Mine Planner

Mariana Minerals; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Mariana Minerals in Houston, Texas, seeks a Senior Mine Planner to lead long-range mine planning and optimization across its portfolio of projects. You will define evaluation frameworks, sequencing, and capital-allocation standards to maximize value over time.

You will collaborate with geology, processing, infrastructure, and commercial teams, mentor junior planners, and help advance internal tools and best practices for efficient, rigorous planning.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering or related field; Master’s preferred.
• 5+ years of mine planning experience with long-range planning and optimization.
• Expertise in pit optimization, phase design, sequencing, and economic trade-offs.
• Proficient with Deswik, Whittle, Vulcan, MinePlan, Leapfrog.
• Experience evaluating multi-pit or multi-deposit projects.
• Ability to connect technical plans to capital decisions and value creation.
• Strong communication; capable as senior technical authority.
• Experience in fast-moving, project-driven or greenfield environments.
• PE (P.Eng) or eligible.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical mine planning input for project screening and portfolio decisions.
• Develop high-level mine concepts, production profiles, and sequencing options.
• Partner with geology, metallurgy, and commercial teams to evaluate trade-offs.
• Own and develop long-range mine plans that maximize NPV and strategic options.
• Perform multi-pit optimization, phase sequencing, and cutback strategies.
• Evaluate development strategies, mining rates, sequencing scenarios.
• Define company-wide standards for short-, medium-, and long-term planning.
• Establish consistent approaches to design, scheduling, and economic evaluation.
• Review mine plans to ensure rigor and alignment.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure fully integrated plans.
• Translate long-range plans into actionable frameworks for downstream teams.
• Serve as technical authority for mine planning decisions.
• Mentor and guide mine planners; contribute to internal tools and workflows.
• Stay current on best practices, software, and optimization techniques.

Skills

Mine planning

Long-range planning

Optimization

Strategic evaluation

Education

Mining Engineering degree

Master’s preferred

Tools

Deswik

Whittle

Vulcan

MinePlan

Leapfrog

Job description

About Mariana Minerals

Mariana Minerals is a software-first, vertically integrated minerals company on a mission to supply the critical minerals powering modern energy, AI, and defense technologies. We’re reimagining the minerals supply chain by combining deep industry expertise with advanced software, automation, and data-driven decision-making.

The Role

Mariana Minerals is looking for a highly motivated Senioe Mine Planner to lead strategic mine planning, opportunity evaluation, and long-range optimization across the company’s portfolio of mining projects. This role is responsible for defining how mines are evaluated, designed, sequenced, and optimized—from early-stage concept evaluation through life-of-mine planning.

In this role, you will own long-range mine planning and multi-pit optimization efforts, setting the technical and analytical foundation for capital allocation, project prioritization, and development strategy. You will establish company-wide standards and best practices for short-, medium-, and long-term mine planning, ensuring consistency, rigor, and decision-quality across all assets.

This is a senior technical leadership role that sits at the intersection of geology, mine engineering, economics, and corporate strategy. You will influence what projects get built, how they are sequenced, and how value is maximized over time.

What You’ll Do

Strategic Opportunity Evaluation

• Lead technical mine planning input for project screening, opportunity evaluation, and portfolio-level decision making

• Develop high-level mine concepts, production profiles, and sequencing options to support investment, acquisition, and development decisions

• Partner with geology, metallurgy, and commercial teams to evaluate trade-offs between scale, timing, risk, and value

Long-Range Mine Planning & Optimization

• Own and develop long-range (LOM) mine plans that maximize NPV, operational flexibility, and strategic optionality

• Perform multi-pit optimization, phase sequencing, and cutback strategy development across complex deposits

• Evaluate alternative development strategies, mining rates, and sequencing scenarios to support robust decision making

Enterprise Planning Standards & Governance

• Define and maintain company-wide standards, methodologies, and assumptions for short-, medium-, and long-term mine planning

• Establish consistent approaches to mine design, scheduling, economic evaluation, and scenario analysis across all projects

• Review and challenge mine plans produced by internal teams and external consultants to ensure technical rigor and alignment with company standards

Cross-Functional Integration

• Work closely with geology, geotechnical, processing, infrastructure, and operations teams to ensure mine plans are fully integrated and technically sound

• Translate long-range strategic plans into clear planning frameworks that downstream engineering and operations teams can execute against

• Serve as the technical authority for mine planning decisions across the organization

Technical Leadership & Capability Building

• Mentor and guide mine planners and engineers across the company, raising the overall quality and consistency of planning work

• Contribute to the development of internal tools, templates, and workflows that improve planning efficiency and decision quality

• Stay current on industry best practices, software, and optimization techniques, bringing new ideas into the organization

Desired Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering or a closely related field (Master’s preferred)

• 5+ years of mine planning experience, with a strong emphasis on long-range planning, optimization, and strategic evaluation

• Demonstrated expertise in pit optimization, phase design, sequencing, and economic trade-off analysis

• Strong proficiency with modern mine planning and optimization tools (e.g., Deswik, Whittle, Vulcan, MinePlan, Leapfrog)

• Experience evaluating complex, multi-pit or multi-deposit mining projects

• Ability to think at both the technical and strategic level, connecting mine plans to capital decisions and long-term value creation

• Strong communication skills and confidence operating as a senior technical authority

• Experience working in fast-moving, project-driven or greenfield environments

• Experience supporting early-stage studies (conceptual, PEA, PFS, FS) and corporate-level project evaluations

• Professional Engineer (P.Eng or equivalent), or eligibility

Our culture is built on three principles:

Extreme Ownership – We take full responsibility for outcomes, relentlessly driving toward solutions.

Engineer Out Requirements, then Automate – We simplify, optimize, and then automate for scale.

Share Your Legos – We collaborate openly, share knowledge, and empower each other to build bigger, better solutions.

Join us as we build the future of responsible mineral sourcing and supply.