Supervisor - ConcentratorLocation:Stillwater Mine - Nye, MT
Schedule:7X7 Rotating
Job Responsibilities and Duties:The Supervisor - Concentrator provides frontline leadership for the safe, compliant, stable, and cost-effective operation of the mine-site concentrator. The Supervisor converts the approved one-week plan established by the General Foreman - Concentrator into daily shift assignments; verifies field readiness; directs operators; monitors process conditions; coordinates equipment access and operating priorities with Maintenance, Metallurgy, Process Control, and other support functions; and returns accurate production, metallurgical, equipment-condition, workforce, environmental, and variance information. The General Foreman owns the rolling one- to three-month outlook and resource-ready one-week plan; this role owns safe, disciplined shift execution and timely response to changing plant conditions.
The Supervisor's primary duties are:
- Lead pre-shift safety discussions, workplace examinations, equipment inspections, field-level risk assessments, and verification of required permits, procedures, qualifications, environmental controls, and Lockout, Tagout, and Tryout requirements.
- Maintain visible field presence across assigned process areas each shift; correct unsafe acts and conditions, reinforce stop-work authority, and verify corrective actions.
- Ensure employees and contractors comply with MSHA requirements, company standards, Standard Operating Procedures, Critical Task Analyses, environmental permits, and required training.
- Manage attendance, leave, overtime, relief coverage, timekeeping, conduct, and performance consistently with company policy and the applicable Collective Bargaining Agreement.
- Build productive working relationships across shifts and with Mine Operations, Maintenance, Metallurgy, Process Control, Environmental, Safety, Engineering, Supply Chain, and contractors.
- Convert the approved one-week concentrator plan into a clear Daily Shift Plan with assignments, operating targets, equipment priorities, staffing, access requirements, planned maintenance interfaces, and contingency actions.
- Direct and monitor crushing, conveying, grinding, classification, flotation, reagent addition, slurry transfer, thickening, filtration, concentrate handling, water systems, and related utilities within the assigned area.
- Monitor throughput, recovery, concentrate grade and quality, particle size, density, reagent usage, inventories, water balance, equipment loading, alarms, and process trends; direct timely operating adjustments within established standards.
- Inspect operating circuits each shift and work with operators, Metallurgy, Process Control, Maintenance, and Electrical to troubleshoot process, mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation issues and minimize avoidable downtime.
- Coordinate equipment shutdowns, isolations, access, start-ups, commissioning, and return to service; verify operating readiness before placing equipment or circuits in service.
- Manage task sequencing, operator deployment, and break-in work within the shift; escalate changes that affect weekly commitments, production risk, staffing, overtime, or environmental compliance to the General Foreman - Concentrator.
- Operate within approved shift cost and resource parameters by managing labor, overtime, reagents, grinding media, consumables, energy, water, tools, equipment, and contractor usage.
- Identify and correct waste, excessive consumption, rework, idle time, and operating practices that increase cost or reduce recovery, quality, or equipment life.
- Ensure shift logs, Daily Shift Plans, production reports, metallurgical results, downtime and delay records, inspections, inventories, environmental records, timekeeping, and incident documentation are accurate, timely, and auditable.
- Provide effective shift passdowns covering plant status, operating strategy, active hazards and isolations, equipment condition, work in progress, process constraints, inventories, environmental concerns, and required follow-up.
Qualifications and Skills:- Ability to lead employees, set clear expectations, coach performance, and gain cooperation across varied experience and technical backgrounds.
- Ability to organize people, equipment, information, and competing priorities into a practical shift plan aligned with weekly commitments.
- Ability to recognize and analyze safety hazards, abnormal process conditions, equipment issues, and operating constraints using field observations and operating data.
- Ability to make timely, risk-informed decisions, select appropriate actions, and escalate issues when technical support or higher authority is required.
- Concentrator operations and the interaction of crushing, conveying, grinding, classification, flotation, reagent systems, slurry transport, thickening, filtration, concentrate handling, water management, and related utilities.
- Fundamental mineral-processing concepts, including throughput, recovery, grade, mass balance, particle size, density, reagent control, residence time, and process variability.
- MSHA requirements, site safety standards, workplace examinations, environmental controls, energy isolation, employee training, incident reporting, and contractor controls.
Education & Experience- High school diploma or equivalent.
- Five or more years of progressive concentrator, mineral-processing, metallurgical, or closely related continuous-process operating experience.
- One or more years of experience in a lead, relief-supervisor, trainer, or frontline leadership role.
- Working knowledge of concentrator processes and associated equipment, including crushing, grinding, flotation, slurry systems, thickening, filtration, concentrate handling, and water systems.
- Experience working under mine or industrial safety, environmental, energy-isolation, and operating-procedure requirements.
- Experience using standard office software and electronic production-reporting or process-control systems.
- Required supervisor training, task qualifications, and area-specific certifications must be obtained and maintained as applicable.
- Associate or bachelor's degree in metallurgy, mineral processing, chemical engineering, mining engineering, operations management, or a related field preferred.
- Three or more years of concentrator or mineral-processing experience, including direct responsibility for shift execution preferred.
