Mineral Resource Manager (MRM)

  • A mine is a business and must make a profit to pay salaries, tax, and provide a return to investors.
  • Mineral deposits are finite resources and must be mined in such a way that we can extract all useful metals from the rock that is processed (referred to as ore).

The person that is responsible for managing this process is the Mineral Resource Manager (MRM), a senior position on a mine, normally reporting directly to the mine’s General Manager. The MRM is responsible for leading and coordination of several technical disciplines (these will vary depending on the type of mine and company). The most common are:

  • Sampling (taking samples of the rock, to see if it contains enough metal/mineral to mine and make money).
  • Geology (mapping out the different types of rock on a mine).
  • Geostatistics (determining how much metal a mine has).
  • Survey (orienting the direction of mining and working out how much rock has been moved).
  • Grade control (ensuring that the rock that gets processed contains enough metal to make money).

Other technical disciplines that may be included in the MRM’s portfolio may include:

  • Mine planning (determining the sequence in which rock must be mined to make money).
  • Ventilation (determining how much air is needed to keep an underground mine cool).
  • Geotechnical (referred to as “Rock Engineering” in South Africa – ensure that rocks do not fall into the mine).

The MRM must act as an interface between mining (the discipline that breaks and moves the broken rock – Mining Engineers) and processing (the discipline that extracts the required metals and minerals from the rock – Metallurgists). Given this requirement, the MRM must be a good communicator as well as have the necessary leadership skills.

Qualifications

There are several routes to become an MRM; the most common route, however, is via geology. Other career routes include surveying, mine planning, and geotechnical engineering.

MRMs are normally sourced from Geologists who have 10 to 15 years of relevant experience and a four-year geology degree. A Masters’ degree (MSc), preferably in Mineral Resource Management, is generally required. Currently, two South African Universities provide training in this subject – the University of the Witwatersrand (https://wits-enterprise.co.za/c/advanced-mineral-resource-management-mrm) and the University of the Free State:(https://www.ufs.ac.za/natagri/departments-and-divisions/geology-home/academic-information/msc-(mineral-resource-management)).
Given that the MRM must make decisions from a technical as well as an economic point of view, additional financial qualifications, e.g. a Masters’ degree in Business Administration (MBA), as well as an understanding of geostatistics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geostatistics is strongly recommended.

An example of the type of knowledge you will need to if you want to become an MRM can be found here: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/39664182.pdf. In this MSc, Carl de Jager details some of the technical skills and knowledge that an MRM must have to successfully fulfil their role.
Resources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2J8Xi6dNiA&t=254s

Related careers

Mine Surveyor
Mine Surveyors are critical to the successful operating of a mine. People who decide to become Surveyors are detail-oriented and enjoy (and understand) mathematics, especially geometry. In South Africa, mine surveying can be undertaken via university study (e.g. University of Johannesburg https://www.uj.ac.za/faculties/engineering-the-built-environment/schools/school-of-mining-metallurgy-and-chemical-engineering/department-of-mining-and-mine-surveying/) or vocational training. A good place to start if you are interested in a career as a Mining Surveyor is the Institute of Mine Surveyors of South Africa (IMSSA, https://www.ims.org.za/Home), the SAIMM web page will help as well: https://www.saimm.co.za/young-professionals-council/career-guidance/36-mine-surveying.

Senior positions carry a legal responsibility, so you will need to know the parts of the law related to the type of mine you are working on (open pit or underground) and the material that is being mined (metal or coal).

Resources

Geotechnical Engineer

A good introduction to Geotechnical Engineering may be found here: https://www.saimm.co.za/young-professionals-council/career-guidance/34-rock-engineering.

The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), provides additional information on their web page:
https://www.ausimm.com/career-development/mining-career-pathways/geotechnical-engineering/#:~:text=Geotechnical%20engineers%20or%20engineering%20geologists,and%20the%20placement%20of%20backfill
As in the case of a Surveyor, geotechnical engineering roles carry a legal responsibility in terms of the law.

Resources

Mining Engineer
Mining engineering can either be undertaken vocationally or via university studies at:

The career of the Mining Engineer offers a wide variety of career opportunities; however, this role carries legal responsibilities from the outset as you are responsible for the safety of the team you are leading.
They also blow things up:

Mine Planner
The way mines are planned tends to be unique in South Africa, in that Mine Surveyors traditionally fill this role. Internationally, this position is usually filled by a Mining Engineer, who is well-versed in the application of specialised software that assists them to design and schedule a mine.

Ronaldo dos Santos provides an overview of mine planning, although from an American point of view: https://ronaldocrdossantos.wordpress.com/

Resources

GSSA (Geological Society of South Africa)

Where to study

University of Johannesburg
University of Pretoria
University of the Witwatersrand
Tshwane University of Technology
University of South Africa






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