Laboratory Technical Officer

• Permanent employment which includes attractive salary, annual incentives and a huge range of additional benefits designed to make your life better 

• Exciting full time opportunity to support day-to-day technical activities and bring your passion for safety to work every day

• Enjoy a relaxed, coastal lifestyle in an ideal residential environment; become part of the Weipa community

About the role

We are looking for a new Laboratory Technical Officer to join our team and provide day to day technical support for the Weipa & Amrun Laboratories. In this role you will ensure that the safe, precise, and representative supply of quality preparation and analysis of pit and production samples is provided to the relevant customers in a timely manner to allow effective control of stockpile grade and conformance to plan.

We are looking for an individual who takes pride in their work and are passionate about safety and continuous improvement. This is a permanent, full-time opportunity located in Weipa.

Reporting to the Specialist Laboratory, some of your key responsibilities will include:

• Assisting with the collection, preparation, and analysis of samples in accordance with QMS procedures

• Performing troubleshooting and breakdown recovery work of sample preparation and laboratory equipment and systems

• Assisting Laboratory Operators in determining the accuracy of analysis and comparison to product quality targets including escalations to Dynamic Scheduling/Mine Planning/Grade Control as required

• Ensuring routine QA/QC materials are processed, results recorded and appropriate actions taken as required

• Raising notifications for defects within sampling and laboratory plant and equipment and report through quality incident reporting system

• Actively utilising systems to ensure operational tasks and progress are continuously recorded and compared to required standards and targets

• Regularly communicating with key stakeholders including Plant Supervisors regarding the safe, conforming, completion of operational tasks in line with standards and procedures

What you’ll bring

• Demonstrated experience in laboratory operations and/or quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) environments

• Experience working rotating shifts, preferably within a plant, processing, or manufacturing environment

• Strong technical and analytical skills, including experience with flux fusion, LECO TGA, XRF analysis, manual sample preparation, Rotary Sample Dividers (RSDs), Rocklabs crusher/splitter equipment, moisture determination, and particle size analysis

• Working knowledge of laboratory and business systems, including LIMS, SAP, SuperQ, and ChemAlert

• Proficient in the use of computer applications, including SAP and the Microsoft Office Suite

• Well-developed written and verbal communication skills.

• Highly self-motivated, with the ability to work safely, independently, and with minimal supervision

• Demonstrated commitment to workplace health, safety, and compliance with Rio’s procedures, and standards

What we offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority

• A competitive base salary reflective of your skills and experience with annual incentive program.

• Weipa accommodation benefit

• Remote area allowance

• Remote area holiday travel assistance

• Comprehensive medical benefits including subsidised private health insurance for employees and immediate family

• Attractive share ownership plan

• Company provided insurance cover

• Extensive salary sacrifice & salary packaging options

• Ongoing access to family-friendly health and medical wellbeing support

• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave)

• Exclusive employee discounts (banking, accommodation, cars, retail and more)

Where you’ll be working

You will be supporting our Weipa operations in Far North Queensland, which includes three bauxite mines, processing facilities, shiploaders, an export wharf, two ports, power stations, a rail network and ferry terminals.

Amrun, our newest mine, was completed in 2018 and will extend our Weipa bauxite operations by decades, significantly building on our 55-year history on the Western Cape, and providing jobs and supporting business growth in the region. The mine is located on traditional land. We work closely with the Traditional Owners to implement our agreements, ensuring that the benefits generated from mining support future generations and that important cultural heritage sites are identified and preserved.

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About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion

At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, the LGBTI+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.

We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.

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