Mining refers to the act of extracting valuable minerals and/ or other materials from the depth of the earth. Naturally these minerals/ materials have a lot of value, and the most common materials mined across the globe include- coal, metals like gold etc., oil, limestone, gemstones, clay etc. Every mining company has a management structure and the hierarchy in this structure is referred to as the mining management hierarchy. While the hierarchical structure varies from organization to organization (depending on the region, material being extracted etc.) there is a basic mining management hierarchy structure as mentioned below:
- Board of Directors: At the top of the hierarchical structure is the board of directors, a trait which most companies across sectors share. The Board as usual comprises of equity/ share holders of the company and other with considerable stake.
- Internal Audit Committee: This is a committee established to manage the financial auditing aspect of a mining company. The committee is separate from all other functions of the company and the reports/ recommendations by the committee are sent directly to the Board. In some cases, the committee might report to the CEO as well.
- Chairman or CEO: The next in line is the chairman or the CEO of the company. A company may either have only one of these positions or both, depending upon the requirement of the company. In case the company has both the positions, the Chairman mostly is considered second to the CEO.
- Executive Vice President Positions: After the CEO or the Chairman, come the vice president positions. Now depending upon the size and expanse of the company, the departments may be established either on the basis of different material mined, the different projects or even different functions (like operations, exploration etc.). But in most cases the departments consist of different departments for the materials mined and some other operational departments. Depending upon how the departments have been established, distinct Vice President profiles are established. In some companies with greater scope, the need for senior vice president positions may also arise.
- Senior Manager/ Manager Positions: Assuming that the mining company in question extracts three metals there will be three different departments for these metals. And these departments will be sub-divided into further departments. Each of these departments will have a VP who is followed by a chain of senior managers and mangers.
As stated above, every mining company will consist of departments based on the material mined in addition to the departments based on components such as human resources management, administration, accounting & finance, planning & coordination, and public relations department etc.
But there are segments which are peculiar to the mining industry, and the departments based on these include:
- Environment & Safety Department
- Facilities Engineering Department
- Resources Development Department
- Functional Materials Department
This is not a conclusive list and may come to include other department particular to the respective mining company. And each of these departments will have head manager, senior manager, and managerial positions.