About The Position
As a freelance Subject Matter Expert (SME), you will bring deep expertise in underground mine ventilation, fire prevention, and emergency response to support a major mining expansion project in Brazil. Working alongside dss+ and client stakeholders, you will review operational procedures, identify operational and safety risks, challenge existing practices where appropriate, and provide practical recommendations aligned with industry leading practices. Your Impact at dss+ You will provide specialist expertise for the critical review, development, and improvement of operational procedures associated with underground mine ventilation, atmospheric hazards, fire prevention and response, evacuation, and emergency preparedness. You will help ensure that ventilation requirements, operational conditions, emergency scenarios, and Critical Controls are translated into practical procedures that can be understood and consistently applied by supervisors, operators, contractors, maintenance teams, and operational leadership.
Requirements
- Minimum 10 years of experience in underground mining operations.
- Minimum 5 years of direct involvement in underground mine ventilation.
- Experience in the design, operation, commissioning, optimization, or management of underground ventilation systems.
- Practical experience conducting ventilation surveys and assessing underground atmospheric conditions.
- Experience developing, reviewing, or implementing operational and emergency response procedures.
- Experience supporting underground emergency preparedness and emergency response programs.
- Experience conducting technical reviews, audits, operational assessments, or risk evaluations.
- Ability to translate ventilation designs and technical calculations into practical operational procedures.
- Define atmospheric monitoring requirements and acceptable operating limits.
- Establish objective post-blast re-entry criteria.
- Define effective responses to ventilation failures, alarms, and abnormal atmospheric conditions.
- Integrate fire scenarios into ventilation management and evacuation procedures.
- Assess escape strategies, refuge arrangements, and emergency communication systems.
- Develop procedures that clearly define responsibilities, authorization requirements, operational controls, and stop-work criteria.
- Plan, facilitate, and evaluate underground emergency drills and simulations.
- Facilitate technical workshops involving engineering, operations, maintenance, emergency response, and contractor teams.
- Strong technical writing skills with the ability to prepare clear documentation in English.
- Strong stakeholder engagement and facilitation capabilities.
- Bachelor’s degree in Mining Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related engineering discipline.
- Fluency in English required.
Nice To Haves
- Experience supporting mine development, operational readiness, expansion, or ramp-up projects is advantageous.
- Specialized training or postgraduate qualification in Mine Ventilation is highly desirable.
- Professional registration or equivalent certification, where applicable.
- Portuguese and/or Spanish highly advantageous.
Responsibilities
- Review and evaluate underground ventilation procedures, standards, and management systems.
- Assess procedures covering primary, secondary, and auxiliary ventilation systems.
- Review ventilation surveys, monitoring practices, and atmospheric testing requirements.
- Evaluate post-blast ventilation and underground re-entry procedures.
- Assess operational responses to ventilation failures, alarms, and abnormal atmospheric conditions.
- Review underground fire prevention, detection, and emergency response procedures.
- Evaluate smoke propagation response strategies and ventilation management during emergencies.
- Assess emergency communications, evacuation procedures, refuge chambers, and escape route management.
- Support the development and validation of emergency preparedness plans and response procedures.
- Identify gaps between engineering requirements and operational execution.
- Facilitate workshops involving engineering, operations, maintenance, emergency response, safety, and contractor teams.
- Provide recommendations to strengthen operational and safety risk controls.
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What This Job Offers
Career Level
Senior
