Production Mine Captain
Salary £ Competitive
South Crofty Mine, Pool, TR15 3QT
Vacancy listed 03/07/2026
Application deadline 20/07/2026
Details
The Company

Cornish Metals is an AIM listed Company working towards re-opening the 100% owned and fully permitted South Crofty underground tin mine in Pool, Cornwall.  

In March 2025, we raised £57.4 million, anchored by the UK’s National Wealth Fund and Vision Blue Resources to advance South Crofty towards tin production once again.  Tin is essential for electronics, renewable energy, and modern technology and demand is projected to increase by 30% in the next decade.

We are committed to ethical, responsible and domestic tin production and are proud to have strong local and national support.

Role requirements

We are looking for a Production Mine Captain to be responsible for leading and coordinating underground mining operations to ensure safe, efficient, and productive extraction of ore in a hard rock mining environment. This role provides frontline leadership to shift supervisors, miners, equipment operators, and support crews while ensuring all work is performed in compliance with safety regulations, production targets, and company standards.

Cornish Metals is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to diversity, equality and inclusion in the workplace.  A copy of our Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Policy is available on request.

Principle responsibilities/role tasks

Specific duties as part of the role include, but are not limited to, the following:-

Operational Leadership

  • Become a key member of the underground production team, utilising your experience and skills to help create a best practice, safe and efficient underground mining operation.
  • Oversee day-to-day underground mining activities, ensuring efficient execution of drilling, blasting, mucking, ground support, and haulage operations.
  • Assign tasks to shift supervisors and crews, ensuring optimal staffing and equipment utilisation.
  • Monitor development progress and operational readiness to meet daily, weekly, and monthly targets.
  • Ensure work is completed in accordance with mine plans, engineering designs, and geological requirements.
  • Be a key driver of training, establishing and maintaining a competent workforce.

Safety & Compliance

  • Promote and enforce a strong safety culture across all underground teams.
  • All works underground are to be carried out under the umbrella of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPS) or Risk Assessment Method Statements (RAMS), as Production Mine Captain, you are responsible for ensuring all works are conducted following these standards, and you should be able to contribute directly to the creation of these when required.
  • Conduct regular safety inspections, audits, and workplace observations.
  • Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (e.g., Mine Regulations 2014, Explosives Regulations, environmental standards and other applicable UK workplace standards and regulations).
  • Lead incident investigations and implement corrective actions.
  • Implement and uphold high standards of installation works and housekeeping throughout the underground mine and areas under your responsibility.

Team Management

  • Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to mining crews and shift supervisors.
  • Support training, mentoring, and competency development for underground personnel.
  • Evaluate performance and contribute to workforce planning and succession development.

Coordination & Communication

  • Work closely with Mine Engineering, Geology, Engineering Maintenance, and Health, Safety and Training teams to ensure alignment of activities.
  • Participate in production meetings and provide updates on progress, challenges, and resource needs.
  • Communicate daily expectations and priorities to operational crews.
  • Ensure sufficient materials and consumables levels are maintained at all times.

Continuous Improvement

  • Identify opportunities to improve productivity, equipment performance, and cost efficiency.
  • Support implementation of new mining methods, technologies, or operational changes.
  • Monitor KPIs and recommend process improvements.

Working Environment 

Working Environment This is an on-site role based at the South Crofty Mine and will involve working both on the surface and underground. 

Cornish Metals Ltd will supply you with all the necessary PPE required to work safely and do all it reasonably can to protect you from risk of injury and ill health, including completion, and maintenance of, risk assessments and implementing systems of work designed to protect your health and safety. Despite this, you will hold a significant amount of personal responsibility for the health and safety of yourself and your colleagues and the nature of the role and the physical environment in which you will work means that you will be exposed to uncomfortable conditions regularly.

 Conditions

  • Lighting is limited; headlamps are often the only light source. 
  • Conditions are wet and muddy, including water from above and slippery, uneven ground underfoot. 
  • Close contact with muddy and ochre-stained equipment and rock is common. 
  • Temperatures vary significantly: as low as 2°C in shallow areas and up to 30°C in deep workings. 
  • High humidity (up to 100%) and frequent draughts due to ventilation. 
  • Terrain includes steep gradients, loose ground, and confined spaces. 
  • The environment is often very noisy, requiring regular hearing protection. 
  • Work may involve heavy, vibrating handheld tools and manual handling up to 20kg. 

Access & Underground Movement 

  • Main access to the deep mine is via an 8-person cage in an 800m-deep shaft. 
  • A secondary emergency “bullet cage” (4-person, 800mm diameter) is also used. 
  • Spaces can be narrow with restricted height, requiring comfort in confined areas. 

Physical & Safety Requirements 

  • Ability to climb ladders in dark, wet conditions. 
  • Good level of physical fitness for manual handling and movement across difficult terrain. 
  • Ability to ride in small, confined shaft cages. 
  • Must wear and operate fall-arrest harnesses and restraint equipment. 
  • Frequent work at height, including on ropes and fall-restraint systems.
  • Required participation in regular health assessments.

Key relationships

The role will report to the Production Manager, but there will be frequent interaction with the Technical Services team and Engineering Maintenance department.

External relationships will include suppliers, local communities, and external contractors.

Skills and experience

The key skills and experience which are expected for this role are:

Essential

  • Significant underground hard rock mining experience (minimum 5+ years). 
  • Proven leadership experience in a supervisory or captain-level role. 
  • Strong working knowledge of underground mining methods (e.g. mechanised, trackless mining). 
  • Comprehensive understanding of mine safety regulations and best practices.
  • Experience in budget management and resource allocation.
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
  • Ability to make decisions under pressure and provide controlled leadership during emergency situations.
  • Technical knowledge of underground mine practices. 
  • Computer proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.

Desirable

  • Mining Engineering diploma or degree (or equivalent experience). 
  • Mine Supervisor Certification (varies by jurisdiction). 
  • Experience with narrow vein mining, ideally with longhole open stoping.
  • Knowledge of relevant health and safety regulations. 

Salary 

Competitive DOE

Benefits 

  • Health & Dental Cashback
  • Life Insurance
  • Enhanced parental leave and sick pay
  • Income protection insurance
  • Enhanced pension contributions
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Personal days

Hours of work and work location

Full-Time. 37.5 hours a week, Monday to Friday between 7.00am and 3pm, with some requirement to work at weekends. South Crofty Mine site.

Benefits

• Health & Dental Cashback
• Life Insurance
• Enhanced parental leave and sick pay
• Income protection insurance
• Enhanced pension contributions
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Personal days

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