About the Role:
The Refinery Laboratorist is tasked with conducting and supervising laboratory testing, sampling, assaying, and quality-control activities for gold, silver, and other precious metals. This role is crucial for ensuring accurate purity analysis, obtaining reliable results, maintaining compliance with laboratory standards, and fostering continuous improvement in metal recovery and refining processes.
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Key Responsibilities:
- Conduct and supervise sampling, sample preparation, fire assay, XRF, and other precious-metal tests.
- Verify purity and composition against required specifications, including 999/999.9 standards where applicable.
- Review and confirm results; investigate discrepancies and arrange retesting when needed.
- Maintain accurate, confidential records and full sample traceability.
- Account for precious-metal samples, residues, crucibles, cupels, and laboratory waste; ensure materials are collected for recovery.
- Work with refinery and furnace teams to address quality issues, improve processes, and reduce metal losses.
- Maintain, calibrate, and arrange servicing of laboratory equipment and balances.
- Keep the laboratory clean and ensure safe handling and storage of chemicals, reagents, and equipment.
- Develop and follow laboratory SOPs, sampling methods, and quality-control procedures.
- Advise management on assay accuracy, recovery, quality, and laboratory improvements.
- Train and guide laboratory and refinery staff in testing, sampling, quality control, and safety.
Qualifications:
- Minimum 5 years of relevant experience in a precious-metals refinery, assay laboratory, gold testing laboratory or similar environment.
- Practical experience in gold and silver sampling, assaying, and purity determination.
- Hands-on knowledge of fire assay, XRF and other relevant precious-metal analytical techniques.
- Knowledge of precious-metal refining, production, laboratory quality control, and calibration.
- Experience handling precious-metal samples and maintaining metal accountability.
- Knowledge of laboratory chemicals, reagents, and safety procedures.
- Ability to analyze assay discrepancies, recommend corrective actions, and maintain accurate records.
- Ability to train and guide staff, with strong integrity, accuracy, and attention to detail.
