • Monitor and report operational KPIs including tonnes mined, development meters, equipment utilization, downtime, safety leading/lagging indicators and environmental performance; use data to inform decisions.
  • Facilitate capital projects and minor works underground: feasibility input, scope development, risk assessments, contractor oversight and commissioning of new infrastructure or equipment.
  • Champion cultural change initiatives promoting safety, operational discipline, and continuous improvement; embed desired behaviors through coaching, recognition and accountability frameworks.
  • Oversee mine-to-market quality controls: ensure ore handling, sampling, and dispatch protocols preserve product quality and meet contractual obligations.
  • Manage industrial relations and workforce engagement underground including shift rostering, fatigue management, performance management and union/employee representative interactions.
  • Coordinate groundwater control and dewatering programs, in situ water treatment and sump management to protect underground works and ensure environmental compliance.
  • Support business continuity planning by developing contingency plans for power loss, ventilation failures, or major ground control events that could impact underground production.

Secondary Functions

  • Support cross-functional data analytics initiatives by providing operational input and validating underground production and maintenance datasets.
  • Contribute to the site’s strategic mine plan by providing operational constraints and improvement potential for long-term sequencing and capital allocation.
  • Collaborate with procurement to evaluate and deploy new underground technologies and equipment, including telematics, remote operation and mechanized mining systems.
  • Participate in safety committees, management reviews and external regulatory inspections, preparing documentation and presenting operational performance updates.
  • Mentor junior engineers and supervisors through on-the-job training, technical reviews and formal competency development programs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Underground mining/tunneling operational management: development, production, and servicing of underground workings.
  • Ground control engineering fundamentals: rock mechanics, support design, bolting, shotcrete and backfill systems.
  • Ventilation engineering awareness: airflow design, gas monitoring, and ventilation controls.
  • Drill and blast planning and explosives handling; blasting design, timing and sequencing for efficient mucking and fragmentation control.
  • Fleet and plant maintenance management: CMMS experience, preventative/predictive maintenance, downtime analysis and spare parts optimization.
  • Mine planning and scheduling: short-term mine plans, daily production plans, and integration with mine planning software (e.g., Deswik, Minemax, Vulcan, Datamine).
  • Safety management systems: risk assessment, permit-to-work systems, incident investigation and regulatory reporting.
  • Contract and stakeholder management: tendering, KPI management, contractor supervision and performance auditing.
  • Budgeting and cost control: operational budgeting, forecasting and variance analysis.
  • Regulatory compliance: mining legislation, environmental permitting, occupational health and safety standards.
  • Emergency response and rescue procedures for underground incidents; familiarity with mine rescue equipment and training.
  • Ventilation and environmental monitoring systems: gas detectors, dust monitoring and refrigeration systems.
  • Data-driven performance management: familiarity with KPI dashboards, telemetry, telematics and production analytics.
  • Project management for capital and improvement works including scope, schedule, risk and commissioning.

Soft Skills

  • Strong leadership and people management: inspire frontline teams, develop supervisors and build high-performance crews.
  • Excellent communication: concise reporting, clear shift handovers, and effective stakeholder engagement with unions, regulators and contractors.
  • Problem-solving and decision-making under pressure: prioritize actions and make sound operational trade-offs in dynamic underground environments.
  • Coaching and mentoring: develop staff technical competency and safety culture through coaching and structured training.
  • Conflict resolution and industrial relations acumen to work constructively with a diverse workforce and unionized environments.
  • Analytical mindset: interpret operational data to drive continuous improvement and root-cause solutions.
  • Resilience and adaptability: manage change, shift patterns and operational disruptions with composure.
  • Attention to safety culture and behavioral leadership to embed safe practices daily.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering, Geological Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering or equivalent technical discipline; or extensive trade/operational experience with progressive leadership responsibility.

Preferred Education:

  • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mining Engineering, Mining Technology, Geotechnical Engineering, or related field.
  • Certifications in Mine Management, NEBOSH/IOSH, or equivalent occupational safety credentials.
  • Formal training in Lean, Six Sigma, or Project Management (PMP/Prince2) considered an asset.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Mining Engineering
  • Geotechnical/Geological Engineering
  • Mechanical or Civil Engineering
  • Occupational Health & Safety

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 8–15+ years of progressive underground mining or tunneling experience, including at least 3–5 years in a leadership or supervisory role managing underground production and maintenance.

Preferred:

  • Proven track record managing underground operations in hard-rock mines or mechanized tunneling projects.
  • Experience with multinational mining companies or major civil tunneling contractors.
  • Demonstrated success in driving safety improvements, production ramp-ups, mechanization projects or cost reduction programs.
  • Prior experience managing unionized workforces, contractors, and multi-shift rosters is highly desirable.
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