Research Associate Jobs

About The Position

Requirements

• PhD in Metallurgical Engineering, Mineral Processing, Mining Engineering, Geology, or a comparable discipline; degree requirements must be completed by the appointment start and within the previous five years.
• Hands-on experience designing and conducting laboratory-scale comminution experiments, including crushing, grinding, and size classification, and characterizing particle size distribution and mineral liberation.
• Hands-on experience conducting mineral beneficiation experiments using one or more of gravity/density separation, magnetic or electromagnetic separation, or froth flotation.
• Experience evaluating separation performance through grade, recovery, and mass-balance calculations.
• Experience with mineralogic characterization methods such as X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, SEM/EDS, or automated mineralogy such as QEMSCAN or MLA, and ability to relate mineral properties to process behavior.
• Ability to analyze and interpret geological and metallurgical data using computer software and combine information to form general rules or conclusions.
• Demonstrated oral communication and published written communication skills in English.
• Ability to meet the stated physical demands, including occasional lifting or moving of up to 35 pounds, and to work in office, field, and laboratory environments.

Nice To Haves

• Experience processing REE-bearing ores or other critical mineral feedstocks, particularly from carbonatite or other mineralogically complex deposits.
• Experience working with naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) or in radiological laboratory settings.
• Experience with flotation reagent chemistry, including collectors, depressants, and modifiers, and with the surface chemistry of REE and gangue minerals.
• Experience designing and integrating multi-stage beneficiation flowsheets, including statistical design of experiments.
• Experience with geometallurgical modeling, elemental deportment studies, or microanalytical techniques such as electron probe microanalysis or LA-ICP-MS mapping.
• Experience with hydrometallurgical leaching of mineral concentrates.

Responsibilities

• Lead experimental development of a multi-stage beneficiation circuit at INL’s M³ Laboratory.
• Design, conduct, and optimize comminution and beneficiation experiments for REE- and Th-bearing feedstocks.
• Use comminution, density separation, magnetic and electromagnetic separation, and froth flotation methods to investigate mineral separation performance.
• Evaluate separation stages by grade and mass recovery and integrate them into an optimized circuit.
• Support mineralogic and geochemical characterization of samples, including mineral liberation analysis on REE- and NORM-bearing samples.
• Collect, compile, organize, and interpret data, and write proposals to obtain new data.
• Build elemental deportment models to guide circuit design.
• Write scientific manuscripts for journal publication and present research results at conferences and meetings.
• Contribute to invention disclosures and help develop follow-on proposals.
• Support representation of the Department through programmatic and technical presentations to sponsors and peers.
• Work effectively as a member of an interdisciplinary R&D team.