For most mine expansion projects, RPO is the more effective recruitment model. But that’s not to say contingent recruitment doesn’t have a role. It depends on the scale, the timeline, and what kind of support you actually need.
A lot of sites fall into the trap of defaulting to their usual recruitment partners when entering an expansion phase. It’s understandable: if it worked before, why change? But an expansion project often brings a very different set of recruitment challenges: compressed timelines, dozens (or hundreds) of new roles to fill, and the need to backfill internally promoted staff. That’s not a typical operating environment, it’s a rapid scale-up, and it puts pressure on both internal HR teams and external recruiters to move fast, without sacrificing quality or compliance.
Why RPO is a better fit to scale up mining operations
This is where RPO tends to outperform contingent models. With RPO, you’re outsourcing the time-consuming, boring bits like CV-sifting. But you’re also bringing in an embedded team that partners with your internal stakeholders. They work directly with hiring managers to forecast workforce needs, align with project schedules, and manage the full process from sourcing through to onboarding. That includes the unglamorous but essential tasks: coordinating medicals, site inductions, mobilisation, background checks, and reporting. If you’ve got local employment obligations or need to meet Indigenous hiring targets, a good RPO provider will build that into the process too.
Because RPO teams are embedded, they’re also better positioned to maintain consistency across the hiring experience, protect your employer brand during a high-growth phase, and improve retention by getting the right people through a structured process.
Are you a junior miner that’s just ramping up? Read this other article on whether RPO works for greenfields mining projects. Or if you’re in the talent acquisition planning stage, this article covers how to create a hiring roadmap for a new mining project.
Contingent recruitment: When it still makes sense
Contingent recruitment can still play a role—but typically in more targeted ways. If you’re trying to fill a few niche technical roles or urgently backfill a critical position, contingent recruiters can be effective. They’re fast, they know their networks, and you only pay when they deliver.
But they don’t provide much structure or long-term support. When you’re scaling up across multiple departments, trying to maintain consistency in your hiring process, and ensuring new hires are properly inducted and retained, the contingent model starts to show its limitations.
Choosing the right recruitment model for expansion projects
The difference comes down to whether you’re solving for speed alone, or for speed, scale, and stability. Expansion projects usually need all three.
So, if you’re entering a phase where you’ll be hiring dozens of people, opening new shifts, or supporting the rollout of new infrastructure, RPO is almost always the safer, more scalable option. It gives you visibility over the process, better alignment with operations, and a stronger candidate experience. And this matters, especially when the labour market is tight.
Contingent recruitment still has its place. But if your project is beyond the “fill a few gaps” stage, and into full ramp-up mode, it’s worth asking whether your current model is really built for what’s coming.
