Underground Contractor Coordinator

Rio Tinto; Superior (AZ); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401k matching

Paid time off

Employee share program

Job summary

Rio Tinto is seeking four Underground Contractor Coordinators to support Resolution Copper’s underground operations near Superior, Arizona. You will coordinate contractor work groups to ensure safe, efficient execution of weekly and daily mine plans alongside experienced operations, planning, and technical teams.

Ideal candidates bring extensive underground mining experience, strong planning and communication skills, and the ability to influence multiple work crews without direct reporting

Qualifications

• Underground mining experience is essential.
• Experience coordinating multiple work groups in an underground setting.
• Strong planning, organizational, and communication abilities.
• Knowledge of mine safety systems and risk management practices.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate underground contractor activities to support daily/weekly mine plans.
• Monitor progress, identify deviations, and support recovery actions.
• Communicate priorities, risks and constraints with contractors and planning teams.
• Conduct regular underground inspections for safety and quality.
• Support look-ahead planning with materials, equipment and resources.
• Participate in shift handovers and planning meetings.
• Capture and escalate operational risks and issues.
• Contribute to continuous improvement in underground coordination.

Skills

Underground operations

Contractor coordination

Planning & scheduling

Communication skills

Safety & risk management

Prioritize under pressure

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Job description

• Join a leader in mining & metals and help shape one of North America’s most significant underground copper projects.
• Build your expertise coordinating complex underground activities while working alongside experienced operations, planning and technical teams.
• Work on an underground project near Superior, Arizona, with exposure to a large-scale mining development environment.

• Join a leader in mining & metals and help shape one of North America’s most significant underground copper projects.
• Build your expertise coordinating complex underground activities while working alongside experienced operations, planning and technical teams.
• Work on an underground project near Superior, Arizona, with exposure to a large-scale mining development environment.

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future. Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

About The Role

We are looking for 4 Underground Contractor Coordinators to help Resolution Copper deliver safe, efficient and well-coordinated underground operations. In this role, you will contribute to the successful execution of weekly and daily mine plans by coordinating contractor work groups, aligning operational priorities and ensuring underground activities are completed safely and effectively. This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys working in a dynamic underground mining environment and wants to influence operational performance on a major copper project.

What You’ll Be Doing

Reporting to the Shift Supervisor and working in a collaborative operational environment within Underground Operations, you will be

• Coordinating underground contractor activities to support safe execution of daily and weekly mine plans.
• Monitoring progress against plan, identify deviations and support recovery actions to maintain operational targets.
• Communicate changing priorities, risks and constraints with contractor supervisors, planning teams and technical stakeholders.
• Conducting regular underground inspections to verify work quality, safety compliance and readiness of work fronts.
• Supporting daily, weekly and look-ahead planning processes by aligning materials, equipment, permits and resources.
• Participating in shift handovers and operational planning meetings to maintain continuity between teams.
• Capturing and escalating operational risks, opportunities and emerging issues that could affect execution.
• Contributing to continuous improvement initiatives that enhance underground coordination and operational performance.

About You

• High school diploma or equivalent (technical or trade qualifications desirable)
• Valid driver’s license
• Extensive experience in underground mining operations.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating multiple work groups in an underground environment.
• Strong understanding of mine development, production, services, and underground infrastructure activities.
• Ability to effectively influence and coordinate contractor workforces without direct reporting authority.
• Strong planning and organizational skills.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to manage competing priorities in a dynamic operational environment.
• Strong understanding of mine safety systems and risk management practices.

Preferred

• Supervisory or coordination experience in underground mining.
• Experience working in owner-contractor operational models.
• Familiarity with short-interval control and execution management processes.
• Understanding of mine planning and scheduling systems.

What We Offer

We are committed to providing our employees with a generous benefits package. Be recognized for your contribution, your thinking, your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress, we provide

• A safety-focused and inclusive working environment
• Advantageous salary package with annual cash incentive awards (STIP) for eligible employees
• Access to top-tier family-friendly health programs including medical, prescription drug, dental, vision, life insurance coverage, and various voluntary benefits.
• Excellent retirement plan including up to 6% defined company contribution; Generous 401k matching program
• Generous Rio Tinto employee share program, which allows you to purchase Rio Tinto Company shares.
• Comprehensive leave policies which cover all moments that matter in life PTO (paid time off), paid holidays, and paid bereavement leave.
• A favorable child-caregiver leave program (Up to 100% salary top-up)
• Discount programs for leisure purposes and access to Virgin Pulse with incentives supporting your wellbeing
• Ongoing Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for you and your family; to help in addressing educational opportunities, addiction treatment, depression, stress, domestic issues, financial management, and legal concerns.
• Our team and industry experts are here to support and work with you to explore your learning potential and career goals

Where you will be working

You will be joining Resolution Copper at a pivotal moment in the project’s history. With the Resolution Copper Land Exchange now complete, the project is advancing its next phase of technical work, community engagement, and state permitting activities.

Resolution Copper has the potential to supply nearly 25% of total U.S. copper demand and generate several thousand direct and indirect jobs in the Pioneer Mining District of Arizona, delivering an economic value of several billion dollars over the life of the mine. The project will rely on block caving, a proven underground mining method that uses gravity to extract ore from a deposit located more than 2,000 meters below the surface. This technique is the most viable way to safely and efficiently recover the resource.

As development continues, Resolution Copper will expand its underground operations, conduct extensive drilling and orebody characterization, and maintain both the permitting process and ongoing public engagement with Native American tribes, local communities, and stakeholders.

The Resolution Copper project is vital to securing America’s energy future, infrastructure needs, and national defense by providing a domestic supply of copper and other critical minerals. Once operational, it has the potential to become one of the largest copper mines in the United States, contribute approximately $1 billion annually to Arizona’s economy, and create thousands of local jobs in a region with more than a century‑long mining heritage.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win‑win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

Rio Tinto is committed to equal employment opportunity. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel safe, respected and valued. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome but are essential to our success. We treat all our people fairly and with dignity.

Rio Tinto participates in E- Verify to confirm work authorization. Please visit http //www.ucis.gov/ for more information.