Strata Control Officer – UG at Tharisa

Purpose of Role

• To provide strata control services and support as well as implement and apply strata control measures within the assigned area of the business to support the safety and stability of the underground mining operations. To monitor and assess ground conditions, providing recommendations and implementing measures to prevent rockfalls, collapses and other hazards in the mining environment. 

Role Context

Strata Control

• Geotechnical data collection such as mapping, logging and sample testing. Review basic analyses and interpretation of geotechnical data. Assess and define the geotechnical environment.
• Design the mine’s local support, optimally locate or site regional, barrier and bracket pillars.
• Design protection pillars or suitable protection strategy to ensure that safety and stability of mine accesses and exits.
• Design excavation layouts in accordance with good rock engineering practice guidelines for different mining activities and scenarios e.g. shaft sinking, development and stoping.
• Design support system and specify support units for different mining activities and scenarios e.g. shaft sinking, development and stoping.
• For Special Areas, advise mining regarding the prescription of additional measures to reduce the level of rock-related risk.
• Participate and provide specialist input in all planning meetings, based on sound geotechnical principles and relevant geotechnical data.
• Keep abreast of advances in technology, manage investigations and trials of relevant new technology.
• As part of the Drafting / Revision Committee, assist with the compilation and / or updating of the MCOP, as well as assist with the compilation and / or revision of ground control-related standards and procedures.
• Where applicable, manage the activities, outputs, performance and career development of junior Rock Engineering staff within area of responsibility.
• Communicate with production and other service department staff, both verbally and by means of comprehensive written reports.
• Design and implement monitoring and instrumentation systems and processes to monitor rock mass behaviour and support performance, analyse results and issue appropriate recommendations.
• Provide on-the-job coaching to workers and supervisors in the workplace during underground visits.
• Where applicable, manage and coordinate the workload and work output of specialist geotechnical contractors.
• Provide geotechnical awareness coaching to production and service department personnel.
• Assist training personnel with compilation of appropriate strata control-related training for different levels of mine staff.
• Implement and manage on-mine support quality assurance programme.
• Develop and manage departmental procedures and maintain relevant administrative and filing systems.
• Align department’s functional strategy with company’s business strategy.
• Maintain monitoring, recording and reporting systems which will ensure that relevant information is timeously provided to the planning and production departments.
• Analyse investigation results and statistics relating to company-wide rock-related accidents and incidents. 
• Keep abreast of and advise management and geotechnical staff of advances in technology, leading practice and new processes, initiate and monitor investigations and trials of relevant new technology, practices and processes.
• Conduct TARP inspections, update and maintain TARP data.

Process Optimisation

• Take part in the review and analysis of the effectiveness of operational strata control programmes, interventions, systems and processes, under guidance of the Rock Engineer, to optimise internal processes.
• Participate and provide geotechnical input into activities relating to the mining process including drilling patterns, blast designs, smooth wall blasting strategies, re-entry procedures, cleaning and support.
• Participate in the identification of defects and improvement opportunities through troubleshooting and fault-finding; implement continuous improvement interventions related to defects and opportunities identified.
• Monitor the impact of improvement interventions and record findings for analysis, to align operational strata control processes with guidelines and standards as well as operational plans and objectives.
• Recommend changes to policies, procedures and operating standards to ensure alignment with industry standards.

Reporting and Recordkeeping

• Compile reports detailing site inspections and share reports with the next shift’s personnel to enable information alignment and comparison.
• Update leading and lagging indicator reports on a monthly basis for month-end reporting.
• Collate information and compile the monthly report and weekly presentations, ensuring accurate representation of up-to-date data and information.
• Maintain data on databases, under guidance from the Rock Engineer, necessary for effective referencing and decision-making.
• Interpret data and compile reports and statistical summaries, with oversight from the Rock Engineer, to provide an information support service to Mineral Resource Management detailing the impact of identified risks or opportunities.
• Maintain effective administration and filing of departmental outputs to comply with legislative and company governance requirements, audit effectiveness of system in place and optimize if required.

Compliance, Risk and Safety

• Conduct frequent visits to the underground workings to assess ground conditions, rock stability and potential risks.
• Identify and stop unsafe work practices, reporting any safety related issues to the relevant authority, including the Safety Officer, for immediate rectification.
• Report hazardous situations identified during investigations to enable the development of preventative or reactive measures.
• Identify dominant hazards, identify geotechnical domains and classify Ground Control Districts (GCDs), develop design and control strategies for GCDs.
• Make recommendations to increase the safety and productivity of the mining environment, ensuring the necessary actions are taken.
• Act, with authority from the Rock Engineer, in evacuating dangerous areas to maintain safe mining practices that adhere to standardisation requirements, policies, procedures and operating standards related to strata control services and support.
• Investigate incidents and accidents caused by rock related instability (falls of ground), as well as cases of changes in, or unusual, rock mass condition or behaviour and implement the necessary precautions to avoid re-occurrence.
• Monitor mine operations to maintain adherence to organisational best practices and legislative requirements related to operational strata control processes.
• Conduct baseline, continuous, issue-based and start-up assessments, re-opening or rehabilitation assessments and issue-based risk assessments as part of a cross-functional team and recommend control strategies.

Resource Management

• Determine resource needs within own area of responsibility to achieve individual role outcomes.
• Request required assets and resources for the fulfilment of work duties to attain quality work outputs.
• Use assets and resources optimally within own area of responsibility.

Stakeholder Relations

• Engage with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of specialisation, as directed by the Manager.
• Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.
• Provide coaching and advice to operational stakeholders related to strata control services and support aligned to best practices.
• Build competencies through support, on-the-job coaching and participation in training and development initiatives.

Job Requirements
Qualifications:

• Chamber of Mines Strata Control Certificate
• BSc (Honours) or BTech in Geology or Engineering Geology / Mining/Civil or Geotechnical Engineering

Job-specific experience:

• At least ten (10) years’ experience as a Strata Control Officer in hard rock mining with five (5) years’ experience in bord and pillar trackless mining environment within the Bushveld Complex.
• Knowledge of numerical modelling tools is an added advantage