Mine Water Management - Excavator Operator

Mine Water Management Operator- Excavation & Site Support

Play a key role in Mine Water Management and earthworks. We’re looking for highly skilled excavator operators who take pride in precision trenching and sumping, work safely around water bodies, and keep production moving day and night.

About the role

You’ll operate a range of excavators (from 50t to 800t, including long‑reach units) to construct water-control infrastructure, trenches, sumps, drains and bunds and support general mine services. Working to survey designs and machine guidance (e.g., CAES—Computer Aided Earthworks Systems) you’ll deliver clean, accurate earthworks that meet plan tolerances and site standards.

What you’ll do

• Roster: mix of dayshift and nightshift, 8:6 / 7:7

• Execute trenching and sumping to design, including tie‑ins to drains, sumps and discharge points
• Maintain geometry and wall quality through flitching and scaling; manage batters and floor levels
• Perform top‑loading safely and efficiently; coordinate with haulage and water‑cart operations
• Read and work to designs and machine guidance (CAES); complete QA checks and as‑built updates
• Operate around water bodies with strong hazard awareness and environmental controls
• Apply risk assessments and critical controls to every task; escalate hazards promptly

What you’ll bring

• 2+ years’ excavator experience (preferably across 50t–800t)
• Proven trenching/sumping capability and work to survey designs/machine guidance (CAES preferred)
• Demonstrated top‑loading experience
• AHS exposure desirable (not essential)
• Long‑reach excavator experience desirable
• Proficiency with flitching and scaling techniques
• Strong safety mindset and motivation to be on the digger full time

What’s on offer

• Permanent employment with competitive remuneration and performance bonus eligibility
• Site allowances and benefits designed to make life better
• A supportive team culture that prioritises safety, inclusion and wellbeing

Where we’re all welcome

We’re committed to an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and heard. We welcome applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from culturally diverse backgrounds.

About Rio TintoRio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and InclusionAt Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.