The mine manager is one of the oldest jobs in the world. Over many centuries the fundamentals of how this job was approached did not change much. However since the later part of the 1980s there has been a dramatic shift in the expectations and role of the mine manager as the pressures of globalisation and consolidation have increased the size of companies and the production levels of mining operations. The changes have been dramatic, with demanding requirements on mine managers to continually improve the skill levels of people, to apply and develop rapidly changing technologies and to consider far broader business issues that need to be managed in a truly globally connected world._x000D_
This paper will attempt to outline some of the issues, the complexity surrounding them and some of the approaches that have been made to manage them._x000D_
There is not a single correct answer or approach, but there are many key success factors that have led to some amazing levels of performance being achieved as we go deeper, broader and literally move mountains to meet the customer's needs for today and tomorrow. This contrasts with many mining operations in developing countries that still have a traditional approach to how they mine._x000D_
Society is the river of life that continually flows and changes the environment that surrounds it. The pressures from the customers and world growth, shape and force alterations to be made in an industry that has to live with the far greater primal and uncompromising forces of the earth we mine. This has led to some paradigm shifts in how we accept what we manage._x000D_
Today's mine manager must manage a far broader range of issues, than just how do we get tonnage out of the mine and product out of the ore. These include but are not limited to technical, commercial, product quality and end use understanding, employee and community issues, environmental and the ever increasing complexities of sustainable development._x000D_
Organisations will have to look at how they structure their management of the business to manage functions to meet the complexity of different stakeholders needs - the business, the employees, the customer and the broader community within an environment that is becoming more attuned to the harm impacts to the world in which we operate. The attraction and retention of skilled people that contribute to the value and worth of the corporation, will become critical to sustain a company's growth. One of the fundamental elements of successfully doing this will always be the skills of the mine manager and his/her extended team with the continued development and support that they will need to meet these demands.