Operator Drill & Blast

Drill and Blast Operators

• Join a safety-driven team that values inclusivity, teamwork, and a welcoming environment for all.
• Enjoy the security of permanent employment with competitive pay, annual bonuses, and an extensive range of benefits to support your lifestyle.
• Achieve work-life balance in with family-friendly rosters (8:6 or 8:6/7:7) that suit your ideal way of living.
• Fly in, Fly out with ease – with departures from Perth, Busselton, Geraldton, Albany, and Broome

About the role:

Finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs.

We are looking for experienced Operators to join our Drill and Blast teams across various Pilbara mine sites, helping to drive productivity and achieve operational targets. These roles are an excellent opportunity for team-oriented and motivated individuals who thrive in a supportive and safety-driven environment.

Fly-in, Fly-out (FIFO) opportunities are available from Perth, Busselton, Albany, Geraldton, and Broome to ensure a smooth and convenient travel experience.

In addition to paying competitively and providing great benefits packages, we want you to live the lifestyle that is right for you and your family. And because of our size and scale, there are many opportunities to learn, grow and do more than you ever thought possible. Every hour of every shift, your safety and wellbeing is our number one priority. We do the work only if it is safe, and we invest to make sure every member of the team has the quality tools they need to do their job.

Reporting to the Drill & Blast Superintendent, and working in a collaborative community, within the drill and blast team, you will:

Drill Operators:

• Adhere to all Rio Tinto standards, policies and procedures
• Actively foster and communicate a positive safety culture to promote safety awareness and compliance, encouraging prioritisation of safety in all activities and operations
• Foster a culture of continuous improvement by identifying, evaluating and implementing improvement opportunities utilising a range of Rio Tinto best practices
• Collaborate closely with other functions and stakeholders in the performance of duties
• Operate open pit drill rigs and other equipment when required
• Inspect equipment to ensure the correct working order and safety requirements
• Responsible for maintaining a safe standard of drill laydown areas
• Optimise consumable life and consumable life management

Blast Operators:

• Participate in all activities involving the use of explosive products, including maintaining the standards of explosive compounds
• Operate the stemming truck
• Use electronic detonators as well as firing units
• Always comply with the blast plan
• Stock take magazines
• Inspect equipment to ensure the correct working order and safety requirements
• Perform sampling duties as required

What you’ll bring

• A commitment to the safety of yourself and your team.
• A valid Australian C Class manual driver’s license or higher.
• A Dangerous goods licence (for Drill Operators)
• Criminal History Clearance (DG and Blast Secure Nominee)
• A strong team mindset, with the ability to work safely and flexibly to meet business requirements
• Strong focus on housekeeping and compliance within magazines, magazine compounds, explosive vehicles, and work areas.

What we offer

• Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.
• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority
• A permanent position working directly for Rio Tinto
• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive bonus
• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family
• Attractive share ownership plan
• Company provided insurance cover
• Extensive salary sacrifice & salary packaging options
• Career development & education assistance to further your technical or leadership ambitions
• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave, cultural leave)
• To better suit different family needs, our paid parental leave approach gives all parents the option to take 18 weeks of paid leave after a new child arrives – at a time that suits them

Where you’ll be working ​

In the Pilbara region of Western Australia,  Rio Tinto operates the world’s largest integrated portfolio of iron ore assets with industry-leading margins. Our premium product suite, including our flagship Pilbara blend, drives strong customer relationships and is supported by technical and commercial marketing expertise. The iron ore business continues to be the world’s largest autonomous truck operator and a proud leader in automated mining technologies. 

#IndigenousAU #Australia #GTS

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.

Every Voice MattersAt 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.