Laboratory Technician
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Laboratory Technician
About the Company
In the coming decades, demand for critical minerals such as copper, lithium, and cobalt will continue to grow. These minerals are needed to build electric infrastructure, vehicles, data centers, and electronics. However, the mining industry is making 10x fewer discoveries per dollar spent on exploration compared to 30 years ago because the easy-to-find, near surface deposits have largely been discovered.
KoBold was founded to be the first AI native mineral exploration, mine development, and technology development company. Our goal is to turn mineral exploration into a repeatable science to discover the minerals the world needs-by integrating artificial intelligence, human intelligence, and new technology. Our multidisciplinary teams of data scientists, engineers, and geologists work together to build data systems, design new sensors, and establish industry-leading workflows to develop and test subsurface predictions on our exploration projects.
Our first discovery, Mingomba, is a high-grade copper deposit in Zambia, found after spending materially less than industry average. We are developing Mingomba with the same technical rigor that we apply to exploration. The Mingomba team brings together mine and processing engineers, geologists, data scientists, software engineers, and community, health & safety, construction, and operations specialists. By combining industry knowledge and cutting edge technology, we are developing Mingomba into a world class project that has safer and more predictable outcomes for ourselves, partners, and communities. It is expected to create thousands of good jobs for generations.
KoBold runs exploration programs in eight countries, all with the potential for another discovery.
KoBold is privately held; investors include institutional asset managers T. Rowe Price and Canada Pension Plan Investments; technology venture capitalists Andreessen Horowitz, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, BOND Capital, Durable Capital, StepStone, and Standard Investments; and strategic natural resources companies BHP and Mitsubishi.
About the Role
GrainLab is KoBold's mineral grain identification lab in Sudbury, Ontario. We combine microscopic and various analytical methods to find and confirm indicator minerals in heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) samples. The samples are delicate and are required to be returned in the same condition, packaging and weight it arrived as, so careful sample handling and accurate weighing are central to the job.
As GrainLab's Laboratory Technician, you will keep the daily sample workflow moving. You will receive and weigh samples, log them in our laboratory information management system (LIMS), prepare imaging trays, and load samples onto our instruments to start imaging and spectroscopy runs. At the end, you will recover every grain and return each sample to its original packaging. You will report to the Sudbury Laboratory Manager and work with KoBold's hardware, data science, software team members. Your observations from the bench will directly shape mineral exploration efforts.
This role suits someone who takes pride in precise, repeatable work, who notices when a number looks wrong, and who wants to see how modern data science is changing mineral exploration.
Responsibilities
Sample receipt, tracking and chain of custody
Receive incoming client samples; check labels, packaging and paperwork against submission records; report any discrepancies to the Lab Manager.
Weigh samples on precision balances at defined workflow steps and record the results accurately in the LIMS, using barcode scanners, label printers and balance integration.
Maintain chain of custody from receipt to return, so every sample can be located and traced at all times.
Run mass-balance checks at each step, confirm that every sample meets its return-weight tolerance, and escalade any deviation immediately.
Tray preparation and instrument workflows
Load mineral grains into small imaging trays with a volumetric scoop to a consistent fill level, following standard operating procedures (SOPs). Exceptional candidates can also help write and develop SOPs.
Use tray covers and vibration steps to settle grains evenout without losing material.
Load and unload trays on our digital microscope (Keyence VHX series), and start and monitor automated imaging runs.
Load and unload samples on our Raman spectrometer (Renishaw inVia), so that grains selected by our computer-vision model can be confirmed.
Keep instruments, trays and work surfaces clean to prevent cross-contamination and grain loss.
Sample recovery and return
Recover grains from trays after analysis and return each sample to its original packaging with its original labels.
Do final weighing and LIMS close-out before samples are released.