Senior Metallurgist

Chifeng Gold's Lane Xang Minerals Limited Company (LXML) operates the Sepon Gold and Copper Operation, located in Vilabouly District, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR. We are committed to the development of Laos through our production of cooper and gold, whilst striving for business excellence throughout the business. It is an exciting time at LXML in 2025 with mining and exploration ramping up and a new circuit in development to boost the copper production capabilities in coming years.

We are looking for highly motivated individuals to join us during the growth phase of our business as we embark on designing, constructing and commissioning a new primary copper circuit at the Sepon operation.

The Senior Metallurgist reports the  Superintendent - Processing. Optimal performance will require key technical projects to be executed on-time and successfully deliver the planned benefit to metal production. Additionally, troubleshooting current plant performance to meet targets is equally critical for the role. The production bottleneck is often in crushing and milling, it would be considered a special asset for candidates having proven success in these areas of processing. Process control automation is also a large focus to improve at Sepon, preference would be given to candidates with experience automating mill control, flotation mass pull, cyanide control, and various plant reagent additions.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading simultaneous projects with competing priorities in various execution phases in both gold and copper processing - including a copper expansion project with new milling circuits and expanded Electrowinning (EW) capacity.
• Minimising unit costs of externally supplied consumables by understanding cost/performance relationships of these consumables and setting operating parameters that maximize efficiency.
• Monitoring process plant performance and liaising with areas of the site operation about technical consequences and forecasts; Coordinate the operating supervision in the output of the daily strategy in relation to plant performance, bottlenecks, threats and risks.
• Initiating and implementing projects focusing on metallurgical performance and reliability contributing to the rolling quarterly plant production schedules to meet annual budgets.
• A detailed understanding of the metallurgical accounting system, budget/forecast model and the life of mine planning process.
• Develop test work programs to increase plant efficiency and troubleshoot areas of plant problems.  Review and recommend projects to overcome issues either by innovation or new technology.
• Providing statistical data, i.e. trend analysis, daily analysis, periodical reports. Many deliverables will be required in Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
• Mentoring, coaching and training for metallurgists, graduate metallurgists, and process officers.
• Maintaining work groups focus on safety and environmental considerations.

Qualifications, Skills and Experience:

• Tertiary degree in Mineral Processing, Metallurgical, or Chemical engineering.
• Organisational ability to manage multiple tasks with clear accountability.
• Project and time management skills; speed in execution is highly valued at Sepon.
• Commitment to high quality standards.
• Problem solving ability with proven success – experience with root-cause analysis methods is preferred.
• Solid communicator at required levels (management, technical, operational).
• Minimum 5 years' experience, specifically with a gold production plant.
• High level of operating skills in two or more of the unit operations present in the gold and copper plant including: Crushing, Milling, CCD thickening, flotation, atmospheric leaching, pressure leaching, CIL and stripping, Solvent Extraction (SX), Electro-winning (EW), Oxygen plant, Tailings/Neutralisation, Water treatment.
• Special attention will be given to candidates with stronger background in crushing and milling, or Copper Solvent Extraction (SX) and Electro-winning (EW).
• Process control automation experience will be considered an asset.
• Experience in production planning and metallurgical accounting.

This is a fixed term position based in Laos PDR on a FIFO roster back to your point of hire. The onsite camp facilities at Sepon include fully serviced air-conditioned rooms, dining halls, convenience store, gym and sporting facilities, and a fully equipped medical centre. An attractive expatriate salary package including a performance based incentive and other benefits is on offer.