Job Roles at Tharisa

Purpose of Role

 To perform and manage all metallurgical tasks and activities in the plant to ensure safe and efficient operations of the processing plant by collaborating with the production team to provide technical expertise and putting in place optimisation processes in line with project plans and set recipes to ensure the production of quality products and production targets are met.

Role Context

Operational Delivery

• Develop, monitor and control processes regarding material inputs and outputs within defined recipe parameters to ensure daily operations align with set production plans and targets.
• Provide technical expertise and advice regarding plant and crusher operations to enable the implementation of plant processes related to all metallurgical requirements and recoveries in line with SOPs.
• Develop flowsheets showcasing plant overview and process flow diagrams to enable the utilisation of plant equipment within defined scope to optimise efficiencies, recoveries and product quality.
• Oversee the implementation of metallurgical procedures such as sample preparation, monitoring samples and conduct tests and experiments to evaluate the physical and chemical properties of materials.
• Develop and apply relevant analytical techniques to calculate yields and recoveries to achieve mass balance and report findings to plant metallurgist.
• Execute minor projects within established guidelines related to recoveries and handover to process team and monitor the operation to ensure consistent adherence to production plans and achievement of targets.
• Oversee and coordinate equipment testing at client sites and recommend purchase or change in parameters and spares to ensure efficiency and minimise downtime.
• Act as custodians for the equipment and systems operations by monitoring system and equipment utilisation and ensure adherence to set standards.
• Manage the ball loading activities in the mill to maintain accurate particle size distributions (PSDs) to ensure a balanced mill and optimise the process where required to maintain efficiency.
• Assess, validate and approve metallurgical recipes to address operational inefficiencies through systematic troubleshooting and recommend corrective actions.

Resource Management

• Determine resource needs within own area of responsibility to achieve individual role outcomes.
• Request required assets and resources for the fulfilment of work duties to attain quality work outputs.
• Use assets and resources optimally within own area of responsibility.
• Conduct surveys and evaluations to achieve accurate metal accounting to enable accurate reporting and analysis.
• Prepare a daily dashboard to report on targets and resource tracking and submit to plant manager for presenting.

Stakeholder Relations

• Engage with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of specialisation, as directed by the Manager.
• Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.
• Liaise with the engineering department to bring in new equipment to the plant in line with metallurgical requirements and processes.
• Liaise with external suppliers to initiate the process of equipment sourcing and commissioning of new equipment and testing for design numbers and plant optimisation.

People Management

• Oversee Jnr Metallurgists and Plant Operators’ tasks and activities by monitoring performance and provide regular feedback to address any performance issues.
• Contribute to the creation of a high performing team and conducive employee relations by identifying skills gaps, recommend development plans and ensuring staff are trained and equipped to perform their duties.
• Provide Jnr Metallurgists, operators and artisans with relevant day-to-day direction and tasks aligned with set procedures, to enable the usage of less resources more efficiently.

 Compliance, Risk and Safety

• Promote and enforce a culture of safety by minimising risk and ensure adherence to safety procedures and guidelines in line with the MHSA to achieve safe and sustainable mining practices.
• Plan and execute planned shutdowns and preventive maintenance of area of accountability and equipment by stopping the operation if the working conditions are unsafe.
• Implement a risk register to monitor and record potential and recurring risks in order to develop strategies to mitigate such risks and creating a safety culture.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• Grade 12,
• Diploma in Metallurgical Engineering/ Chemical Engineering / Chemistry

Job specific experience:

• 3 - 5 Years experience in a metallurgical operations environment

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Job Responsibilities and Duties:

To manage all aspects of the maintenance operations in and around METQ’s Manufacturing facility, as well as drive the design of product, equipment and infrastructure projects and the management of the respective personnel, equipment and resources for efficient and safe operations and to constantly contribute to the achievement of set maintenance, design and development plans in line with departmental goals and objectives.

Job Role

Operational Management

• Implement and maintain a planned inspection schedule for all critical mechanical equipment as well as general services to proactively detect and identify potential equipment failure and plant downtime, to ensure preventative action is taken.
• Prepare reports on production, safety, and mechanical activities by keeping accurate records of equipment inspections, repairs and maintenance activities to ensure compliance and facilitate future maintenance planning.

• Act as the resident inspector regarding the inspection of buildings and structures during construction, alteration and repair to ensure compliance with approved plans and specifications in line with engineering standards.
• Monitor contractor(s) regarding the execution of tasks across the area of work to ensure adherence to standards and specifications
• Document and keep detailed records of various aspects of the work conducted and compile comprehensive reports
• Ensuring that facilities meet government regulations, health and safety standards and energy efficiency requirements.
• Deliver oral and written presentations to superiors to report on work progressions, planning as well as any deviations and/or maintenance issues & safety risk or noncompliance. 
• Manage and develop technical designs to improve internal and external design & Engineering project deliverables and further the knowledge and understanding of mechanical design within the company.

Resource Management

• Determine resource needs within own area of responsibility to achieve individual role outcomes.
• Request required assets and resources for the fulfilment of work duties to attain quality work outputs.
• Use assets and resources optimally within own area of responsibility.
• Manage the inventory of supplies, tools, and animal feeds to regularly keep track of stock levels and report on shortages for timely supplies.

Stakeholder Relations

• Engage with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of specialization, as directed by the Manager.
• Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.

Compliance, Risk and Safety

• Develop and implement a proactive approach to all safety protocols by creating awareness of hazards and behaviour in order to enforce compliance to minimize risk of accidents and injuries.
• Conduct regular safety inspections, provide relevant and necessary training to ensure all employees adhere to safety guidelines all the time.
• Enforce compliance with all applicable regulations, codes and standards related to operations including environmental regulations to ensure full compliance to safety standards.

People Management

• Create and maintain a conducive work environment by appropriately applying Human Resources policies and procedures to ensure optimum performance is realized.
• Coach, mentor, and train teams and recommend adequate training and skills development initiatives to improve employee performance.
• Manage a high-performance culture by providing critical and timely feedback (both positive and critical), enabling individuals to improve and work as effectively as possible to meet operational goals.
• Implement clear people management and supervisory tactics and institute Planned Task Observations (PTO) to display level of competency of the team in line with TM’s people management strategies.
• Provide regular mentoring, coaching, and training in order to ensure a competent and capable workforce in line with TM’s people strategies.

Requirements

• Grade 12 (NQF 4)
• Engineering Trade Certificate (NQF 5) – advantageous
• National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering or related field – ideally drawing/design/manufacturing.
• Computer literate for role
• Valid driving license code 08
• Health and Safety certificate
• Code 14 Driver’s license – Advantageous
• 3 – 5 years’ experience in a mining and or manufacturing environment.

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Purpose of Role

To produce mine plans for the Weekly Operational Planning (WOP) window and monitor operational activities, delivering weekly plans within a set of approved parameters, which meet and exceed the Short-Term Plan (STP) objectives. To consider fleet availability, equipment application, ex-pit material destinations, operations constraints by operational sequencing of waste removal and ore extraction in the creation of plans, to ensure continuity of production output and sustainability throughout the life of mine.

Role Context

• Build, complete, own and present the responsible section of the weekly operational plan, ensuring alignment between the schedules and the WOP, STP and the practical execution thereof.
• Collate the relevant operational and Mineral Resources Management (MRM) inputs and verify the validity, accuracy and applicability of the information.
• Conduct detailed block and access designs and scheduling for the week - and short-term plan, for optimal pit deployment.
• Provide input into the reconciliation process, by collaborating and interfacing with the short-term planning team to achieve optimal alignment between the WOP and STP.
• Translate planning into practical pit operations and influence WOP practicality, ensuring the WOP is of a high quality and practically executable in such a way that interfaces are managed and that it fully supports operational requirements.
• Include the scheduling of RC drilling planning and the design of accesses and stockpile levels management into the weekly operational plan, to support the pit operations team in executing their activities according to plan.
• Draft and submit balanced ore-path and floor stock periodic plans, supporting the delivery of pit ore-flow and run of mine stockpile build-up that will meet and exceed both volume and grade plant feed ratio expectations and budget. 
• Conduct frequent pit visits to ensure the plan is relevant, practical and considers the physical pit-conditions and challenges in the field.
• Liaise with the mine operations team to establish and maintain detailed in-pit WOP information, ensuring planning activities are aligned with the status in the pit.
• Establish and maintain detailed WOP information and track Mine to Plan compliance, to ensure WOP mine plans meet and exceed the 85% compliance requirement.
• Reconcile actual production performance against planned targets to measure compliance, to support the achievement of actual performance to the 85% compliance requirement
• Take guidance from the Short-Term Plan (STP), Medium-Term Plan (MTP) and the approved geotechnical parameters to ensure adherence to pit boundaries/limits.
• Monitor and maintain compliance of plans to the safety, geotechnical and legal requirements of the planning process to mitigate safety risks.
• Use enhanced mine planning and execution techniques to improve company profitability.
• Use daily production figures from the drilling, load and haul, bench preparation and blasting to compile daily reports.
• Draft and deliver mine planning reports and minutes to provide a view of all mine-planning activities, meetings and pit visits.
• Provide input into required changes in resources (financial or non-financial) to enable the achievement of team and/or own objectives.
• Determine resource needs of the team and/or own area of work to achieve business outcomes.
• Request and allocate required assets and/or resources for the fulfilment of work objectives to guarantee quality outputs.
• Monitor the use of assets and resources within the team and own area of responsibility, to ensure assets and resources are consistently and appropriately utilised and managed.
• Provide staff with day-to-day direction and tasks aligned with Departmental procedures, to enable the usage of less resources more efficiently.
• Communicate with all relevant Departments on issues of the area of speciality. Liaise across the relevant Departments by engaging with the appropriate stakeholders to ensure all stakeholders remain abreast of Departmental objectives, any potential derailers are appropriately managed and duplication of work is avoided.
• Communicate with internal and/or external stakeholders, where required, to achieve work objectives and to maintain relationships.

Requirements

Qualifications

• Grade 12 (NQF4)
• Diploma (NQF6) in Mining Engineering or Mine Surveying is advantageous
• Rock Breakers Certificate/Blasting Certificate is advantageous

Job specific experience

• A minimum of between five to seven (5-7) years of experience in the mining industry, of which a minimum of three (3) years is on an opencast mine
• Proven mine design and planning track record and/or proof of mine planning software competency
• Software knowledge of mine planning and scheduling software such as Deswik or similar
• Operational experience in either the open pit and or underground environment up to foreman level is advantageous
• Experience with PC based mine planning packages and Microsoft Office suite including MS Projects and Deswik
• Strong 3D analytical thinking and spatial perception ability

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Job Responsibilities and Duties:

As a Senior Industrial Engineer, you are responsible for continuously improving the manufacturing processes within METQ, instating a Production System, and making use of World Class Manufacturing LEAN tools to continuously drive efficiency improvements and waste eliminations. All this within the set frameworks of safety, quality, delivery reliability, and costs.

Define and validate the detailed manufacturing process for all products. Create industrial documentation, define industrial master data and set the manufacturing method time. Drive continuous improvement actions and industrialize product and process changes.

Job Role

• Process Optimization: Senior industrial engineers are tasked with analysing current manufacturing and production processes to identify areas where efficiency can be improved. This may involve conducting time and motion studies, analysing production data, and implementing changes to streamline operations.
• Quality Control: Ensuring that products meet quality standards is crucial. Senior industrial engineers often design and implement quality control systems to monitor production output, identify defects or issues, and implement corrective actions to maintain high product quality. Not limited but including 
• Quality Inspection: Conducting inspections and testing of raw materials, components, and finished products to ensure they meet quality specifications and regulatory requirements. This involves using various measurement tools, instruments, and testing equipment to perform accurate evaluations.
•  Quality Control Processes: Implementing and monitoring quality control processes and procedures to identify defects, non-conformities, or deviations from quality standards. Quality technicians may participate in root cause analysis and corrective action processes to address issues and prevent recurrence.
•  Problem Solving and Analysis: Assisting in the investigation and resolution of quality issues or customer complaints. Quality technicians may use quality tools and methodologies (e.g., Pareto analysis, Fishbone diagrams) to analyse data, identify root causes, and recommend corrective actions. 
• Supplier Quality Management: Collaborating with suppliers to evaluate incoming materials and components. May perform inspections on incoming shipments, verify supplier documentation, and communicate quality requirements to suppliers.
• Cost Analysis and Reduction: They are responsible for conducting cost analyses to identify areas where costs can be reduced without sacrificing product quality or worker safety. This may involve evaluating material usage, labour costs, and overhead expenses to find efficiencies. Primary goal is to aid Bill of Materials for further Kaizen & VAVE improvements.
• Project Management: Senior industrial engineers often lead or oversee projects aimed at improving processes or implementing new systems. This includes defining project scope, setting timelines, allocating resources, and coordinating with various stakeholders to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.
• Supply Chain Management: They may be involved in optimizing supply chain processes to ensure the timely delivery of materials and components needed for production. This includes working with suppliers to improve delivery schedules, reduce lead times, and manage inventory levels effectively.
• Training and Supervision: Senior industrial engineers may mentor and supervise junior engineers or production staff, providing guidance on best practices, safety protocols, and process improvements. They may also conduct training sessions to ensure that staff are knowledgeable and competent in their roles.
• Continuous Improvement: Implementing a culture of continuous improvement is essential. Senior industrial engineers lead initiatives such as Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, or Kaizen to continually enhance processes, eliminate waste, and drive overall operational excellence.
• Health and Safety: Ensuring a safe working environment is paramount. Senior industrial engineers often collaborate with safety professionals to identify and mitigate workplace hazards, implement ergonomic improvements, and ensure compliance with health and safety regulations.
• Data Analysis and Reporting: They analyse production data and performance metrics to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and report on operational efficiency and improvements. This involves using software tools and systems to gather, interpret, and present data in a meaningful way.
• Research and Development: Depending on the industry, senior industrial engineers may be involved in research and development activities to innovate new products or processes that can enhance competitiveness and meet evolving market demands.

Requirements

• Grade 12 NQF Level 4
• Mechanical / Industrial Engineering Qualification – B/Tech Degree or equivalent
• MS Office & MS Project
• 3- 5 years similar experience in Process/Production/Manufacturing engineering role.    
• Experience of world class manufacturing environment & knowledge of production systems will be beneficial.
• Technical knowledge of Manufacturing Engineering, writing manufacturing work instructions, line balancing.