Internship Open Pit Mine Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Sahuarita, Arizona, United States

The Long-Range Mining Engineer is responsible for defining the strategic direction and long-term economic value of the mining operation. This position develops and maintains the Life-of-Mine (LOM) plan, conducts pit and phase optimizations, performs trade-off studies, and builds economic models that guide capital investments and operational strategy. Reporting to the General Manager of Technical Services, this role works closely with geotechnical, geology, finance, and operations teams to ensure technical accuracy, regulatory compliance, and alignment across planning horizons.

This role is critical to connecting the company's growth vision with a technically sound, financially optimized mine plan that supports execution at the short-, medium-, and long-term levels.

Essential Functions:

• Develop and maintain the Life-of-Mine (LOM) plan using updated resource models, pit designs, cost inputs, and geotechnical constraints.
• Conduct pit optimizations, pushback designs, and phase sequencing based on NPV maximization and business goals.
• Define ultimate pit limits and evaluate development scenarios using Whittle, MPVS, or equivalent strategic planning tools.
• Build and validate long-term mine schedules using tools like MinePlan 3D, MPSO, and Reserve Reporting utilities.
• Develop and maintain long-range cost models, incorporating drill/blast, haulage, pad stacking, and capital expenditure data.
• Analyze unit costs by material type and pit benches/zones to perform cutoff grade optimization and economic phase ranking.
• Integrate geotechnical, hydrological, and geometallurgical inputs into the strategic plan to ensure safe, practical, and efficient development.
• Prepare and update haulage profiles, waste dump and leach dump designs, and infrastructure sequencing in support of long-term efficiency.
• Translate strategic models into actionable five-year plans, supporting annual budgets and rolling forecast updates.
• Conduct scenario analysis and economic trade-off studies including DCF modeling, stockpiling strategies, and pit expansion timing.
• Collaborate with the Technical Services, Geology, and Finance departments to validate assumptions and align KPIs.
• Support regulatory and stakeholder engagement through the preparation of documentation for permitting, reserve reporting (SK-1300), and business case presentations.
• Participate in strategic evaluations such as infrastructure placement, crusher relocation timing, and pit expansion logic.
• Work closely with the Turner Staffing Group clients Technical planning teams to ensure alignment between long-range plans and short- and medium-term execution.
• Contribute to business planning reviews, optimization initiatives, and site-wide strategic evaluations.

Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong knowledge of open pit mine optimization, NPV modeling, and strategic pit design principles.
• Proficiency in Hexagon MinePlan 3D, including MPSO, Reserve Reporting, haulage profile development, Whittle, and industry software suites.
• Experience with Whittle or equivalent tools for economic optimization and scenario analysis.
• Familiarity with financial modeling, discounted cash flow (DCF) techniques, and strategic option evaluation.
• Knowledge of geotechnical, hydrological, and geometallurgical inputs to long-term mine design.
• Understanding of geological modeling, resource classification, and reserve conversion under S-K 1300 guidelines.
• Familiarity with leach operations, copper recovery, and material routing strategies.
• Strong skills in cost modeling and integration with financial performance indicators.
• Effective communication and reporting skills, including PowerPoint presentations and dashboard creation (e.g., Power BI).
• Ability to translate long-range scenarios into tactical frameworks that can be implemented by medium- and short-range engineers.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to balance technical precision and business objectives.
• Experience in copper mining, leach operations, and resource modeling workflows.
• Must be able to interact effectively in a multi-disciplinary team setting.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering or related.
• Minimum 8 years of experience in open pit mine planning, including at least 2 years focused on long-range or strategic planning.
• Demonstrated experience with pit and phase optimization, LOM scheduling, and reserve reporting.
• English proficiency is required.

Salaried