Principal Metallurgist (Goldfield)

Job No: GEM21
Location: Goldfield

  • Become a valuable addition to Centerra's Goldfield District Project
  • Boost your career by joining an established organization
  • Receive a competitive annual salary, plus excellent benefits

About Centerra Gold

Headquartered in Toronto, Centerra Gold (TSX: CG) is one of the leading North American gold and copper producers engaged in the operation, exploration, development, and acquisition of quality mining assets in Asia, North America, and other markets worldwide.

Centerra’s vision is to build a team-based culture of excellence that responsibly delivers sustainable value and growth. We are committed to the safety, integrity, ethics, and fairness of our operations, promoting the highest standards of ethical business conduct of our employees, officers, and directors. 

For more information, please see our website. 

About the Goldfield District Project

Located on the Walker Lane trend in Esmeralda County, Nevada, about 30 miles south of Tonopah, the Goldfield District Project can be accessed via U.S. Highway 95 from Las Vegas or Reno. This project is an underexplored property in a prolific mining jurisdiction that provides substantial upside potential.

Goldfield is a conventional open-pit, heap leach project currently proceeding with development and construction after completing a technical study in August 2025. The project has an approximate mine life of 7-years and first production is expected by the end of 2028, adding to Centerra’s near-term gold production profile. 

Goldfield District Project promotes a drug and alcohol-free workplace and has adopted a zero-tolerance policy with respect to alcohol or unauthorized drugs on site.

About the Opportunity

We have an exciting opportunity for a Principal Metallurgist to join our team in Goldfield District Project in Goldfield, Nevada. 

The Principal Metallurgist is the site technical authority for metallurgy at the Goldfield Mine, a superintendent-level position reporting to the Manager, Operations. The role leads the Metallurgy, Refinery, and Assay Laboratory teams, with the Assay Lab Supervisor, Refinery Technicians, and Metallurgical Technician as direct reports, and is accountable for gold recovery, heap leach performance, metallurgical accounting and reconciliation, refinery security and doré accountability, and the delivery of accurate and timely assay results for grade control, process, and environmental purposes.

During the pre-production phase, the position leads metallurgical operational readiness, including design reviews, commissioning support, and the establishment of the systems, procedures, and team required for steady-state operations. The position works closely with Plant Operations, Maintenance, Geology, Mine Engineering, Environmental, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure Goldfield meets its production, recovery, safety, environmental, and cost objectives. 

Your responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

  • Serve as the site technical authority for metallurgy, providing leadership and direction to the Metallurgy, Refinery, and Assay Laboratory teams to deliver safe, accurate, and reliable metallurgical performance across heap leach, ADR, refinery, and laboratory operations.
  • Lead and reinforce compliance with MSHA requirements, company safety standards, environmental permits, and the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC) within the metallurgy, refinery, and laboratory areas. Act as technical owner for process-side cyanide management, including solution chemistry, cyanide addition, and WAD cyanide monitoring, in coordination with Environmental and Plant Operations.
  • Maintain compliance with Corporate, governmental, and Site environmental, human resources, and safety policies, procedures, and regulations.
  • Monitor, analyze, and optimize heap leach performance, including leach kinetics and recovery curves, solution application rates, cyanide and lime consumption, pH control, and pad irrigation practices, and support the site process water balance and solution inventory management.
  • Provide technical direction to Plant Operations on ADR and refinery performance, including carbon loading, elution, carbon regeneration, electrowinning, and smelting. Define metallurgical operating targets with Plant Operations, which retains accountability for execution, and lead troubleshooting of process performance issues.
  • Provide metallurgical recovery criteria by ore type to Geology and Mine Engineering to support crushed versus run-of-mine routing decisions, ore control practices, and life-of-mine planning.
  • Design, implement, and own the site metallurgical accounting system and gold balance, from ore placed on the leach pad through doré shipment, in line with industry best practice and Corporate reporting requirements.
  • Estimate and report recoverable gold inventory on the leach pad and in process, support Finance month-end and year-end closing, and lead mine-to-pad reconciliation with Geology and Mine Engineering.
  • Ensure refinery and gold room security, chain of custody, doré accountability, and shipment documentation through the Refinery Technicians and in alignment with site security protocols.
  • Oversee the Assay Laboratory through the Assay Lab Supervisor, ensuring accurate and timely results for grade control, process, and environmental samples, turnaround times that meet Geology ore control requirements, and sample capacity aligned with the mine plan.
  • Establish and maintain the laboratory and metallurgical sampling QA/QC program, including sampling protocols, certified standards, blanks, duplicates, external check assays, and chain of custody for all samples.
  • Lead the metallurgical testwork program, including column leach tests, bottle roll tests, and geometallurgical characterization across the mineralized zones, to validate and update recovery assumptions.
  • Provide metallurgical inputs to the annual budget, metal plan, and life-of-mine plan, including production forecasts, recovery curves, reagent consumption, and metallurgy and laboratory operating costs.
  • Participate in design reviews for the heap leach pad, crushing circuit, ADR plant, refinery, and assay laboratory to ensure operability and metallurgical performance. Support commissioning and startup by defining metallurgical acceptance criteria and performance tests, and support the transition from project construction to steady-state operations.
  • Develop, review, and maintain metallurgical, refinery, and laboratory procedures, standard operating procedures, and training materials, in collaboration with Plant Operations and the Plant Trainer.
  • Define technical specifications for key reagents and consumables, including sodium cyanide, lime, activated carbon, antiscalant, and laboratory supplies, and support Supply Chain in vendor evaluation and consumption tracking.
  • Coach, mentor, and hold direct reports accountable for safety leadership, technical quality, documentation, training completion, and consistent execution. Establish clear performance goals, conduct regular one-on-one discussions, review progress against agreed objectives, and support team development through feedback, guidance, and accountability.
  • Support hiring, onboarding, workforce planning, succession development, performance management, and employee relations for the Metallurgy, Refinery, and Assay Laboratory teams.
  • Participate in incident investigations, process upset reviews, environmental deviation follow-up, root cause analysis, corrective action tracking, and lessons learned communication.
  • Other duties as assigned.

About You

Our ideal candidate will possess the following skillset and experience:

  • Bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering, Mineral Processing, Chemical Engineering, or a related field preferred.
  • Minimum of twelve years of gold processing experience, including at least five years in heap leach and ADR operations at an operating site.
  • Minimum of five years of leadership experience at the superintendent, chief metallurgist, or equivalent level, leading metallurgists, technicians, and/or laboratory personnel.
  • Demonstrated experience in metallurgical accounting, gold inventory estimation, reconciliation, and month-end reporting.
  • Working knowledge of assay laboratory operations, including sample preparation, fire assay, cyanide leach assays, sampling theory, and laboratory QA/QC practices.
  • Working knowledge of the International Cyanide Management Code, MSHA requirements, environmental compliance, cyanide handling, and refinery security practices.
  • Experience supporting design reviews, commissioning, startup, operational readiness, and transition to steady-state operations is strongly preferred.
  • Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret process data, assay results, metallurgical balances, and cost information to make timely technical and operating decisions.
  • Computer proficiency required, including advanced Microsoft Excel; experience with metallurgical accounting systems, laboratory information management systems (LIMS), heap leach modeling tools, and data visualization tools is preferred.
  • Strong leadership, communication, coaching, planning, and decision-making skills, with the ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, contractors, vendors, and external laboratories.
  • Registered Professional Engineer (PE) or equivalent professional designation is an asset.
  • Must be able to work extended hours, weekends, and holidays, and respond to operational needs as required by the business. Valid driver's license required or ability to obtain one as required for site access and operating needs.

About the Benefits

As a valued member of Centerra's Goldfield District Project operations team, you can look forward to a competitive annual salary based on experience, skills, and qualifications. You'll also gain access to some incredible benefits, including:

  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Life Insurance, STD, LTD
  • Company-sponsored 401k with Company match 
  • Healthcare Spending Account
  • Annual Incentive Bonus and Long-term Incentive Plan
  • Employee Share Purchase Plan with Company match
  • Professional development within the organization
  • Join a company committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion

This is your chance to be part of an established, industry-leading global organization with incredible room for career growth and personal development.   

If you have the skills necessary to bring success to the role, then we invite you to apply today!

Apply Now

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PEOPLE FIRST

Respecting the rights of our people, developing and promoting our talent, and creating an inclusive work environment that recognizes the diversity and the unique experiences of our employees is fundamental to our People First mandate.

Centerra Gold puts People First in every region we operate, by committing to nurture an inclusive culture that respects, values, and celebrates the global power of all perspectives. We welcome diverse backgrounds and experience at all our sites, and qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to their age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or family status, genetic characteristics, disability, or national or ethnic origin. Accommodations are available upon request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

To learn more about the industry-leading financial, health, and wellbeing benefits of joining Centerra, please visit this website!