Chief Geotechnical Engineer

Located approximately 26 miles from the City of Fairbanks, Fort Knox is a centre of excellence for the Company as one of the few cold weather heap leach facilities in the world. Fort Knox celebrated its 25-year anniversary in 2021, and has produced over 8.5 million ounces since it began operation. In 2020, Kinross acquired Manh Choh – a project expected to commence production in 2024 and process ore at Fort Knox.

Fort Knox prioritizes being a strong contributor to the State and local communities, and since 2001, has helped support more than 300 community partners and has contributed more than US $25 million to the Alaska Mental Health Trust.

The Kinross - Fort Knox Technical Services team is seeking an experienced and dynamic Chief Geotechnical Engineer to lead the geotechnical department at the Fort Knox Gold Mine open pit. Reporting to the Technical Services Manager, this position will provide support in all aspects of geotechnical engineering.

Responsible for providing geotechnical engineering support to the department to ensure that the mine functions effectively and safely with minimal impacts to the business. Develop site geotechnical programs to meet or exceed industry standards. Responsible for carrying out a full range of engineering functions. To be familiar with and understand the principles of the environment policy and also to maintain and support procedures and work practices aimed at preventing accidents or injuries.

• Develop and implement geotechnical design criteria to support safe and optimal mine operations.
• Plan and manage the installations of mine-wide geotechnical and hydrology monitoring systems.
• Advise mine planning and operations personnel on geotechnical issues relating to production, drilling, blast, dewatering, and mine design.
• Proactively perform site inspections, prepare operational mitigation plans, and manage geotechnical issues.
• Plan, develop, and track expenses against the department budget including geotechnical and hydrology data collection and drilling programs.
• Coordinate with the Water Manager in planning the hydrology program to ensure adequate instrumentation exists for monitoring pore pressures and phreatic surfaces relative to mine design targets.
• Manage contracts and coordinate with geotechnical consultants to ensure high quality work products are developed, design criteria are clearly understood and effectively implemented, recommendations are optimized based on operational performance.
• Perform geotechnical investigations and back analysis using geotechnical software.
• In coordination with the Geology team, plan the collection, analysis, and interpretation of geotechnical data.
• Ensure a sound geotechnical model covering mine geology, geological structures, rock mass quality and hydrogeology is built and updated through collection, analysis and interpretation of geotechnical data.
• Generate monthly geotechnical & project management summaries and/or reports for use in company reporting.
• Perform project management duties, including, but not limited to: contract review, bid award, cost estimation, schedule tracking, and reporting.
• Effectively communicate anticipated geotechnical outcomes.
• Maintain, update, and ensure compliance with the Ground Control Management Plan (GCMP)
• Ensure that all reporting requirements and licensing conditions by regulatory bodies are met.
• Supervise, train, and mentor junior engineers, geologists and technicians in all aspects of geotechnical engineering.
• Be available for on-call support duties shared within the department.
• Punctuality and regular attendance is required.
• Maintain accurate records and files.
• Perform other duties as required.

• Bachelor’s degree in…