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About the Senior Geotechnical Engineer Role

Maaden Barrick Copper Company (MBCC) is seeking a Senior Geotechnical Engineer to join its Mining team. This full-time position is based at the Jabal Sayid Mine Site, located in the Madinah Region of Saudi Arabia, specifically near Mahd Adh Dhahab and Medina. The role is integral to the Mining Department's function, which encompasses all short, medium, and long-term planning to ensure the mine meets its budgetary targets. This includes providing essential information to the mining contractor for crew, equipment, and daily scheduling, as well as tracking production to identify and address any issues preventing target achievement.

Key Responsibilities

• Inspect and document ground conditions and the quality of support installations in new development areas and existing mine workings.
• Verify the implementation and compliance of the scaling program.
• Install geotechnical instrumentation as required and maintain the seismic system.
• Contribute to short and long-term mine planning and design, ensuring adequate ground control measures are integrated.
• Update the Ground Control Management Plan annually.
• Conduct regular inspections as per the Ground Control Management Plan, identify and plan rehabilitation work, and maintain accurate records of ground conditions and support quality.
• Investigate and report on ground-related incidents, such as falls of ground, and develop corrective action plans.
• Produce the annual budget for the geotechnical department.
• Provide upskilling and mentorship to Geotechnical and Graduate Geotechnical Engineers.
• Ensure the Jabal Sayid Ground Management Plan is current and in effect.
• Maintain consistent updates of geotechnical databases.
• Ensure adherence to adequate QA/QC for ground support systems.

Technical Duties and Assessments

• Undertake and document geotechnical assessments for all existing and new development areas.
• Design and maintain up-to-date ground support standards appropriate for current ground conditions.
• Ensure geotechnical data is collected and the geotechnical block model is updated.
• Calibrate numerical models.
• Liaise with Planning and Production Engineers to ensure optimal stope sequencing and designs.
• Participate in ground control assessments for each stope, determining optimal stope size and pillar dimensions using empirical, numerical, and analytical methods.
• Reconcile stope performance to derive learnings and calibrate stability graphs/models as necessary.
• Conduct routine assessments of mine seismic hazard.
• Review and optimize geotechnical systems.
• Ensure all drill and blasting designs are approved and activated as agreed.
• Check stope and development plans for ground stability and integrity.
• Ensure stope overbreak is within the accepted range.
• Conduct annual stope risk assessments and sequence reviews.
• Ensure models and empirical tools are calibrated and available for use.

Qualifications and Experience

• Tertiary qualifications in Mining Engineering or Geomechanics.
• Membership in an internationally recognized professional association.
• A minimum of 5 to 10 years of relevant experience.
• Experience specifically in underground hard rock mining, Geotechnical Engineering, and Ground Control.
• Demonstrated experience in rockmass characterization, numerical modelling, empirical assessments, and ground support QA/QC.
• Proficiency with mine design and mine planning software, such as Deswik or similar.
• Familiarity with geotechnical software such as Unwedge, Dips, RS3, mXrap, Map3D, Leapfrog, or similar.
• Advanced skills in spreadsheet and presentation applications, word processing, and database applications.