Summary
The Senior Mining Engineer serves in a leadership position within the mining engineering functional area, providing expert technical direction and advisory support for the development of solid minerals. This position involves a broad scope of engineering responsibilities, from formulating exploration strategies to preparing detailed mine and reclamation plans. The Senior Mining Engineer will act as a key technical representative for owners/agency in their dealings with mining companies, contractors, and government agencies. A key function of this role will be the evaluation of grant proposals, such as those under the Energy and Mineral Development Program (EMDP) and monitoring assigned grants throughout their entire lifecycle to support Tribal resource development.
Essential Functions and Responsibilities
- Serves as a leadership position within the mining engineer functional category and is responsible for the day-to-day direction of technical work as required by individual work orders.
- Prepares comprehensive resource and reserve estimates for a variety of solid mineral deposits, including metal, coal, industrial minerals, and construction aggregates.
- Develops detailed mine and reclamation plans for undeveloped mineral properties, specifying mining methods, equipment selection, staffing, production rates, and scheduling.
- Conducts economic evaluations of solid mineral projects using methods like discounted cash flow rate of return and makes capital and operating cost estimates for proposed mining operations.
- Acts as a primary mining technical representative, assisting them in dealings with mining companies, contractors, and other government agencies.
- Assists Indian mineral owners with mineral lease contract negotiations and reviews proposed agreements, with particular attention to royalty terms and environmental protection clauses.
- Reviews and evaluates grant proposals from Tribal organizations for mineral assessment and development projects, assessing technical merit, feasibility, and alignment with program goals.
- Monitors assigned grants throughout their full lifecycle, ensuring compliance, tracking project progress, and providing technical assistance to grantees.
- Make presentations on mining fundamentals, regulations, mineral agreement structures, and NEPA requirements.
- May be expected to perform supervisory responsibilities, reporting to the On-Site Lead and Project Manager.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
Skills and Qualifications
- Technical Capacity: In-depth knowledge of geology, solid mineral deposits, and resource/reserve estimation methods for various deposit types. Expertise in both open pit and underground mining methods.
- Economic Analysis: Strong experience with making capital and operating cost estimates and performing economic evaluations of mineral projects using discounted cash flow rate of return spreadsheets.
- Project Planning: Proven ability to prepare detailed mine and reclamation plans, including equipment selection, production scheduling, and staffing.
- Software Proficiency: Familiarity with commercial software used for reserve estimation and mine planning. High proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel.
- Communication & Representation: Excellent presentation skills for communicating complex mining, regulatory, and economic information to diverse audiences, including tribal leaders and federal agencies. Ability to act as a technical representative in negotiations and meetings.
- Leadership and Direction: Ability to provide day-to-day direction of technical work as required by specific work orders.
Education and Experience
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Mining Engineering or a closely related field (e.g., Geological Engineering); Master’s degree preferred (mining, geotechnical, or mineral economics). FE required; PE strongly preferred (or ability to obtain within 12 months).
- 6-8 years of progressively responsible experience in mine planning, reserve estimation, and economic evaluation across surface and/or underground operations.
- Demonstrated success in resource and reserve estimation (JORC/NI 43-101/SK-1300 familiar) across multiple commodities (metals, coal, industrial minerals, aggregates), including geostatistics, block modeling, and reconciliation.
- Significant experience leading mine design and engineering: pit/UG layouts, phase design, haul road geometry, ventilation, dewatering, slope stability/ground control, drill-and-blast, materials handling, and backfill; creation of LoM plans, short-/mid-/long-range schedules, and production forecasts.
- Reclamation and closure planning expertise, integrating geochemical considerations, water management, and post-mining land use into design and life-cycle cost models.
- Economic evaluation & project finance support: cut-off grade analysis, pit optimization, sensitivities, NPV/IRR, cash-flow modeling, and contribution to prefeasibility/feasibility studies with defendable assumptions.
- Experience representing mineral owners/operators in lease and royalty negotiations, surface use agreements, right-of-way, and regulatory processes (permit packages, NEPA/NHPA touchpoints), coordinating with legal, environmental, and governmental stakeholders.
- Track record of executive-level presentations and clear decision memos for senior stakeholders (boards, Tribal leadership, investors, agencies), translating technical trade-offs and risk mitigations into actionable recommendations.
- Supervisory/mentoring experience directing junior engineers/consultants and multi-disciplinary teams; establishing work plans, QA/QC of designs and calculations, and fostering safety-first culture.
- Toolset proficiency: Deswik, Vulcan, MineSight/Hexagon, Surpac (or similar); Whittle/NPV optimizers; GIS familiarity; advanced Excel/Power BI; exposure to geotech packages (e.g., Slide, FLAC3D) a plus.
- Safety & field readiness: strong MSHA knowledge, field auditing, contractor/OEM coordination, commissioning/start-up support, and willingness to travel to operating sites and community locations.
Supervisory Responsibility
This position may be expected to perform supervisory responsibilities, reporting to the On-Site Lead and Project Manager.
Work Environment
This job operates in a professional office environment and routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers and phones. Travel to and work at remote tribal sites for fieldwork is also required.
Position Type/Expected Hours of Work
This is a full-time position. Normal business hours align with DEMD’s core hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. Evening, weekend, or travel-related work may be required to meet project demands.
Travel Requirements
Travel is required to provide support at government or Tribal sites, attend meetings, conduct fieldwork, and perform grant site visits. All travel must be pre-approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and will be reimbursed in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations (FTR).
Clearance/License Requirements
- A Public Trust clearance is required for this position. A minimum background investigation (NACI) is required for access to DOI facilities and information systems.
- Must maintain a valid Driver’s License and be insurable under the company insurance program.
Our Values: Native American Owned & Proud | Accountable | Team Focused | Innovative | Visionary | Excellence
AAP/EEO Statement Ho-Chunk, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants are considered without regard to age, sex, race, national origin, religion, marital status or physical disability. However, preference may be extended to persons of Indian descent in accordance with applicable laws.
