Lead Mine Surveyor

Lead Mine Surveyor Mining Operations

Location: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Experience: 20+ Years
Commodities: Iron Ore | Copper | Bauxite | Gold
Employment: Full-time
Reporting To: Head of Mining / Mine Manager / Technical Services Manager

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Lead Mine Surveyor with 20+ years of comprehensive mining survey experience across open-pit and/or underground mining operations.

The successful candidate will be responsible for leading all mine surveying activities, establishing survey control networks, supporting mine development and production, monitoring excavation and stockpiles, and ensuring accurate survey data for mine planning, reconciliation and resource management.

Experience across iron ore, copper, bauxite and gold mining operations will be highly advantageous, particularly experience in large-scale African mining projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and manage the Mine Surveying Department and survey teams.
• Establish, maintain and periodically verify primary and secondary survey control networks across the mining operation.
• Conduct accurate surveys for:
• Open-pit development
• Pit limits and benches
• Drill patterns
• Blast areas
• Haul roads and ramps
• Dumps and stockpiles
• ROM pads
• Ore/waste boundaries
• Tailings and infrastructure
• Provide accurate survey information to Mine Planning, Geology, Grade Control and Production teams.
• Carry out set-out and as-built surveys for mining and civil works.
• Monitor pit walls, benches, ramps and other mine infrastructure for compliance with approved designs.
• Conduct volumetric surveys of ore, waste dumps, stockpiles and ROM inventories.
• Support monthly/quarterly production measurement and mine-to-plan reconciliation.
• Provide survey inputs for mine planning, reserve depletion and production reporting.
• Work closely with Geology on grade-control and ore boundary surveys.
• Support drilling and blasting teams with accurate drill-hole and blast-pattern positioning.
• Ensure survey data is properly captured, checked, processed, archived and integrated with the mine database.
• Prepare survey plans, sections, volume calculations and technical reports.
• Review and approve survey deliverables produced by survey contractors.
• Maintain survey equipment, calibration records and survey standards.
• Establish appropriate survey QA/QC procedures and ensure compliance.
• Train, coach and develop national and expatriate survey personnel.
• Ensure all surveying activities comply with mine HSE standards and applicable regulations.

Technology & Survey Equipment

Strong practical experience with modern mine surveying technologies, including:

• Total Stations
• GNSS / RTK GPS
• Digital levels
• Robotic total stations
• Drone/UAV photogrammetry
• LiDAR / laser scanning
• 3D terrain modelling
• Machine guidance systems
• Survey data management and CAD systems

Experience with relevant software such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Surpac, MineSight, Vulcan, Datamine, Deswik, Maptek or equivalent is desirable.

Mining Experience

Candidates should ideally have extensive experience in one or more of the following:

• Copper mining
• Gold mining
• Iron ore mining
• Bauxite / aluminium ore mining

Experience covering multiple commodities will be strongly preferred.

Experience with large-scale open-pit mining operations is particularly desirable. Underground mine surveying experience would be an additional advantage.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or diploma in Mine Surveying, Surveying, Geomatics, Geomatics Engineering or a related discipline.
• Professional surveying/mine surveying certification or registration where applicable.
• 20+ years of relevant mining survey experience.
• Previous experience in Africa, particularly the DRC/Central African region, is highly desirable.

Essential Technical Competencies

• Advanced knowledge of mine surveying principles and practices.
• Strong understanding of mine coordinate systems, datums, projections and survey control.
• High-level capability in surface and/or underground mine surveying.
• Strong knowledge of volume calculations and stockpile measurement.
• Experience supporting mine planning and production reconciliation.
• Ability to interpret engineering drawings, geological models and mine designs.
• Strong understanding of survey accuracy, error analysis and QA/QC.
• Experience integrating survey data with geological and mine-planning systems.

Leadership Requirements

The Lead Mine Surveyor will be expected to:

• Lead a multidisciplinary survey team.
• Plan survey resources and daily/weekly work programs.
• Establish survey procedures and technical standards.
• Review and validate survey outputs.
• Mentor junior and national surveyors.
• Coordinate effectively with Mining, Geology, Engineering, Geotechnical, Processing and HSE departments.
• Communicate survey findings clearly to Mine Management and Technical Services.

Candidate Profile

Must Have:

• 20+ years of mining survey experience.
• Strong open-pit mining survey background.
• Proven experience leading survey teams.
• Experience with modern GNSS/RTK and total-station systems.
• Strong CAD and mine-survey software skills.
• Experience with production surveys, stockpile volumes and mine reconciliation.
• Strong technical reporting and communication skills.

Preferred:

• DRC or broader African mining experience.
• Experience across copper, gold, iron ore and/or bauxite.
• Large-scale open-pit mine experience.
• UAV/drone survey and LiDAR experience.
• Experience with Surpac, Vulcan, Deswik, MineSight, Datamine or similar platforms.
• Experience working with international mining companies and multicultural teams.

Key Performance Areas

• Accuracy and reliability of mine survey data.
• Timely delivery of production and planning surveys.
• Integrity of survey control networks.
• Accurate measurement of ore, waste and stockpiles.
• Effective mine-to-plan reconciliation.
• Compliance with mine design and survey standards.
• Survey team productivity and capability development.
• Compliance with HSE requirements.

Reporting Structure

Reports to: Head of Mining / Mine Manager / Technical Services Manager

Interfaces with: Mine Planning | Geology | Grade Control | Drill & Blast | Production | Geotechnical | Engineering | Processing | HSE