Head of Beneficiation

Position Summary:

• The Head of Beneficiation is responsible for the technical and operational performance of the concentration process across company, ensuring safe, efficient, and cost-effective conversion of ore into concentrate. The role sets processing standards and technical direction for the concentrators, drives continuous improvement and digitalization of beneficiation processes, and builds the technical capability of the metallurgical function.

Key Performance Indicators:

• Safety indicators
• Recovery
• Quality of concentrate
• Cost of processing (labor, electricity, consumption of grinding media and liners)
• Throughput vs. plan
• Environmental compliance indicators (tailings discharge quality, water balance)
• Number of validated process improvements / initiatives implemented per year

Key Responsibilities:

• Process & Technical Standards:
• Define optimal technical regimes depending on ore quality and variability
• Develop instructions, process standards, and methodology for concentrators
• Own reagent regimes across concentrators
• Manage water regimes (return vs. fresh water balance, treatment of mine water)
• Conduct testwork ahead of changes in ore feed (new ore bodies, blends, geometallurgical shifts)
• Innovation & Digitalization:
• Drive innovation and build predictive/optimization models using AI and data analytics
• Build process dashboards and real-time monitoring tools for the concentrators
• Improve and standardize data collection and instrumentation across sites so models and dashboards are built on comparable, reliable data
• Benchmark company concentrators against industry best practice (recovery, energy use, reagent consumption) to identify improvement targets
• Cost & Planning:
• Drive cost optimization; define optimal process/consumable standards; identify and qualify new materials (grinding media, liners, reagents)
• Lead long-term and medium-term process planning including optimal use of concentrator capacity during remaining LOM
• Provide technical input to CAPEX planning for plant upgrades and modernization
• Act as key technical interface with mine planning/geology on ore quality forecasts, so processing regimes and investments are aligned with the ore body outlook
• Risk & Compliance:
• Manage process-related risks and ecological standards (tailings, water, reagent handling)
• Ensure concentrator practices comply with applicable environmental permits and support ESG reporting requirements
• People & Performance:
• Manage performance of the beneficiation team and functional oversight of concentrator metallurgists
• Develop people and technical capability across the concentrators
• Establish a common technical career path / competency framework for metallurgists across business, to support internal mobility and succession planning

Requirements and Experience:

• 10+ years of experience in managing beneficiation/concentrator operations
• Demonstrated track record of driving measurable improvements in recovery and/or cost
• Experience managing or coordinating teams across more than one production site is a plus
• Education: Higher education in metallurgy (or related mineral processing discipline)
• Languages: Russian, English, Kazakh

Key Competencies:

• Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making
• Ability to translate ore variability and geological data into actionable process changes
• Leadership across a matrixed structure (direct team + functional oversight of site metallurgists)
• Comfortable working with digital/AI tools and championing their adoption on the shop floor
• Clear communicator able to align technical, cost, and safety priorities across sites