When your new mining project kicks off or production ramps up, hiring the right people—fast—is one of your toughest challenges. With limited internal capacity and tight timelines, even well-resourced HR teams can struggle to keep up.
Over the last 15 years, leading miners across the globe have begun to use a different talent acquisition approach to hire large teams of people: Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO). Here are five examples of how RPO works for mining companies that operate in tight labour markets, on remote project sites, and during periods of rapid expansion.
1. Papua New Guinea gold mine: Cuts time-to-fill by 50%
This gold mine in PNG struggled with recruitment delays that hurt production. With 500 vacant roles and an average time-to-fill of 190 days, the site HR team faced intense pressure from maintenance and production managers to get people in place faster.
The corporate HR team knew they needed a different approach. It was difficult to manage recruitment from their Australian corporate office so they decided to improve local expertise and on-ground HR presence on site.
They brought in our RPO team of 16 talent acquisition specialists who only work in mining recruitment. Rather than operate in silos, the team integrated with the on-site HR staff to help them improve their systems and recruit faster.
Our recruiters streamlined processes, implemented live Power BI dashboards for transparency, and handled end-to-end recruitment from job advertisements through to offer negotiations.
“We developed new adverts and flyers to attract talent, then worked closely with hiring managers to ensure we presented candidates aligned to the requirements of the role. The team has engaged hundreds of candidates and improved the overall hiring experience for future employees and hiring managers,” says Justin Campbell, our Head of Projects.
Results:
- Average time-to-fill reduced from 190 days to under 90 days (50% improvement)
- Over 2,200 candidates hired over five years
- Continued use of RPO model due to sustained success
2. Canada: 17 critical roles filled in 3 months during labour shortage
A copper-gold mine in remote British Columbia faced severe labour shortages that threatened expansion project deadlines. The challenging location required day-long travel to reach site, long rosters, and work in freezing conditions for much of the year. Combined with Canada’s broader mining talent shortage, the company needed fast results.
The internal HR team realised they needed external support to meet their expansion deadlines. Rather than struggle with traditional recruitment methods during a labour shortage, they set up a small-scale RPO program focused on rapid placement of key operational roles.
We deployed a focused micro-RPO team to handle the intensive recruitment program. They operated as an extension of the internal HR function but concentrated solely on filling essential roles like truck drivers and administrative staff as quickly as possible.
Results:
- 17 business-critical hires completed within 3 months
- Significant numbers of successful First Nations hires
- Internal HR team freed to focus on other expansion priorities
“The program was particularly effective in filling positions in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods. The client’s strong commitment to diverse hiring practices also meant a significant number of applicants are proud First Nations people,” explains Agata Sobolewska, our Recruitment Delivery Manager for North America.
With this approach, the company was able to complete their critical expansion on schedule even during one of the tightest labor markets in Canadian mining history.
3. Argentina: 87 hires in 18 months for major silver mine expansion
SSR Mining needed to staff their Chinchillas mine expansion in Argentina, the country’s largest silver producer. They knew it would be a difficult job: North American mining faced extreme staffing shortages. SSR’s internal team had to manage tight production deadlines and currency fluctuations.
Rather than stretch their already under-resourced internal HR team, SSR decided on a scalable RPO approach. They wanted a separate team fully focused on the Chinchillas project to keep their core HR people working on business-as-usual activities.
“Companies often think ‘we have an internal team who can do this’, but often those teams are already under-resourced or allocated to business-as-usual activities,” says Agata.
We stationed an RPO team from Peru and Brazil directly in SSR’s office, creating a link between the head office and the Argentine operation. The team managed all applications and conducted interviews with candidates.
Results:
- 87 successful placements over 18 months
- Chinchillas mine achieved commercial production on time
- Internal SSR team remained focused on core business activities
- They gained access to wider talent pool across Latin America
The dedicated RPO approach allowed SSR to meet their expansion timeline despite challenging candidate market conditions and helped deliver a successful mine expansion.
4. Madagascar: 300 Expat hires over 7 years for nickel mine
The Ambatovy Joint Venture faced a complex staffing situation at their world-class nickel-cobalt operation in Madagascar. With over 10,000 total positions across mine site, processing plant, port, and rail infrastructure, they had successfully hired 90% local nationals but still needed 1,000 additional staff with specialised technical and managerial skills.
It was hard enough finding qualified expat professionals willing to work in Madagascar, but government visa requirements and work permits made the process even more complex. The extra compliance requirements for expat recruitment slowed down their internal HR team and distracted them from local recruitment.
In 2016, Ambatovy partnered with us for dedicated expat RPO services. Our team handled all expatriate recruitment while Ambatovy’s internal team concentrated on local hiring and integration.
Our RPO team developed deep knowledge of each department’s culture and dynamics, understanding not just technical requirements but personality types that would succeed in specific teams. They maintained strong networks within the global expat mining community and checked that all candidates met visa, criminal history, and medical requirements.
Results:
- Over 300 expat hires across 7 years
- Average of 40 expat placements annually
- Reduced time-to-hire from months to hours for qualified candidates
- Partnership extended multiple times due to success
“Because we’re global, we have a strong network of expatriate candidates we can call on to find the right person. We often had a list of potential applicants in front of the hiring manager within hours,” explains Lisa Blignaut, our Senior Search Consultant, who was the project manager at the time.
The long-term partnership allowed Ambatovy to maintain consistent staffing levels for critical technical roles while their internal team focused on local talent development and integration.
5. Liberia: 25 Technical hires in first month for major iron ore expansion
This iron ore producer in West Africa needed to triple its production from 5 to 15 million tonnes. This required 189 new technical professionals in just 6 months—a massive recruitment challenge in one of the world’s most difficult mining environments.
The internal HR team knew they would need qualified expatriates willing to relocate to West Africa as well as skilled local workers. But they lacked the capacity to source, screen, and reference check that many people at once.
Without the right technical hires, the expansion faced costly production delays. Traditional recruitment agencies couldn’t deliver high-volume hiring in the required timeframe.
So, the company chose an RPO model with our team working directly on-site. The on-site RPO team introduced an ATS, streamlined hiring workflows, and facilitated clear communication across departments. They conducted job briefings with line managers and built relationships with local and expatriate staff.
Results:
- 25 technical professionals hired in first month
- 18 additional candidates at offer stage by month two
- Candidate shortlists delivered within 2-5 days
- 100% candidate NPS score from survey feedback
- On track to meet 189-person target in 6 months
“We present high-quality candidates every time so often an offer is made from the first shortlist. We know what they are looking for technically because we are on site, we talk to people, we talk to different stakeholders,” explains Rim Harrabi, our Lead Search Consultant working on the project.
The RPO approach allows rapid scaling while building good HR capabilities for future growth in one of mining’s most challenging environments.
Why RPO works
An RPO approach allows internal HR teams to:
Know the local market for overseas projects
Recruiters who understand local markets, compensation standards, and cultural factors make better hiring decisions. Someone recruiting in PNG needs different skills than someone hiring in Nevada.
Work with operations for better candidate fit
Recruiters who are embedded in the business can attend site meetings and assess candidates more effectively. They know which skills actually matter for each role.
Build relationships to access passive candidates
Long-term relationships with candidates, hiring managers, and local communities create better outcomes than transactional recruitment. Good candidates often come through referrals and relationships, not job postings.
Scale up or down as needed
Mining operations need to scale up and down at different times. RPO can adjust capacity to match your needs instead of maintaining fixed overhead or scrambling to find external help during busy periods.
“RPO is a good option when a company might lack internal capability or capacity in their HR team,” says Justin, who oversees our RPO projects globally.
“Global reach is key,” he says. “Not many companies can say they’ve done this at scale in so many unique locations. We speak multiple languages, have deep technical mining knowledge, and understand the landscape and what’s required.”
Over 15 years, we’ve helped dozens of mining companies solve these challenges by putting recruiters directly on site or in-country. Instead of managing recruitment from a distant head office, you get someone who understands local conditions and can move quickly.
How does RPO work?
Our Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) simplifies hiring by managing every step, from understanding your needs to finding and interviewing top talent.
1. Consult
Tell us about your business and recruitment challenges. We’ll connect you with someone who understands your region and candidate market.
2. Recommend
We recommend the best options for your company’s talent acquisition challenges.
3. Source qualified candidates
We work quickly to put good-fit candidates in front of you. And then support you through the entire hiring process including smooth onboarding.
