The Chief Chemist leads the analytical laboratory supporting the Spring Valley Mine, including personnel, testing methods, quality systems, reporting and safety. This hands-on role ensures accurate, timely and reliable gold assay results to support operational decisions.
Job Responsibilities:
- Laboratory Operations and Quality
- Lead laboratory operations, including analytical performance, staffing, safety and quality assurance.
- Develop and maintain laboratory procedures, standards and best practices.
- Oversee gold assaying programs and methods that minimize nugget-effect bias, including LeachWELL with residue fire assays, screen metallic fire assays and routine fire assays.
- Manage QA/QC programs using standards, blanks, duplicates, audits and corrective actions to ensure accurate and reliable results.
- Administer LIMS and maintain complete, secure, auditable data, reports and chain-of-custody records.
- Support laboratory commissioning, startup and continuous improvement.
- Coordinate resources to meet operational priorities and turnaround targets.
- Safety and Compliance
- Promote a safety-first culture and ensure compliance with company policies, quality systems and environmental, health and safety regulations.
- Lead hazard assessments, inspections, audits, workplace observations and incident investigations, including root-cause analysis and corrective actions.
- Ensure employees are trained in safe work practices, chemical handling, sample preparation, equipment operation and emergency response.
- Oversee the safe storage, handling, inventory and disposal of chemicals, reagents and hazardous materials.
- Support internal and external audits and ensure corrective and preventive actions are completed.
- Team Leadership
- Lead a laboratory team of up to 25 supervisors, chemists, technicians and support personnel.
- Recruit, train, mentor and develop laboratory staff.
- Set performance expectations and promote accountability, teamwork, technical excellence and operational discipline.
Qualifications:
- Required Qualifications
- 5+ years of progressive experience in a mining, metallurgical, mineral processing or commercial assay laboratory.
- Experience supervising laboratory personnel and daily operations.
- Strong knowledge of gold assaying, free-gold sample preparation and QA/QC practices, including standards, blanks, duplicates and corrective actions.
- Working knowledge of LIMS and laboratory data management.
- Strong leadership, communication, organization and problem-solving skills.
- Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in chemistry or a related field.
- Advanced knowledge of LeachWELL, residue fire assays, screen metallic and other free-gold fire assay methods.
- Familiarity with laboratory accreditation, audits and continuous improvement.
- Key Skills
- Ability to interpret analytical data and balance quality, operational priorities and turnaround times.
About Us:
Solidus Resources is a U.S.-based gold development company backed by Waterton Mining. The company is focused on advancing the Spring Valley Gold Project in Pershing County, Nevada, and specializes in taking high potential gold assets through late-stage development and into production. Solidus applies a technically rigorous, capital-disciplined approach to mine development, with a strong emphasis on environmental stewardship, operational safety, and community engagement.
The Spring Valley Gold Project is located in the prolific Humboldt Range, an area with approximately 60 million ounces of gold endowment within a 50-mile radius. Envisioned as a long-life, low-cost open-pit, heap-leach operation, Spring Valley has a robust resource base and considerable exploration upside along a 7-mile strike length across the Black Ridge fault zone.
With a leadership team experienced in engineering, permitting, and large-scale project execution, Solidus Resources is advancing Spring Valley through feasibility, permitting, and construction, with a clear path toward operational readiness. The company’s goal is to responsibly unlock the value of U.S.-based gold assets while building a reputation for excellence in project delivery and sustainable development.
This position is located on-site at our mine in Lovelock, NV.