Superintendent Ventilation

Superintendent Ventilation

• Make an impact and contribute to the development of a world-class project within a pioneering organisation
• Great opportunity to work for a global company at the forefront of mining
• Dynamic work culture and great exposure to multicultural teams
• FIFO to site (4weeks on 2 weeks off) or Residential 5/2

Join one of the world’s most exciting copper-gold mining projects

Oyu Tolgoi is one of the most exciting projects in copper and gold mining for several decades. It contains reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits. The project, managed by Rio Tinto, is expanding underground. With a high demand of skills required to complete the project safely and successfully, Oyu Tolgoi is expected to be a significant contributor to Mongolia’s development and the prosperity of the Mongolian people.

Discover more about Mongolia and Oyu Tolgoi

Mongolia’s increasingly becoming a destination for tourism and expatriate residents. As a rapidly developing city, Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar is seen as a comfortable, yet exciting place to live. With an array of cultural and social activities available and a growing network of international schools, housing options, and leisure facilities, its home to a growing community of international expatriates.

Located in the South Gobi Desert, just 80 kilometers from the Chinese border, the Oyu Tolgoi open pit mine and camp is a large, well-run and comfortable site with multiple amenities including recreational and sports facilities, a cinema, shops, restaurants and bars catered to a growing community. For more about OT site, please check out this video.

As part of the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mining Operations team, you’ll have the opportunity to contribute to something significant and learn and develop both personally and professionally. We offer a collaborative, high-performing environment where success is achieved by working together.

The Opportunity

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Underground Superintendent Ventilation to lead and manage all aspects of mine ventilation systems. This role is critical to ensure a safe, compliant, and efficient underground working environment.

What the role entails

Purpose of this role is to lead ventilation team of 20 members and oversee the design, implementation, and monitoring of ventilation systems, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements and operational goals.

• Technical Leadership & Training: Leading a team, providing technical support, mentoring, and sharing industry best practices, especially in digital solutions and advanced ventilation techniques.

• Ventilation Planning & Design: Developing and reviewing ventilation management plan, reviewing LOM Deswik schedules and delivering LOM ventilation Ventsim models, complete ventilation assessments, and integrating long-term and short-term ventilation strategies aligned with mining schedules.

• Infrastructure Design & Optimization: Designing ventilation infrastructure (fans, ducts, monitoring systems), conducting optimization studies, and implementing IoT-based real-time monitoring solutions.

• Occupational Hygiene & Environmental Compliance: Ensuring health and safety standards are integrated into ventilation planning, conducting sampling and risk assessments, and maintaining regulatory compliance.

• Safety & Emergency Preparedness: Implementing group risk management (bowtie) to the mine site, Managing underground major hazards, develop first line assurance verifications, and assisting to develop refuge chamber, vent door construction, and underground monitoring plans to support safe evacuation and emergency response.

• Stakeholder Collaboration: Coordinating with various departments and external partners to align ventilation strategies with operational safety and productivity goals.

• Project Management & Digital Transformation: Overseeing performance monitoring, driving continuous improvement, and leveraging digital tools for automation, reporting, and data analysis.

• Budget & System Management: Planning budgets, assessing workforce needs, and overseeing the integration and management of various software tools (VENTSIM, Deswik, MS Projects, and others) to support effective ventilation system monitoring and data-driven decision-making.

• Innovation & Industry Engagement: Evaluating new technologies for sustainability, reducing environmental impact, and representing the organization as an industry leader by participating in professional committees and associations (e.g., Mine Ventilation Society, AusIMM, AIOH), and by sharing expertise through presentations and publications.

What you will need for this role

• Background: Undergraduate or equivalent or higher education obtained through degrees or diplomas from academic college or universities and formal and recognized Mine Ventilation Qualifications
• Experiences:
  • Minimum 10 years underground mine ventilation experience
  • Proven experience in ventilation planning and system design, particularly in complex underground environments.
  • Practical knowledge of cave or mass mining operations is an advantage.
• Technical Competency
  • Expertise in designing, optimizing, and managing underground mine ventilation systems, ensuring effective airflow, gas management, and temperature control.
  • Advanced knowledge of Ventsim, including VentFIRE module, for simulating airflow, fire scenarios, and thermodynamic conditions in underground environments.
  • Proficiency in using Deswik software for ventilation planning, scheduling, and infrastructure design.
  • Capability to perform thermodynamic modeling of ventilation systems to optimize temperature regulation and energy efficiency.
  • Strong ability to conduct risk assessments, hazard analyses (JHAs), and develop risk mitigation strategies for ventilation-related activities.
  • Knowledge of underground mine emergency planning, including refuge chamber and vent door construction, and support for fire and emergency simulations.
  • Expertise in designing and planning the underground mine
  • Expertise in designing and planning ventilation infrastructure such as fans, ductwork, airways, and monitoring systems.
  • Understanding of ventilation requirements and challenges in cave mining or mass mining operations.
  • Experience with data management, analysis, and visualization tools such as Excel, Tableau, or PowerBI for tracking ventilation system performance.

About us

As pioneers in mining and metals, we produce materials essential to human progress.

Our long history is filled with firsts. We’ve developed some of the world’s largest and best quality mines and operations, and our people work in around 35 countries across six continents. We’ve led the industry in partnerships, with customers in new markets, and with local communities.

We’ve pioneered technological innovations, such as our Mine of the Future™ program and our low-CO2 aluminium from hydropower. And we’ve paved the way in areas such as safety, tax transparency and legacy management.

Inclusion & Diversity

We are a diverse team of talented, enthusiastic individuals who foster a culture of inclusion. No matter how they may differ, our people share one thing in common. It’s a belief that work is more rewarding when we are accepted and valued for our differences, not judged by them. We all have something to contribute, and it’s this contribution that makes for a great organization and fulfilling career.

So, if this sounds like you and the opportunity you are looking for, apply now.

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About Rio Tinto
 

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
 

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Every Voice Matters

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQIA+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

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