An Australian private equity organisation engaged Iron Cove Global to execute critical expat talent sourcing for its newly purchased underground copper mine in Africa. Iron Cove Global was tasked with assisting the management team to locate and hire numerous underground operations leadership professionals within expedited time frame. Underground mining activities were delivered split via both contractor and client team execution. A well-known underground contractor executing underground development, whilst the client team ran underground production. Introduction to the mine was made via an Executive Director of the PE Group and following, main point of contact on the mine has been the General Manager Operations and CEO.
Position reported to the CEO and was responsible for operational leadership of a large underground copper operation involving a workforce of 2700+. The role was a replacement for the prior GM who had been with the business for over 5 years (The placement was made in March 2023). A global executive search process was executed to source the chosen candidate. Operational executives who had run large scale underground base metal mines globally were investigated for suitability. Professionals with relevant experience were contacted, with interested candidates interviewed for suitability. The chosen candidate held over 20 years underground mining experience and had worked with several well-known base metal producers at GM level.
Reporting to the GM Operations, the GM Tech Services was responsible for leading a large technical services workforce onsite, driving technical efficiency for a complex underground copper open stoping operation. The position oversaw all site based activities and department managers for mining engineering, mine and exploration geology, survey and geotechnical. The chosen candidate was headhunted from a corporate technical services management position with a SE Asia based copper/gold producer.
Reporting to the GM Operations, the Maintenance & Engineering Manager was responsible for surface and underground, fixed and mobile, mechanical and electrical maintenance activities for the mine. Surface maintenance oversaw a copper flotation process plant + ancillary equipment. Underground maintenance involved mobile fleet equipment plus fixed plant conveyors, shaft/hoist, etc. The Maintenance & Engineering Manager was an Australian national, headhunted from a US base metals producer.
Reporting to the Technical Services Manager, the Chief Mining Engineer was responsible for proxy TSM duties and leadership of mine engineering activities on site. The candidate was an Australian national working on a 6/3 FIFO arrangement from Perth and headhunted from a WA copper/gold operation.
The UG Manager was engaged as a supporting role to the Operations Manager, to lead and mentor three national department managers within the underground production team. The UG Manager was an Australian national working FIFO from Aus and was headhunted from an underground operating mine in West Africa.
Iron Cove Global sourced 6 x Underground Mine Superintendents, who were tasked with execution of underground production activities and leadership, mentoring and training of the national Mine Captain/Supervisor team. The entire team were Australian nationals working on FIFO basis, and headhunted from other active roles on international projects with tier one contractors or producing miners.
Dan is informative, positive and committed to ensuring the onboarding and placement of people to their select role is as pleasant and smooth as possible. I was kept up to date at all times as Dan goes above and beyond what I have experienced in the past. Almost a year on and Dan will still touch base to see how things are going. Truly professional.
From my first dealing with Iron Cove Global, I was really impressed with the professionalism and recruiting style they utilised. I found Dan to be very honest and up front on all issues and over the weeks when dealing with him, his communication skills, hardworking attitude and excellent support was first class. Dan is highly skilled in placing the right people in positions due to his ability to go to the extra effort. The interviewing process he utilised I found to be thorough and well informed, which was excellent. I highly recommend Iron Cove Global for any future International or Australian recruitment requirements.
Dan is a very personal, effective communicator with a clear understanding of what his client’s needs are. These attribute's, coupled with his professional acumen made my employment process extremely seamless. Given my experiences with Iron Cove Global I am happy to recommend them for your management recruitment needs.