Job Description
Technical Metallurgical Assurance Lead – Africa & Middle East
Position Overview
Barrick’s Africa & Middle East (AME) team are seeking to recruit a Technical Metallurgical Assurance Lead.
The Technical Metallurgical Assurance Lead is responsible for independent technical assurance, performance verification, and operational discipline across all AME processing operations, ensuring that metallurgical systems are accurate, controlled, compliant, and delivering sustainable value.
The role acts as the second line of technical defence within the metallurgical function, providing objective validation of plant performance, data integrity, and process control effectiveness, while also serving as a deployable operational leader capable of stepping into Process Plant Manager roles when required.
This Position Is Critical In Ensuring That
- Reported performance is real, reconciled, and defensible
- Operational practices are aligned with standards and design intent
- Risks are identified early and escalated appropriately
- Plants remain stable and recoverable during disruptions or leadership gaps
Key Responsibilities
- Metallurgical Assurance & Independent Verification
- Provide independent technical assurance across all AME processing plants:
- Validate reported recovery, throughput, and cost performance
- Challenge assumptions and reported improvements
- Conduct deep-dive assurance reviews, including:
- Circuit-by-circuit performance validation
- Mass balance closure verification
- Reconciliation accuracy checks
- Ensure that reported value delivery is real, sustained, and auditable
- Metallurgical Accounting & QA/QC Assurance
- Audit and verify compliance with AMIRA P754 principles, including:
- Sampling integrity (location, frequency, representativity)
- QA/QC protocols (duplicates, blanks, standards)
- Stock accounting (carbon, solution, ore stockpiles)
- Identify and rectify:
- Bias in sampling systems
- Systemic reconciliation errors
- Data integrity issues
- Support sites in achieving robust, repeatable, and auditable accounting systems
- Process Control & Operational Discipline
- Verify that plants are operating within defined control philosophies and design envelopes, including:
- Residence time adherence
- Reagent dosing strategies
- Carbon inventory and movement
- Flotation operating windows
- Identify drift from optimal operating conditions and enforce corrective actions
- Ensure standard operating procedures (SOPs) are:
- Defined
- Understood
- Consistently applied
- Loss Identification & Root Cause Analysis
- Lead independent validation of site “Top Losses Registers”, including:
- Tails losses
- Soluble losses
- Gravity losses
- Flotation inefficiencies
- Conduct forensic metallurgical investigations to:
- Identify true root causes (not symptoms)
- Quantify impact in production and value terms
- Ensure corrective actions are:
- Technically sound
- Implemented
- Verified for effectiveness
- Detox & Environmental Compliance Assurance
- Verify that detox circuits
- Operating within permit limits
- Aligned with design intent
- Audit:
- Cyanide destruction efficiency
- WAD cyanide compliance
- Monitoring and reporting systems
- Support sites in maintaining regulatory compliance and audit readiness
- Operational Readiness & Restart Assurance
- Lead metallurgical assurance for:
- Plant restarts (planned or unplanned)
- Major process changes
- Validate Metallurgical Readiness Packs, including:
- Risk registers
- Control strategies
- Performance expectations
- Ensure plants restart:
- Safely
- Within control
- With predictable performance ramp-up
- Crisis & Gap Coverage (Acting Process Plant Manager Capability)
- Serve as a deployable operational leader, capable of stepping into:
- Process Plant Manager
- Acting Metallurgical Manager
- Provide leadership during:
- Operational instability
- Leadership gaps
- Commissioning or turnaround events
- Take full accountability for:
- Production delivery
- Safety and compliance
- Team leadership and decision-making
- Standards Enforcement & Governance Support
- Enforce compliance with:
- AME Metallurgy Playbook
- Corporate metallurgical standards
- Identify gaps between standards and practice
- Support the Lead Metallurgist in:
- Driving standardisation
- Ensuring consistent application across sites
- Data Integrity, Systems & Reporting Assurance
- Ensure integrity of:
- Metallurgical reporting systems
- Data pipelines and dashboards
- Validate:
- Accuracy of KPIs
- Consistency of reporting methodologies
- Support development of “single source of truth” systems
- Coaching, Capability & Technical Mentorship
- Provide hands-on coaching to:
- Process Managers
- Metallurgists
- Senior plant personnel
- Develop site capability in:
- Metallurgical accounting
- Process control discipline
- Root cause analysis
- Act as a technical escalation point for complex plant issues
Interface with Process Engineering & Projects Work closely with AME Lead Process Engineer to:
- Validate effectiveness of engineering changes
- Ensure design modifications deliver expected metallurgical outcomes
Provide operational feedback into:
- Flowsheet optimisation
- Testwork programmes
- Project design criteria
- Key Deliverables
- Independent metallurgical assurance reports (per site)
- Metallurgical accounting audit reports
- Loss analysis and root cause investigation reports
- Detox compliance assurance reports
- Restart readiness assurance sign-offs
- Operational gap coverage (as required)
Qualification Requirements
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical / Metallurgical / Mineral Processing Engineering.
- Post-Graduate studies will be advantageous.
- Professional registration (e.g., ECSA PrEng / PrTechEng or equivalent) is advantageous.
- Formal training in metallurgical accounting / metal balancing and sampling QA/QC (aligned to AMIRA P754) will be advantageous.
Experience And Skills Requirements
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience in metallurgical / mineral processing roles within gold and copper processing operations, including direct plant operational exposure.
- Demonstrated experience performing independent technical assurance / audit-style reviews, including verification of KPIs, recovery, throughput, costs, and improvement claims.
- Proven ability to lead or coach cross-functional teams at site level and influence without direct authority; experience mentoring metallurgists and process managers is essential.
- Strong metallurgical accounting and reconciliation capability, including mass balance closure, sampling and assay QA/QC, stock accounting, and defensible reporting aligned to AMIRA P754 principles.
- Demonstrated experience in loss identification and root cause analysis (e.g., tails/soluble losses, gravity and flotation performance), including quantifying business impact and verifying effectiveness of corrective actions.
- Experience supporting operational readiness, plant restarts, and/or major process changes, including risk-based readiness packs, control strategies, and ramp-up performance verification.
- Good understanding of detox and environmental compliance requirements, including cyanide destruction performance, WAD cyanide compliance monitoring, and audit readiness.
- High competence in data integrity and reporting systems: ability to interrogate datasets, validate calculations/methods, and support “single source of truth” reporting (advanced Excel essential; familiarity with dashboards/BI tools advantageous).
- Strong written and verbal communication skills with ability to produce clear assurance reports, present findings to senior leadership, and escalate risks appropriately.
- Highly developed stakeholder management skills and ability to operate credibly across sites, functions, and cultures within the AME region.
- Strong safety leadership and working knowledge of mining safety procedures, risk management, and regulatory compliance expectations.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook; MS Project advantageous); able to work effectively with site systems and reporting tools.
- Willingness and ability to travel frequently across the AME region and work on remote mine sites as required.
Why Join Barrick
- A comprehensive compensation package including bonuses and site-specific benefits
- The ability to make a difference and lasting impact
- Work in a dynamic, collaborative, progressive, and high-performing team
- Opportunities to grow and learn with industry colleagues
- Access to a variety of career opportunities across the organisation
We are committed to a safe work environment sending every person home safe and healthy every day and leaving a sustainable legacy on our host communities.
Thank you for your application, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
About Us
Our mission is to be the world’s most valued gold and copper mining business. We are committed to partnering with our host countries and communities to transform their natural resources into tangible benefits and mutual prosperity.
Barrick is a leading global mining, exploration and development company. With one of the largest portfolios of world-class and life-long gold and copper assets in the industry - including six of the world's Tier One gold mines - Barrick's operations an projects span 18 countries and five continents. Barrick is also the largest gold producer in the United States. We create real, long-term value for all stakeholders through responsible mining, strong partnerships, and a disciplined approach to growth. Barrick shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "B" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ABX".
