Senior Specialist Rod Mill

About the Role

Maaden is seeking a Senior Specialist Rod Mill to join its team in Turaif, Turayf Al Asyah, Al Qasim. This full-time role is central to ensuring the safe, reliable, and optimized operation of Rod Mill circuits. The specialist will focus on achieving required grind size, throughput, and efficiency targets, leading monitoring, troubleshooting, process control, and continuous improvement activities within the grinding area to support overall beneficiation plant performance.

Operational Management and Equipment Support

The Senior Specialist Rod Mill is responsible for direct oversight and support of grinding operations, ensuring stability and efficiency. Key duties include:

• Monitoring and controlling rod mill parameters, including mill load, power draw, feed rate, water addition, and discharge size.
• Maintaining stable operational conditions to meet target grind size and slurry density.
• Ensuring optimal utilization of grinding media (rods) and assisting with media charging planning.
• Performing routine field checks on mills, lubrication systems, pumps, cyclones, and classifiers.
• Reporting abnormal conditions such as vibrations, leaks, and wear patterns.
• Supporting maintenance teams with shutdown planning and equipment troubleshooting.

Process Optimization and Performance Analysis

This role involves a strong focus on data-driven process improvement and performance evaluation to enhance milling efficiency and throughput:

• Analyzing trends from DCS, historian data, and on-site measurements to improve throughput and milling efficiency.
• Recommending adjustments to operational parameters based on ore characteristics and plant conditions.
• Identifying bottlenecks and proposing improvement actions to enhance grindability and circuit performance.
• Preparing daily, weekly, and monthly operational reports.
• Tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as power consumption, grind size, circulating load, and rod consumption.
• Evaluating equipment performance deviations and recommending corrective actions.
• Leading small-scale trials for rod charge optimization, water distribution, and classifier adjustments.
• Supporting Management of Change (MOC) approvals and implementation.
• Proposing initiatives for energy savings, resource efficiency, and reduced media consumption.

Safety, Environment, and Technical Guidance

The specialist ensures adherence to safety and environmental standards while providing essential technical expertise to the operations team.

• Ensuring all work activities comply with HSE regulations and Permit-to-Work (PTW) requirements.
• Participating in risk assessments, HAZOP studies, and incident investigations.
• Updating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Work Instructions (WI), and Job Safety Analysis (JSA) documents related to rod mill operations.
• Providing technical support to operations teams regarding grinding principles, ore hardness variation, and circuit adjustments.

Team Collaboration and Mentorship

Collaboration across departments and the development of team members are integral to this role.

• Coordinating with Metallurgy, Process Engineering, and Control Systems teams for process improvements.
• Mentoring operators and junior specialists on mill operations, monitoring techniques, and troubleshooting.
• Promoting a culture of teamwork, communication, and operational discipline.
• Working closely with maintenance, process, and production teams for coordinated and efficient operations.
• Communicating operational constraints and improvement opportunities to management.

Required Experience

Candidates for the Senior Specialist Rod Mill position should possess 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in rod mill operations or a similar grinding environment.