The posting
Our client is pioneering strategic platform dedicated to unlocking the vast potential to process and transform Africa's minerals and metals. The company believes that shifting from raw-material exports to local processing and transformation will strengthen Africa's industrial base, reduce import dependence, and drive economic growth - positioning Africa as a global leader in the metals value chain.
Headquartered in Dubai, the platform spans 11 countries (9 in Africa) with 16+ mineral assets and a growing base of processing facilities across gold, bauxite/alumina, manganese ore and alloys, copper, lithium, iron ore and colored gemstones. The Trading Business is the platform's commercial and trading arm, responsible for moving physical commodities from mine and port to global markets - making world-class freight and logistics capability central to the platform's competitiveness and its sustainability agenda.
They are looking for a Superintendent Geologist – Planning / Modeling who is responsible for the technical planning and 3D geological modeling that underpins the Company's gold exploration programme in Gabon.
The role designs and coordinates exploration and drilling programmes, builds and maintains 3D geological models in Leapfrog, and provides the geological framework and data foundation that supports the Group Resource Geologist in the preparation of Mineral Resource estimates.
The incumbent works closely with the Exploration and Production/Mining teams to ensure geological interpretation, drill targeting and resource development are integrated with operational planning and is responsible for technical reporting that meets Gabonese regulatory requirements as well as internationally recognized reporting standards.
Key Responsibilities
Exploration & Drill Planning
- Design, plan and prioritise exploration and resource-definition drilling programmes (diamond core, RC, auger/soil geochemistry) in line with the Company's exploration strategy and budget.
- Define drill hole targeting, spacing, orientation and depth based on geological interpretation, structural controls and existing drill data to optimize resource conversion and discovery potential.
- Prepare drill programme proposals, collar coordinates, and technical justifications; coordinate permitting, land access and logistics with site and community relations teams.
- Monitor drilling progress against plan, adjust programmes in real time based on incoming results, and report progress to the Exploration Manager and Group technical team.
- Oversee core logging, sampling protocols and QA/QC (standards, blanks, duplicates) to ensure the integrity of data feeding into modeling and estimation.
3D Geological Modeling
- Build, update and maintain 3D geological models (lithology, weathering, structure, alteration and mineralization domains) using Leapfrog Geo/Edge for all active exploration projects.
- Integrate drill hole data, surface mapping, structural measurements, geophysics and geochemistry into coherent geological and mineralization domain models.
- Develop and refine geological interpretations (structural controls, lithological contacts, mineralized envelopes) to guide ongoing exploration targeting and drill planning.
- Maintain version-controlled model libraries and ensure models are kept current as new data is received, with clear documentation of interpretation logic and assumptions.
- Produce plans, sections, 3D visualizations and other technical outputs to communicate geological understanding to exploration, resource and management teams.
Support to Resource Estimation
- Work in close collaboration with the Group Resource Geologist to prepare geological and mineralization domain models, composited data and statistical inputs required for initial Mineral Resource estimates.
- Assist with grade estimation workflows (Ordinary Kriging, Inverse Distance, Nearest Neighbor) and block model construction in Leapfrog Edge (Datamine experience an advantage).
- Support resource classification (Measured/Indicated/Inferred) by ensuring drill spacing, data quality and geological confidence are appropriately documented.
- Assist in validation of resource models against drilling, and support reconciliation of estimates as new data becomes available.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work in conjunction with the Exploration team to align near-mine and greenfield targeting with the overall project pipeline.
- Liaise with the Production/Mining team to ensure exploration and resource models are integrated into short- and medium-term mine planning, grade control and ore/waste definition.
- Coordinate with geotechnical, hydrogeology, metallurgy and survey disciplines to ensure geological models support broader technical studies.
- Provide technical input to budgeting, resource development plans and life-of-project planning discussions.
Technical Reporting & Compliance
- Prepare technical reports, drilling results summaries and resource-related documentation in compliance with Gabonese Mining Code and regulatory requirements (Ministry of Mines / DGMG submissions).
- Support preparation of technical disclosure in line with internationally recognized reporting codes (e.g., JORC, NI 43-101 or SAMREC) as required by the Company or its shareholders/lenders.
- Maintain accurate, audit-ready technical records, geological databases and documentation to support due diligence, audits and regulatory inspections.
- Contribute geological content to weekly, monthly and quarterly management and Board reporting.
Team Leadership & HSE
- Supervise, mentor and build technical capability among geologists, technicians and data personnel, including training on Leapfrog and best-practice exploration procedures.
- Promote and enforce HSE standards and a strong safety culture across all fields, core-shed and modeling activities.
- Champion data integrity, standard operating procedures and continuous improvement in geological workflows.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Geology, Economic Geology, or a related earth science discipline.
- Minimum 15 years' relevant experience in gold exploration and resource estimation, including significant experience in geological modeling and drill planning.
- Demonstrated experience in Africa strongly preferred, ideally within Central or West African geological terranes; prior experience operating in Gabon or similar francophone jurisdictions is an advantage.
- Proven track record in progressing exploration projects from target generation through to resource definition drilling.
- Registration or eligibility for registration as a Competent/Qualified Person (e.g., under JORC, NI 43-101 or SAMREC frameworks) is highly desirable.
- Membership in a recognized professional body (e.g., AIG, AusIMM, SEG, PGO, or equivalent) is an advantage.
- Advanced proficiency in Leapfrog Geo / Leapfrog Edge for 3D geological modeling and implicit modeling workflows – essential.
- Working knowledge of Datamine (Studio RM/Studio EM) – an added advantage.
- Sound understanding of resource estimation methodologies (geostatistics, variography, kriging, inverse distance) and resource classification principles.
- Experience with geological database management systems (e.g., acQuire, Micromine, Datashed) and drill hole data QA/QC.
- Familiarity with GIS platforms (ArcGIS/QGIS) for spatial data integration and target generation.
- Exposure to mine planning/grade control software (e.g., Surpac, Vulcan, Micromine) advantageous for integration with production teams.
- Working knowledge of geophysical and geochemical data interpretation as applied to gold exploration targeting.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word); scripting or data-analytics skills (Python, VBA,
