Principal Geologist – Base & Precious Metals جيولوجي رئيسي

Reporting to: Director of Exploration Execution
Work Base: Muscat, Oman (field-rotational)
Role Objective:
MDO is seeking a highly capable, field-oriented Principal Geologist for its Base & Precious Metals division to lead exploration programmes that identify, test and advance copper-gold, chromite and associated base metal deposits in Oman’s underexplored geological terranes, and to support MDO’s international exploration portfolio.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not a desk-based one. The successful candidate will spend a substantial proportion of their time in the field – mapping, logging, supervising drilling and sampling campaigns, and setting the technical standard for the crews working alongside them. Reporting to the Director of Exploration Execution, the Principal Geologist will apply deep expertise in prospect generation, target maturation and the evaluation of greenfield and brownfield projects, taking targets from concept through to drill-tested and, where warranted, resource definition.
The role also provides technical support to the Business Development (BD) and Project Development (PD) teams across scoping, pre-feasibility, feasibility, project assessment, remediation and closure phases, and carries direct responsibility for mentoring and building the capability of MDO’s Omani geologists.
Duties and Responsibilities:

Field Exploration & Technical Delivery
1. Personally lead and supervise field exploration activities, setting the standard for technical quality, safety and data discipline on site.
2. Undertake and direct geological mapping at prospect to district scale, including structural, lithological and alteration mapping, trenching and outcrop logging.
3. Design and supervise rock chip, channel, soil, stream sediment and pXRF sampling programmes, ensuring representative sampling and full chain of custody.
4. Supervise RC and diamond drilling campaigns on site: rig supervision, geological and geotechnical logging, core orientation, density determination, sampling and dispatch.
5. Own field QA/QC – insertion and monitoring of standards, blanks and duplicates, laboratory submissions, results validation and corrective action where performance falls outside limits.
6. Ensure all field data is captured, validated and loaded to the corporate database (MX Deposit) to MDO data standards, with no unresolved validation errors.
Target Generation & Programme Planning
7. Generate, rank and mature exploration targets by integrating geological mapping, geochemistry, ground and airborne geophysics, remote sensing and historical data.
8. Prepare drill-ready target packages with documented geological rationale, ranking criteria, expected tonnage-grade range and testing strategy.
9. Plan and execute regional and prospect-scale programmes, including scheduling, resourcing, logistics and permitting.
10. Prepare annual exploration programmes and budgets and support the Director of Exploration Execution and CXO in budget preparation, forecasting and expenditure tracking against plan.
11. Manage drilling, geophysical, survey, assay and consultancy contractors – scopes of work, technical evaluation of bids, supervision and performance management.
Resource, Reporting & Governance
12. Build and maintain geological and mineralisation domain models (Leapfrog Geo) as inputs to Mineral Resource estimation, and work with the resource team on estimation and reconciliation.
13. Prepare technical reports and documentation to JORC 2012, NI 43-101 and similar standards, including supporting Table 1 disclosure.
14. Initiate, lead, coordinate and review scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies with the BD and PD teams and external consultants, interrogating consultant recommendations against project value rather than accepting them on technical grounds alone.
15. Prepare and contribute monthly, quarterly and annual reports, stage-gate submissions and presentations for management, the Investment & Technical Committee and the Ministry of Energy and Minerals (MEM).
16. Ensure full compliance with concession commitments, licence conditions, minimum expenditure obligations and statutory reporting deadlines.
People, HSE & Capability Building
17. Mentor, coach and formally develop junior and mid-level Omani geologists through structured on-the-job field training, competency assessment and technical review.
18. Lead by personal example on HSE in remote field operations – risk assessments, journey management, permits, toolbox talks, incident reporting and close-out.
19. Support MDO’s Omanisation and In-Country Value objectives in team development and contractor selection.

Education:
– Bachelor’s degree in Geology or Earth Sciences (essential).
– MSc or PhD in Economic Geology, Mineral Exploration, Structural Geology or a related discipline is strongly preferred.
Experience:
– Minium 10 years of post-graduate experience in mineral exploration with progressively increasing responsibility, of which a minimum of seven years must be predominantly field-based.
– Demonstrable track record of taking targets from generation through drill testing to resource definition; involvement in at least one discovery or delineated Mineral Resource is highly desirable.
– Direct experience of VMS copper-gold systems in ophiolite terranes is preferred – Semail Ophiolite experience a distinct advantage – with exposure to other deposit styles (orogenic and epithermal gold, porphyry, podiform chromite, carbonate-hosted base metals) also valued.
– Multi-commodity exposure across base metals, precious metals, chromite and industrial minerals.
– Proven experience planning and supervising RC and diamond drilling campaigns in remote, arid environments, including camp-based and rotational operations.
– Experience leading and developing national geological teams; GCC, wider Middle East or comparable remote-region experience preferred.
Special Skills & Knowledge:
– Expert practical field skills – geological and structural mapping, core and chip logging, recognition of ore and alteration assemblages, and the ability to instruct staff to identify favourable geological settings.
– Strong command of mineral deposit models and the exploration methods used to discover and evaluate them, including geochemical and geophysical (IP, ground magnetics, EM, gravity) survey design and interpretation.
– Thorough understanding of sampling theory, QA/QC design and data integrity standards.
– Competent working knowledge of Leapfrog Geo, MX Deposit (or equivalent, e.g. acQuire/DataShed), ArcGIS and/or QGIS, ioGAS, and a mine planning or resource package (Micromine, Surpac, Datamine); strong MS Office and reporting skills.
– Practical competence with pXRF, handheld GPS/GNSS, and digital field data capture.
– JORC 2012, NI 43-101 and UMREK technical report writing; eligibility to act, or a clear path to acting, as a Competent Person for Exploration Results and Mineral Resources.
– Experience in technical due diligence, project evaluation and audit of third-party data.
– General understanding of mining operations, processing routes and the mining value chain.
– Physically fit for sustained, exertive fieldwork in high ambient temperatures and rough terrain; must hold and be able to use a valid driving licence, with competent 4x4 off-road driving skills.
– Fluent written and spoken English; working Arabic is an advantage.
Business Understanding:
– Strong commercial awareness and the ability to link exploration decisions to value – discovery cost, cut-off grade, stage-gate criteria and project economics.
– Familiarity with the Omani Mineral Wealth Law, the concession and licensing framework, and MEM reporting requirements, or the demonstrated ability to acquire this quickly.
– Professional membership of a Recognised Professional Organisation (e.g. AusIMM, AIG, EurGeol, Geological Society of London, SME) supporting Competent Person eligibility.
– Valid driving licence, transferable to an Omani licence; off-road and defensive driving certification desirable.
– Remote area first aid and H2S/field safety awareness certification desirable (MDO will support where not already held).
Fitness-to-work medical clearance for remote site operations.
– Technical Depth – authoritative geological judgement; makes sound calls with incomplete field data and defends them with evidence.
– Field Leadership – credible and effective at the outcrop and at the rig; sets standards by doing, not by directing from Muscat.
– Delivery Focus – plans realistically, executes to schedule and budget, and closes out programmes with documented outcomes.
– Data Integrity – uncompromising on sampling discipline, QA/QC and database quality.
– Coaching & Development – genuinely invests in building Omani geological capability.
– Commercial Judgement – distinguishes technically interesting from economically material.
– Communication – writes clear, defensible technical documents and presents confidently to management, committees and regulators.
– Collaboration – works effectively across Exploration, BD, PD, JV partners and consultants.

– Based at MDO’s Muscat office, but this is a field-oriented role: the incumbent is expected to spend approximately 50% of working time (in the order of 120 field days per year) at project sites across Oman.
– Field work involves remote, camp-based operations in mountainous and desert terrain, high ambient temperatures, and extended rotations during active drilling campaigns.
– Occasional international travel in support of MDO’s overseas exploration projects and joint ventures.
– Standard MDO working hours, with flexibility required during field and drilling programmes.