Chief Mine Planning Engineer

About the role

We are seeking a Chief Mine Planning Engineer to lead underground mine planning and design activities at our copper mine in Albania. The role combines strategic development of long‑term production plans with hands‑on coordination of design, ventilation and ground‑support teams.

Key responsibilities

• Prepare, monitor and optimise short‑, medium‑ and long‑term underground development and production plans based on geological and geotechnical data.
• Define ore extraction schedules, development priorities and production sequences to meet monthly targets.
• Coordinate underground development design, ground support and ventilation planning with technical teams.
• Plan integration of new ore zones into existing operations and manage their transition into production.
• Identify equipment and workforce requirements and allocate resources efficiently.
• Compare planned vs. actual development and production, analyse variances and implement corrective actions.
• Monitor production costs against budget, including cost per tonne and development cost per metre.
• Prepare and present technical reports on performance, planning activities and KPIs to senior management.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering or Geological Engineering.
• Minimum 5 years of underground mine planning and design experience, preferably in copper mining.
• Practical site experience in mine development, blasting, loading and haulage on at least two different mine sites.
• Strong knowledge of underground mining methods such as Cut and Fill, Sublevel Stoping and Room and Pillar.
• Experience in production planning, sequencing, ground‑support design and ventilation scenario evaluation.
• Familiarity with RMR, Q and GSI rock‑mass classification systems and implementation of support systems.
• Proven ability to set and monitor monthly production targets and interpret investment metrics (NPV, IRR).
• Good command of English; knowledge of Albanian is an advantage.

Required skills

• Cut and Fill, Sublevel Stoping, Room and Pillar mining methods.
• RMR, Q and GSI rock‑mass classification.
• Block modelling, drill‑hole data interpretation and ore‑zone modelling.
• Advanced proficiency in at least two planning software packages (Surpac, Datamine, Micromine or equivalents).
• Ventilation modelling using Ventsim.
• MS Office applications.