Specialist Geotechnical

Oyu Tolgoi’s workforce today is more than 97 per cent Mongolian, and a major strategic focus for the company is to develop a skilled workforce that is continuously learning. We aim to attract the best talent, so that we can together deliver a safe and globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia. 

Oyu Tolgoi LLC is operating a copper-gold mine in southern territory of Mongolia. The company aspires a vision ‘Natural wealth to enduring value, knowledge, and skill’, and pursues a mission, 'Together deliver a safe and globally competitive copper business that contributes to the prosperity of Mongolia' to build one of the largest copper-gold mines worldwide.
 

Specialist Geotechnical

• Excellent opportunity to be part of a world-class underground mining project
• Great exposure and development opportunities within the Owner’s team
• Collaborative and high performing environment at an exciting location
• International FIFO 28 days / 14 days Roster

About your role

We are looking for a Specialist Geotechnical to join our Underground Operations Team delivering the world-class mine in Mongolia. This is a key role within the owner’s team with the responsibility  to ensure delivery of all technical outputs, in a timely, accurate and world class standard. This is to ensure the underground operation runs safely and without interruption and all teams have the required instructions, data, designs or schedules to meet the mine budget and Life of Mine KPI’s.    

In particular, this role focuses on supporting operations through all technical support activities by ensuring disciplined, focused teams, follow good technical process which allows the business to maximize efficiency and outcome.

The purpose of this role is to provide safe leadership, guidance, and assurance to the UG Geotechnical department and to ensure customer focus of Geotechnical services are provided to the Oyu Tolgoi underground operation in a timely and accurate manner. The role will be reporting to the Manager Geotechnical.

What the role entails

• Provide technical leadership and assurance for cave management activities to support safe, productive, and sustainable block cave operations
• Ensure implementation and continuous improvement of the Cave Management Framework in accordance with company standards, industry best practice, and major hazard management requirements
• Review and assess draw control performance to optimize cave propagation, reserve recovery, dilution management, and production outcomes
• Monitor cave performance through analysis of cave monitoring data, draw data, cave propagation indicators, and underground observations
• Lead interpretation of cave monitoring systems including Smart Markers, TDRs, MPBXs, extensometers, microseismic monitoring, subsidence monitoring, cave trackers, and other cave instrumentation
• Develop, maintain, and continuously improve cave monitoring plans, trigger action response plans (TARPs), and reporting systems
• Identify, assess, and communicate cave-related geotechnical risks and major hazards, ensuring appropriate controls are established and maintained
• Provide timely recommendations for draw strategy adjustments based on cave behavior, cave propagation trends, and monitoring results
• Review cave performance against design assumptions and identify opportunities to improve cave growth, cave efficiency, and reserve recovery
• Coordinate cave monitoring programs and ensure instrumentation systems are installed, maintained, validated, and functioning effectively.
• Conduct regular cave performance reviews and communicate outcomes to Operations, Planning, Technical Services, and management teams
• Review and assist industry standard daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly cave management reports, including cave health assessments, cave propagation status, and risk evaluations
• Investigate abnormal cave behavior, unexpected ground response, air gaps, cave stalls, dilution events, and subsidence-related issues, providing recommendations and corrective actions
• Support operational decision-making through interpretation of cave monitoring data and forecasting of cave development trends
• Maintain cave monitoring databases and ensure data quality, integrity, and accessibility for stakeholders
• Provide mentoring, coaching, and technical guidance to engineers and technicians in cave management and cave monitoring practices.
• Participate in safety investigations and risk assessments related to cave performance, cave propagation, subsidence, and cave-related hazards
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to ensure alignment on cave management strategies, cave monitoring outcomes, and risk mitigation measures
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to enhance cave monitoring technologies, data analysis processes, cave performance forecasting, and operational effectiveness.
• Regularly attend all required meetings to ensure the departments meets all OT standards, D standard, safety, interaction, and operations meetings.
• Ensure the ground control framework, including ground support design, mine sequencing, QAQC of ground support installation, and instrumentation are best practice for compliance to OT Health & Safety standard, regulatory requirement, constructability and maintaining the tunnel serviceability for maximize ore extraction.
• Ensure the implementation of cave management framework, including review draw control, cave instrumentation and cave-related major hazards, are industry best practice and compliance to hazard management framework and reserve recovery.
• Ensure all reporting is accurate and timely, including EOM, corporate, and other external parties as required
• Ensure all SWPs and procedures are written and up to date and reviewed regularly from all teams
• Provide good, direct communications and between operations and other departments and leaders, to achieve the best outcome for the mine
• Ensure projects are generated, initiated, monitored, and completed to standard to ensure a continuous improvement environment exists in the UG Geotechnical department
• Provide leadership, experience and assistance into safety investigations as required    
• Assist in providing strategic direction to, and management of UG Geotechnical department
• Assists in establishing and maintaining mine technical standards
• Display good personal behavior and ethics.
• Assist to coordinate and oversee all team functions are completed daily, weekly, monthly, annually and life of mine  
• Ensure team members follow company policies and procedures
• Assist to complete an annual workforce plan and budget to ensure correct staffing and funding requirements for team outputs

About you

To be successfully considered for this role, you will have the following:

• Bachelor’s degree in mining engineering or civil engineering or equivalent                                       
• Minimum 10 + years underground caving mine experience
• Block cave mining experience highly desirable, Advanced and experienced in ground control such as ground support design and installation, execution of mine sequences and major hazard management for caving
• Passionate to coach and train junior engineers
• Proven Leadership skills
• Outstanding commitment to HSE and Quality

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a focus on operational efficiency and reliability.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of an integrated delivery team
• An ability to work autonomously within a highly complex project delivery environment
• A can-do attitude that seeks to provide solutions and a desire for continuous improvement

About us

Joining the Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project team is a great opportunity to be part of one of the most exciting developments in copper and gold mining for several decades. The mine contains reserves and resources that make it one of the world’s largest copper-gold deposits.

This mega project is expected to be a major contributor to Mongolia’s development. As part of the Rio Tinto Oyu Tolgoi Underground Project team, you have the ability 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.

Discover more about Mongolia and Oyu Tolgoi

Mongolia is 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 kilometres 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 information about OT site, please check out this video.

Where you’ll be working

Oyu Tolgoi is an operating Copper / Gold open pit mine with a brownfields underground mining project. The site is located in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia. The reserves case for the underground project is in the order of 0.5 billion tonnes of ore to be mined from the 95,000 tonnes per day Hugo North Lift 1 (HNL1) panel cave mine with a 20-year operations life. There is also the potential for 3 further block cave districts to increase mine life beyond 100 years. 

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.

Job application closes on Sep 9, 2026

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Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ+ 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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