Senior Drill & Blast Engineer - Underground - Fifo To Png

Porgera; Townsville City; Hybrid; AUD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

A mining company in Queensland is seeking a Senior Drill & Blast Engineer to manage underground drilling and blasting activities. This role requires strong leadership skills and at least five years' underground engineering experience. The position offers FIFO arrangements with a competitive remuneration package. You will work closely with a local team to enhance capabilities and promote a culture of safety and continuous improvement.

Qualifications

• Minimum five years of experience in underground drill and blast engineering.
• Experience with long-hole open-stoping in large, high-output operations.
• Demonstrated leadership and team development skills.

Responsibilities

• Ensure safe and efficient execution of drilling and blasting activities.
• Develop detailed stope design processes and drill and blast designs.
• Provide technical guidance and training to junior engineers and operators.

Skills

Underground drill and blast engineering

Safety management

Team leadership

Proficiency in Deswik

Proficiency in Scheduler

Proficiency in Ventsim

Education

Degree in mining engineering or related field

Job description

Senior Drill & Blast Engineer - Underground - FIFO to PNG

New Porgera Limited (NPL) is a company incorporated in Papua New Guinea and owns the Porgera Gold Mine in Enga Province. The Porgera Gold Mine will employ nearly 3,000 Papua New Guineans at full production, and over the last 30 years of its life it has contributed approximately 10% of Papua New Guinea's total annual exports.

About the role

As a Senior Drill & Blast Engineer – Underground at Porgera Operations you will be responsible for ensuring the safe and efficient execution of drilling and blasting activities in the underground gold mine. This includes developing a detailed stope design process and subsequent drill and blast designs that maximize recovery while minimizing dilution, reconciling mined plan versus actuals, identifying improvement areas, and driving cost‑saving initiatives. You will develop strong working relationships with planning, operations and geology teams to minimise disruptions and improve productivity, and provide technical guidance and training to junior engineers and operators to enhance overall team capability.

You will model safety behaviours, coach and develop your team, and work with them to assess and manage risk. The role requires a self‑starter with strong delivery skills, capable of coordinating your team to complete projects according to plan in a timely and safe manner within NPL’s complex environment.

About you

The ideal candidate possesses a degree in mining engineering or a related field and has at least five years’ experience in underground drill and blast engineering. Experience with long‑hole open‑stoping in large, high‑output underground operations is required, with at least three years of work in environments similar to the Porgera JV. Proficiency in Deswik, Scheduler and Ventsim is essential. You will demonstrate a "One Team" approach, providing effective leadership and development for your local team to reinforce NPL’s culture and values while maintaining a safe work environment. The position requires a high energy individual, a hands‑on management style and a desire to continuously improve your and your team’s knowledge, systems and methods of work.

Why New Porgera

Joining a world‑class mining operation offers the opportunity to impact the development and upskilling of a predominantly local workforce, while working within a team keen to learn and absorb knowledge. You will contribute to the development of a highly capable national workforce and help shape the department to improve NPL’s social performance.

Additional information

This role is offered on a FIFO basis either from Papua New Guinea, Australia or New Zealand with a roster on a contract basis and a highly competitive remuneration package. The advert will close on 24 November.