Chief Mining Engineer – Gunnison Copper Project
Position Title
Chief Mining Engineer
Reports To
Senior Vice President, Projects
Dotted-Line Reporting Relationship
JCM Mine Manager
Location
Phoenix, Arizona HQ office with frequent travel to JCM mine site. In-Office position
Position Summary
The Chief Mining Engineer is responsible for leading the mining engineering strategy, optimization, and technical development of the Gunnison Copper Project. Reporting directly to the Senior Vice President, Projects, the role serves as the senior mining engineering authority for mine planning, pit optimization, mine design, production forecasting, technical studies, and life-of-mine planning. This is a hands -on role.
The primary focus of the role is maximizing the value, efficiency, and long-term performance of the Gunnison Copper Project through rigorous technical analysis, project optimization, and integration of mining, heap leach, and SXEW operations. The Chief Mining Engineer will lead mining engineering inputs to project execution, expansion planning, economic evaluations, and operational readiness activities while ensuring alignment with corporate objectives and project development milestones.
The position maintains a collaborative dotted-line relationship with the JCM Mine Manager to ensure consistency of technical standards and sharing of operational knowledge across Gunnison Copper assets.
Key Responsibilities
Gunnison Project Optimization & Value Creation
- Lead continuous optimization of the Gunnison Copper Project mine plan, production strategy, and development sequencing.
- Identify opportunities to increase project value through pit optimization, mine scheduling, production improvements, operating cost reductions, and capital efficiency initiatives.
- Evaluate trade-offs between mining, heap leach, and SXEW operations to maximize overall project economics.
- Develop and maintain economic models supporting project optimization and strategic decision-making.
- Lead technical evaluations of alternative mine plans, production scenarios, expansion opportunities, and development strategies.
- Support executive decision-making through quantitative analysis and technical recommendations.
Mine Planning & Design
- Develop and maintain strategic mine plans, annual plans, and life-of-mine schedules.
- Lead pit optimization, phase design, pushback development, and mine sequencing activities.
- Ensure mine plans support production objectives, processing requirements, and business goals.
- Coordinate mine planning activities with geology, metallurgy, processing, environmental, and project teams.
- Manage updates to mine planning assumptions and optimization parameters.
Technical Studies & Project Development
- Lead mining engineering components of prefeasibility, feasibility, expansion, and execution-stage studies.
- Support development of technical work programs and engineering studies required for project advancement.
- Manage external mining consultants and technical advisors.
- Review and validate engineering studies, technical reports, and economic evaluations.
- Support future project expansion opportunities and long-range development planning.
Mine-to-Process Integration
- Work closely with metallurgy, process engineering, and operations teams to optimize the integration of mining activities with heap leach and SXEW facilities.
- Evaluate ore delivery strategies, blending opportunities, and leach pad utilization.
- Support initiatives to improve copper recovery, operating efficiency, and project economics.
- Ensure mine plans support processing requirements and long-term production objectives.
Operational Readiness & Transition to Operations
- Support development of operating plans, production forecasts, and technical systems required for future operations.
- Assist in establishing mine planning processes, technical standards, and performance metrics.
- Provide technical leadership during project execution and commissioning phases.
- Ensure mine planning systems and technical support structures are established to support sustainable operations.
Resource & Reserve Management
- Support resource model updates, reserve estimation activities, and reconciliation programs.
- Ensure mine plans accurately reflect current geological interpretations and economic assumptions.
- Participate in technical reviews and reserve reporting activities.
- Support preparation of technical disclosures and regulatory reporting requirements.
Technical Leadership
- Serve as the senior mining engineering authority for the Gunnison Copper Project.
- Establish and maintain mining engineering standards, procedures, and best practices.
- Mentor and support mine planning and technical services personnel.
- Foster a culture of technical excellence, innovation, and continuous improvement.
- Provide technical leadership across multidisciplinary project teams.
JCM Technical Support
- Maintain alignment with the JCM Mine Manager on mine planning standards, operational lessons learned, and technical best practices.
- Provide technical review and support for strategic mine planning initiatives as required.
- Facilitate knowledge transfer between operating and development assets.
Success Measures
- Demonstrated increases in Gunnison Copper Project value through optimization initiatives.
- Achievement of key project development and technical study milestones.
- Improvement in project economics, operating cost assumptions, and production forecasts.
- Delivery of robust life-of-mine plans and development schedules.
- Successful integration of mine planning with heap leach and SXEW operations.
- Effective support of project execution, expansion planning, and operational readiness.
- Development of technically sound and economically optimized mining strategies.
Education
- Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering from an accredited university is required.
- Professional Engineer (P.Eng. or P.E.) designation, or eligibility to obtain registration, is preferred.
- Master's degree in Mining Engineering, Mineral Economics, Geotechnical Engineering, or a related discipline is considered an asset.
Experience
- Minimum 15 years of progressive mining engineering experience, including significant experience in open-pit mining operations and project development.
- Minimum 5 years in a senior technical leadership, chief engineer, technical services manager, or similar role.
- Demonstrated experience in mine planning, pit optimization, production scheduling, and life-of-mine planning.
- Experience supporting prefeasibility studies, feasibility studies, project execution, mine expansions, and operational readiness programs.
- Experience with copper mining operations, including heap leach and SXEW processing environments, is strongly preferred.
- Experience managing multidisciplinary technical teams, consultants, and engineering studies.
- Demonstrated ability to evaluate and improve project economics through mine optimization and operational improvement initiatives.
Technical Knowledge & Skills
- Advanced knowledge of open-pit mine design, mine planning, scheduling, and optimization principles.
- Strong understanding of mining economics, capital planning, and value optimization methodologies.
- Experience with resource and reserve estimation processes and mine reconciliation practices.
- Familiarity with heap leach operations and mine-to-process optimization strategies.
- Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.
- Excellent technical report writing, presentation, and communication skills.
- Ability to translate complex technical concepts into actionable business recommendations.
Software Proficiency
Experience with one or more of the following is preferred:
- Deswik
- Vulcan
- MineSight
- Whittle
- Leapfrog
- AutoCAD
- Microsoft Project
- Power BI
- Advanced Microsoft Excel modeling and data analysis tools
