Laboratory Technician
- Compensation
- Not disclosed
- Location
- Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
- Work setup
- Not specified
- Seniority
- Not specified
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Science
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- Intellectual curiosity and eagerness to learn about all aspects of mineral exploration, particularly in the geology domain. Enjoys constantly learning such that you are driving insights through using
- One of the following: a laboratory technician diploma (e.g., chemical, geological or laboratory technology); or a BSc in a relevant field such as geology, earth sciences, chemistry, materials science
- Ability to explain technical problems to and collaborate on solutions with domain experts who are not geologists (e.g. software engineers). A strong communicator who enjoys working with colleagues acr
- Excitement about joining a fast-growing early-stage company, comfort with a dynamic work environment, and eagerness to take on an evolving range of responsibilities.
- Keen not just to build cool technology, but to figure out what technical product to build to best achieve the business objectives of the company.
- A valid passport and willingness to travel to observe our work at Mingomba or at an exploration site around the world. Travel for this role typically does not exceed one trip per year.
- Strong attention to detail, with a track record of accurate weighing, measurement, record-keeping or data entry.
- Ability to follow written SOPs precisely and consistently, including for repetitive, high-precision tasks.
- Good hand-eye coordination and fine motor control for handling small trays and sub-millimetre mineral grains.
- Comfortable with computers and with learning new software, including database-style data entry.
- Clear written and spoken communication in English, and willingness to raise problems early.
- A strong commitment to workplace health and safety.
- Ability to work on-site in Sudbury, Ontario, on a regular day-shift schedule.
- Legal authorization to work in Canada.
Nice to have
- General experience in a geology/chemistry laboratory including rock sample handing.
- Experience with optical or digital microscopes.
- Experience with a LIMS, sample tracking, or chain-of-custody procedures in a commercial, mining or university lab.
- Experience with analytical or precision balances, including routine calibration checks.
- Familiarity with mineral identification, heavy mineral concentrates, indicator minerals or sample preparation for mineralogy.
- Exposure to Raman, XRF or other spectroscopic instruments.
- Experience in an ISO/IEC 17025 or similar quality-managed lab.
- Comfort with, and enjoyment of, repetitive precision work done to a high standard over a full shift.
- WHMIS and Ontario Worker Health and Safety Awareness training already completed. If not, we will provide both.
- Experience with lapidary and thin section preparation.
Full description
Laboratory Technician About the Company
In the coming decades, demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, and cobalt will continue to grow. These minerals are needed to build electric infrastructure, vehicles, data centers, and electronics. However, the mining industry is making 10x fewer discoveries per dollar spent on exploration compared to 30 years ago because the easy-to-find, near surface deposits have largely been discovered.
KoBold was founded to be the first AI native mineral exploration, mine development, and technology development company. Our goal is to turn mineral exploration into a repeatable science to discover the minerals the world needs—by integrating artificial intelligence, human intelligence, and new technology. Our multidisciplinary teams of data scientists, engineers, and geologists work together to build data systems, design new sensors, and establish industry-leading workflows to develop and test subsurface predictions on our exploration projects.
Our first discovery, Mingomba, is a high-grade copper deposit in Zambia, found after spending materially less than industry average. We are developing Mingomba with the same technical rigor that we apply to exploration. The Mingomba team brings together mine and processing engineers, geologists, data scientists, software engineers, and community, health & safety, construction, and operations specialists. By combining industry knowledge and cutting edge technology, we are developing Mingomba into a world class project that has safer and more predictable outcomes for ourselves, partners, and communities. It is expected to create thousands of good jobs for generations.
KoBold runs exploration programs in eight countries, all with the potential for another discovery.
KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and strategic natural resources companies BHP and Mitsubishi.
About the Role
GrainLab is KoBold's mineral grain identification lab in Sudbury, Ontario. We combine microscopic and various analytical methods to find and confirm indicator minerals in heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) samples. The samples are delicate and are required to be returned in the same condition, packaging and weight it arrived as, so careful sample handling and accurate weighing are central to the job.
As GrainLab's Laboratory Technician, you will keep the daily sample workflow moving. You will receive and weigh samples, log them in our laboratory information management system (LIMS), prepare imaging trays, and load samples onto our instruments to start imaging and spectroscopy runs. At the end, you will recover every grain and return each sample to its original packaging. You will report to the Sudbury Laboratory Manager and work with KoBold's hardware, data science, software team members. Your observations from the bench will directly shape mineral exploration efforts.