About the Role

RCPM is seeking a capable, safety-conscious and results-driven Production Supervisor to oversee daily drilling, loading and hauling, and stockpile reclaiming operations at the Exxaro Grootegeluk Complex. The successful candidate will coordinate operational teams across the assigned scope, monitor production targets, ensure compliance with safety procedures and support efficient utilisation of equipment and personnel.

Key Responsibilities

A. Safety and legal compliance

·         Ensure that mining activities comply with applicable legislation, mine standards, safe operating procedures and approved risk assessments.

·         Conduct pre-shift safety briefings, workplace inspections and planned task observations as required.

·         Verify that critical safety controls are implemented and remain effective throughout the shift.

·         Verify drill-site readiness and control drilling-related hazards, including drill-rig positioning, exclusion zones, ground conditions and interactions with mobile equipment.

·         Identify, report and address unsafe acts, unsafe conditions and deviations from approved procedures.

·         Ensure that operators are competent and appropriately authorised to operate their assigned equipment.

·         Participate in incident investigations and ensure that corrective actions are implemented.

·         Exercise stop-work authority where conditions present unacceptable safety risks.

B. Production planning and execution

·         Translate daily production plans into executable shift-level activities.

·         Ensure that equipment, personnel and working areas are ready before production starts.

·         Communicate shift production targets, work priorities and operating instructions to operators.

·         Monitor production performance throughout the shift, identify deviations from planned targets, and implement timely corrective actions to ensure operational efficiency and target achievement.

·         Identify production constraints and coordinate recovery plans without compromising safety.

·         Ensure that mining activities follow approved sequences and operational plans.

·         Coordinate drilling activities in accordance with approved drill plans, designated sump locations, drilling priorities and operating boundaries.

C. Equipment utilisation and productivity

·         Monitor equipment availability, utilisation, productivity and operational delays.

·         Identify excessive truck waiting time, loading delays, queuing, and inefficient equipment deployment.

·         Monitor truck cycle times, payload compliance, and loading equipment performance where applicable.

·         Monitor drilling progress against planned metres, drill-rig performance, operating delays and equipment utilisation where applicable.

·         Coordinate equipment allocation to maintain balanced production.

·         Liaise with maintenance regarding equipment defects, breakdowns and planned maintenance.

·         Ensure equipment defects are reported promptly and that unsafe equipment is not operated.

D. People Management

·         Allocate people according to operational priorities, competencies and available resources.

·         Monitor attendance, absenteeism, time keeping and shift readiness.

·         Address poor performance and misconduct in accordance with company disciplinary procedures.

·         Provide coaching, feedback and guidance to employees.

·         Ensure effective communication and accountability within the team.

E. Production reporting and reconciliation

·         Maintain accurate production records and equipment utilisation reports.

·         Record and verify drilling metres, completed drill locations, drill-rig utilisation and drilling-related delays against shift targets.

·         Verify reported production against relevant dispatch, loading, receiving and material movement records.

·         Record operational delays, downtime and production losses.

·         Investigate unexplained discrepancies and escalate unresolved deviations.

·         Prepare comprehensive shift handover reports.

·         Communicate outstanding operational constraints to incoming supervisors and management.

F. Operational coordination

·         Coordinate with other supervisors, the Senior Foreman, Maintenance and relevant client representatives.

·         Ensure mining activities are aligned with approved work areas, traffic routes and operating boundaries.

·         Coordinate safe interfaces between drill rigs, loading equipment, hauling trucks and other activities in shared or adjacent work areas.

·         Maintain acceptable housekeeping, haul-road conditions and workplace standards within the assigned area.

·         Escalate safety-critical and production-critical issues promptly.

Requirements

Requirements

• Grade 12 / Matric.
  
• Relevant mining, production or operations-related qualification will be advantageous.
  

·         Minimum 3 years’ relevant production experience in mining, earthmoving or heavy material handling.

·         At least 2 years’ direct responsibility for mining operations teams.

·         Demonstrated experience in open-cast mining

·         Practical knowledge of drilling equipment, excavators, front-end loaders, haul trucks and other relevant equipment assigned to the scope.

·         Working understanding of drilling activities, including drill-site preparation, drilling sequences, drill-rig safety and the coordination of drilling with loading and hauling operations.

• Experience executing shift production plans and monitoring operational KPIs.
  
• Working knowledge of applicable MHSA requirements in the workplace, risk assessments and safe operating procedures.
  
• Experience in managing attendance, performance, discipline and operational teams.
  
• Ability to prepare and interpret production, drilling progress, downtime and equipment-utilisation reports.
  

·         Working proficiency in Microsoft Excel and other relevant reporting systems

Advantageous Experience

A. Mining and equipment experience

• Previous experience supervising high-volume open-cast load & haul operations.
  
• Experience with CAT 777s, CAT 773s or comparable rigid dump trucks.
  
• Experience with large hydraulic excavators and front-end loaders.
  
• Knowledge of excavator-truck matching and fleet allocation.
  

• Experience identifying and resolving haulage constraints.
  
• Experience working with production and maintenance teams in a contractor mining environment.
  

B. Drilling operations

• Experience supervising production or sump drilling operations in an open-cast mining environment.
  
• Experience coordinating drill-rig deployment, drill-site readiness and drilling progress against planned metres.
  
• Familiarity with drill plans, hole positioning, drilling quality requirements and drilling-related safety controls.
  
• Experience identifying and resolving drilling delays and managing interfaces with mobile equipment.
  

C. Operational performance systems

• Experience implementing short interval control.
  
• Experience analysing cycle times, operating delays and equipment utilisation.
  
• Ability to identify production bottlenecks and implement performance improvements.
  
• Experience reconciling production records against physical material movements.
  

D. Stockpile Operations

·         Experience in coal stockpile reclaiming and material handling.

·         Familiarity with material segregation, stockpile identification, and quality requirements.

·         Understanding of reclaim sequences and stockpile stability risks.

·         Experience coordinating loading and hauling from stockpiles to designated receiving points.

E. Contractor and client requirements

·         Experience operating under contractual production targets and performance requirements.

·         Understanding of client–contractor communication and reporting expectations.

·         Experience coordinating operational interfaces between production, maintenance and client personnel.

·         Familiarity with Grootegeluk operational standards and procedures would be advantageous, where directly relevant.

F. Safety and operational improvements

·         Experience participating in incident investigations and corrective action management.

·         Experience improving equipment productivity or reducing operational delays.

·         Exposure to formal critical control verification programmes.

·         Experience supervising operational teams through contract transitions or mobilisation.

Required Competencies

• Team leadership and supervision.
  
• Production planning and coordination.
  
• Ability to coordinate drilling, loading and hauling, and stockpile operations within an integrated shift plan.
  
• Strong communication and decision-making.
  
• Problem-solving and operational troubleshooting.
  
• Time management and prioritisation.
  
• Safety awareness and risk identification.
  
• Ability to work under pressure and meet production targets.
  
• Accurate reporting and record-keeping.
  
• Accountability and teamwork.