UG Drill and Blast Specialist RoW

UG Drill and Blast Specialist – RoW

Position Description

The Barrick RoW Team are seeking to recruit an experienced UG Drill and Blast Specialist – RoW.

The UG Drill and Blast Specialist – RoW is a regional technical specialist responsible for providing Drill and Blast governance, technical support, performance improvement and capability building across underground operations. The role will work closely with site and regional teams to standardise Drill and Blast practices, improve development and production outcomes, strengthen QAQC processes, optimise fragmentation and dilution control, and ensure safe, compliant and efficient underground mining operations across regional assets.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Actively encourage, motivate and demonstrate a culture of safety leadership.
• Build technical capability and standards:
  • Develop, maintain, and embed regional underground Drill and Blast standards, procedures and minimum technical requirements across development, production, and rehabilitation activities.
  • Provide specialist technical input into drill pattern design, charging practices, timing design, initiation systems, explosive selection, perimeter control, ground control considerations, and blast performance optimisation.
  • Conduct periodic site Drill and Blast reviews, audits, and gap assessments to measure compliance against regional standards, statutory requirements, mine plans and operational risk controls.
  • Establish and monitor Drill and Blast KPIs, including drilling accuracy, charge compliance, fragmentation, overbreak, dilution, misfires, rework, cycle time, advance per blast, cost per tonne and explosives consumption.
  • Lead post-blast analysis and reconciliation processes, including review of drilling data, blast outcomes, fragmentation results, survey information, and production performance to identify improvement opportunities.
  • Support site teams with root cause analysis and corrective actions for Drill and Blast performance issues, including poor fragmentation, excessive dilution, overbreak, underbreak, poor advance rates, blast damage, or unplanned ground conditions.
  • Provide technical support for underground mine planning and scheduling to ensure Drill and Blast assumptions, development rates, stope sequencing, and production targets are realistic, safe, and achievable.
  • Standardise Drill and Blast QAQC processes across sites, including design sign-off, drilling compliance checks, charge-up verification, blast clearance controls, explosives reconciliation and post-blast reporting.
  • Partner with site operations, technical services, geotechnical, ventilation, safety, maintenance, supply chain, and explosives contractor teams to ensure Drill and Blast activities are fully integrated into the operating plan.
  • Support the evaluation, selection and implementation of Drill and Blast software, digital tools, electronic initiation systems, drilling technologies, and continuous improvement initiatives.
  • Build Drill and Blast capability across regional sites through coaching, mentoring, technical training, communities of practice and structured knowledge sharing.
  • Develop regional Drill and Blast improvement roadmaps and support site teams in delivering measurable improvements in safety, productivity, cost, ore recovery, and operational discipline.
• Align site activities to the business plan and broader business goals. Provide governance for all UG operations that are realistic and achievable whilst driving performance improvements and exploring development opportunities. Assist in developing short term budgets and cash flow forecasts for the region.
• Manage the operational performance of sites. Provide technical guidance to the site and regional teams, spending time on ground and engaging regularly to track progress. Ensure optimal performance of underground operations whilst proactively addressing and overcoming potential obstacles. Promote safety standards across all operations, including contractors on site, in line with Barrick’s Journey to Zero Harm.
• Develop the capability of site leadership teams. Build a relationship of trust and respect, and proactively performance manage with feedback and interventions to drive individual and team performance. Provide career growth opportunities for leaders and ensure adequate succession planning is in place. 
• Act as a key interface between ExCo and underground sites. Update the RoW ExCo on a weekly basis, distilling important information and reporting on the sites’ UG technical performance against the business plan, including key challenges and necessary actions.
• Build and maintain Barrick’s License to Operate. Working closely with site GMs and Country Managers, drive engagements with host nation stakeholders, such as government agencies, local communities, and suppliers. Ensure awareness of differing requirements across all sites. Play a key role in the localisation of the workforce, bringing nationals through and managing their careers.
• Implement and sustain the ROW UG Mining Management Operating System (MOS):
  • Regional operational oversight to ensure underground mine plans capture, quantity and escalate where changes/variations are required, sign off to account for additional resource and cost requirements inclusive of Planning Risk reviews to ensure flexibility is there. 
  • Build flexibility into the mine plans, through quantifying risks and opportunities, and determining minimum KPI levels per site.
  • Standardise mining operational and cost models to track and forecast key business outputs efficiently and accurately to drive Group wide cost reduction initiatives. 
  • Build and roll out a more integrated weekly planning template (7+21) for all UG mines.

Qualification Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering.
• Professional registration with a recognised engineering or mining authority would be advantageous.
• Formal training, certification or demonstrated competency in underground Drill and Blast design, explosives management, blasting safety, electronic initiation systems or Drill and Blast software would be advantageous.

Experience and Skills Requirements

• Minimum 8 –10 years’ relevant underground mining experience, with strong exposure to mechanised hard-rock underground Drill and Blast operations.
• Demonstrated experience providing technical Drill and Blast support across multiple underground mine sites, preferably in a regional, group or corporate specialist capacity.
• Strong technical knowledge of underground development and production blasting, including drill pattern design, charging practices, initiation systems, explosive products, timing design, perimeter control and blast performance optimisation.
• Demonstrated expertise in Drill and Blast QAQC, including drilling accuracy, charge compliance, explosives reconciliation, blast sign-off, post-blast reporting and corrective action management.
• Experience analysing Drill and Blast performance data and translating insights into practical improvements in safety, productivity, fragmentation, dilution, overbreak, advance rates and cost performance.
• Strong understanding of underground mining methods, mine planning, geotechnical considerations, ventilation constraints, ground support interaction and production sequencing.
• Experience working with explosives contractors, OEMs, technology providers and site operational teams to improve Drill and Blast performance and ensure safe execution.
• Working knowledge of Drill and Blast software, mine planning tools, survey systems and digital mining platforms will be advantageous.
• Proven ability to influence, coach and support multidisciplinary site teams across a culturally diverse, multi-country regional environment.
• Strong safety leadership, communication, problem-solving, governance and stakeholder management skills.

What We Can Offer You

• A comprehensive compensation package including bonuses and site-specific benefits
• The ability to make a difference and lasting impact
• Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team
• Opportunities to grow and learn with the industry colleagues are endless
• Access to a variety of career opportunities across the organization
   

We are committed to a safe work environment sending every person home safe and healthy every day and leaving a sustainable legacy on our host communities.
 

Thank you for your application, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.