Manager Smelting Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Work arrangement: Remote within the United States, with potential international travel
Engagement: Contingent, part-time/on-call specialist
Anticipated compensation: $150–$300 per hour, depending on qualifications and assignment, or a negotiated fixed price by work package. $300 per hour is the maximum anticipated rate.

Axyde Analytics is assembling a multidisciplinary expert team for anticipated U.S. government-funded project-scoping assignments involving critical minerals and international infrastructure.

We seek specialists capable of evaluating platinum-group-metal resources, concentration, smelting, refining, catalyst recycling and associated commercial supply chains.

Potential assignments may involve platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium or osmium; primary PGM deposits; nickel-copper byproduct streams; autocatalysts; industrial catalysts; electronics; fuel-cell materials; or other secondary sources.

Axyde does not expect one candidate to cover every PGM, process or end market. Applicants should identify the resources, feedstocks, technologies and commercial applications in which they possess direct, demonstrable expertise.

We are recruiting experts in one or more of the following tracks:

• PGM economic geology and resource evaluation

• PGM and nickel-copper mining

• Flotation and concentrate production

• Smelting, converting and base-metal removal

• Precious-metal separation and refining

• Autocatalyst collection and recycling

• Industrial and petroleum-catalyst recycling

• Electronics and other secondary PGM recovery

• Sampling, assay and metal accounting

• Feed aggregation, grading and settlement

• Pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical recycling

• High-purity metal, sponge, powder and chemical production

• Hydrogen, fuel-cell and electrolyzer applications

• Automotive and industrial-catalyst markets

• Metal leasing, working capital and price-risk management

• Product qualification, customer acceptance and offtake

• Responsible sourcing, provenance and chain of custody

• Independent technical and commercial review

Depending on the assignment and specialist track, selected experts may:

• Evaluate PGM resource quality, quantity, mineralogy and confidence.

• Review mining, concentration, smelting and refining assumptions.

• Assess flotation recovery, concentrate quality and impurity control.

• Evaluate feed preparation, smelting, converting and base-metal-removal systems.

• Review precious-metal separation, purification and finished-product requirements.

• Assess catalyst collection, aggregation, decanning, sampling and preprocessing.

• Evaluate assay methods, representativeness, accountability and settlement procedures.

• Review pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical and combined recycling routes.

• Develop or review integrated mass balances and metal-accountability systems.

• Assess recovery, residence time, inventory, working capital and metal-leasing requirements.

• Evaluate technology maturity, operating references, testwork and scale-up evidence.

• Review emissions, hazardous constituents, residues, water and worker-safety requirements.

• Identify decisive technical or commercial information gaps and define required diligence.

• Evaluate power, utilities, logistics, security and associated infrastructure.

• Contribute to capital-cost, operating-cost, schedule and implementation assumptions.

• Assess small-market dynamics, price volatility, substitution and customer concentration.

• Evaluate feed contracts, pricing, assay settlement, offtake and financing arrangements.

• Identify realistic opportunities for U.S. equipment, engineering, technology and services.

• Develop or review feasibility-study, technical-assistance or pilot-project terms of reference, budgets and schedules.

• Participate in sponsor, government, recycler, refiner, customer, laboratory or financing-source discussions.

• Support international meetings, site visits and field verification when required.

• Prepare concise findings and recommendations for senior government decision-makers.

• Serve as a discipline lead, contributor, same-discipline alternate or independent technical or commercial reviewer.

Candidates should possess:

• At least 7–10 years of directly relevant PGM, precious-metal, catalyst, recycling, smelting, refining or commercial experience.

• A degree in economic geology, mining engineering, mineral processing, metallurgy, chemical engineering, materials science, chemistry or a closely related field.

• Direct responsibility for identifiable PGM mines, concentrators, smelters, refineries, recycling facilities, catalyst programs or commercial supply chains.

• Demonstrated ability to connect feed characterization, sampling, assay, recovery, metal accounting, product quality and economics.

• Experience developing or independently reviewing test programs, mass balances, operating data, assay systems or commercial settlement arrangements.

• Strong written and verbal English-language communication skills.

• Ability to prepare concise, decision-oriented technical or commercial work.

• Ability to collaborate across resource, processing, safety, environmental, market and financial disciplines.

• Either U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent-resident status in the United States.

• Legal authorization to work in the United States without current or future sponsorship.

• Willingness and ability to travel internationally when an assignment requires it.

• No known employment, confidentiality, intellectual-property, noncompete, trading or conflict-of-interest restriction that would prevent participation.

Operating, commissioning, sampling, assay, metal-accountability and commercial-settlement experience is particularly valuable.

Please submit a résumé and a brief response identifying:

1. The PGMs, primary resources, catalysts and secondary feeds with which you have direct experience.

2. Your strongest specialties in geology, processing, refining, recycling, assay, metal accounting or markets.

3. Up to five representative plants, projects, products or studies and your personal responsibilities on each.

4. The development stages you have supported, including exploration, testwork, feasibility, design, construction, commissioning, operations, recycling or commercial qualification.

5. Your experience with sampling, assay, accountability, settlement or metal-leasing arrangements.

6. Countries and regions in which you have worked.

7. Whether you can serve as a discipline lead, independent reviewer, or both.

8. Your current U.S. location.

9. Whether you are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.

10. Your availability during the next 30 days.

11. Your ability to travel internationally and any geographic restrictions.

12. Your anticipated hourly rate.

13. Any actual or potential conflicts involving governments, project sponsors, mining companies, recyclers, refiners, automotive companies, catalyst manufacturers, traders or current employers.

This is a contingent opportunity supporting anticipated government-funded assignments. No employment, contract award, minimum workload or particular assignment is guaranteed.

Selection for an assignment will depend on contract award, material and project requirements, qualifications, availability, eligibility, conflicts, travel requirements, mutually acceptable compensation and execution of appropriate employment or consulting documentation.

Axyde may tailor and reformat selected résumés for proposal compliance without materially changing the candidate’s qualifications or experience.

Axyde Analytics
Strategic minerals • Supply-chain security • U.S. industrial base