Chief Surveyor

About this role

South32 is hiring a Chief Surveyor for its Mamatwan manganese mine, an open-cut operation in the Kalahari Basin near Hotazel in the Northern Cape. The role gives technical survey support to mine planning and makes sure the mine meets its statutory obligations, with a strong focus on legal compliance.

What you’ll do

• Maintain and enforce survey boundaries for prospecting rights, mining rights and servitudes.
• Check legal compliance under the Mine Health and Safety Act (MHSA), and update rehabilitation and land disturbance plans.
• Audit and update prescribed plans and the survey network.
• Coordinate the yearly aerial survey used to update survey plans.
• Oversee tactical stockpile management, including layouts and contamination, and carry out yearly stockpile audits.
• Manage the land inventory, which covers farms, leases, royalties and land use agreements. Represent the company at public forums with neighbouring mines and communities. Sign off and submit prescribed plans each year.

What you need

• At least 5 years of experience in a mining environment.
• In-depth knowledge of health, safety and environment legislation (essential).
• In-depth knowledge of geology related to mining (essential).
• In-depth knowledge of mineral resources and ore reserve management (essential).
• In-depth knowledge of survey field work (essential).
• In-depth understanding of survey data management (essential).
• In-depth understanding of coordinate systems such as Clarke 1880 and WGS 84 (essential).
• A Degree, BTech or National Diploma in Mineral Resource Management or Surveying.
• A Survey Government Certificate of Competency (GCC).

Is this job for you?

This role suits an experienced surveyor who has worked in mining and understands the legal side of survey work. If you enjoy balancing technical detail with compliance and dealing with stakeholders, this could be a good fit.

Tips before you apply

• Have certified copies of your degree, diploma or BTech certificate and your GCC ready to upload.
• Describe your mining experience year by year, and name the mine types and survey tasks you handled.
• Give clear examples of stockpile, boundary or rehabilitation plan work, with the results you delivered.

Also note that South32 offers a short-term incentive bonus, an employer contribution to the company-elected retirement fund, and support for part-time studies linked to the role.