Principal Geologist – Base & Precious Metals

Green Umbrella Recruitment; Muscat; On-site; OMR 312,000 - 424,000; Full time

Job summary

COMPANY seeks a highly capable Principal Geologist to lead exploration programmes in Oman, focusing on copper-gold, chromite and related base metals. This hands-on role requires substantial field time for mapping, logging, and supervising drilling, setting technical standards, and guiding crews to target maturation from concept through drill-testing.

Reporting to Exploration leadership, you will mentor Omani geologists and support BD/PD teams through scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of post-graduate experience in mineral exploration.
• At least 7 years field-based experience.
• Experience with VMS copper-gold systems and multiple deposit types.
• Fluent written and spoken English; Arabic is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead field exploration activities and set technical quality and safety standards.
• Direct geological mapping and sampling campaigns with full chain of custody.
• Supervise drilling campaigns and core logging on site.
• Develop exploration targets and ranking criteria with testing strategy.
• Prepare and review technical reports to international standards.
• Mentor and develop Omani geologists and support Omanisation goals.

Skills

Field leadership

Geological mapping

Target generation

QA/QC discipline

Leadership coaching

Education

Bachelor's degree in Geology or Earth Sciences

MSc or PhD in Economic Geology or related

Tools

Leapfrog Geo

MX Deposit

ArcGIS / QGIS

ioGAS

Micromine / Surpac

Job description

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman | Posted on 09/14/2026

• Work 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.
• Job Opening Status Open
• Degree Bachelor's
• City Muscat
• Country Sultanate of Oman

Job Description

Role Objective

Seeking a highly capable, field-oriented Principal Geologistfor its Base & Precious Metals division to lead exploration programmes thatidentify, test and advance copper-gold, chromite and associated base metaldeposits in Oman’s underexplored geological terranes, and to support company’sinternational exploration portfolio.

This is a hands-on technical leadership role, not adesk-based one. The successful candidate will spend a substantial proportion oftheir time in the field – mapping, logging, supervising drilling and samplingcampaigns, and setting the technical standard for the crews working alongsidethem. Reporting to the Director of Exploration Execution, the PrincipalGeologist will apply deep expertise in prospect generation, target maturationand the evaluation of greenfield and brownfield projects, taking targets fromconcept through to drill-tested and, where warranted, resource definition.

The role also provides technical support to the BusinessDevelopment (BD) and Project Development (PD) teams across scoping,pre-feasibility, feasibility, project assessment, remediation and closurephases, and carries direct responsibility for mentoring and building thecapability of COMPANY’s Omani geologists.

2. Duties and Responsibilities

Field Exploration & Technical Delivery

1. 1. Personallylead and supervise field exploration activities, setting the standard fortechnical quality, safety and data discipline on site.
2. 2. Undertakeand direct geological mapping at prospect to district scale, includingstructural, lithological and alteration mapping, trenching and outcrop logging.
3. 3. Design andsupervise rock chip, channel, soil, stream sediment and pXRF samplingprogrammes, ensuring representative sampling and full chain of custody.
4. 4. SuperviseRC and diamond drilling campaigns on site: rig supervision, geological andgeotechnical logging, core orientation, density determination, sampling anddispatch.
5. 5. Own fieldQA/QC – insertion and monitoring of standards, blanks and duplicates,laboratory submissions, results validation and corrective action whereperformance falls outside limits.
6. 6. Ensure allfield data is captured, validated and loaded to the corporate database (MXDeposit) to COMPANY data standards, with no unresolved validation errors.
7. 7. Generate,rank and mature exploration targets by integrating geological mapping,geochemistry, ground and airborne geophysics, remote sensing and historicaldata.
8. 8. Preparedrill-ready target packages with documented geological rationale, rankingcriteria, expected tonnage-grade range and testing strategy.
9. 9. Plan andexecute regional and prospect-scale programmes, including scheduling,resourcing, logistics and permitting.
10. 10. Prepareannual exploration programmes and budgets and support the Director ofExploration Execution and CXO in budget preparation, forecasting andexpenditure tracking against plan.
11. 11. Managedrilling, geophysical, survey, assay and consultancy contractors – scopes ofwork, technical evaluation of bids, supervision and performance management.

Resource, Reporting & Governance

1. 12. Build andmaintain geological and mineralisation domain models (Leapfrog Geo) as inputsto Mineral Resource estimation, and work with the resource team on estimationand reconciliation.
2. 13. Preparetechnical reports and documentation to JORC 2012, NI 43-101 and similarstandards, including supporting Table 1 disclosure.
3. 14. Initiate,lead, coordinate and review scoping, pre-feasibility and feasibility studieswith the BD and PD teams and external consultants, interrogating consultantrecommendations against project value rather than accepting them on technicalgrounds alone.
4. 15. Prepare andcontribute monthly, quarterly and annual reports, stage-gate submissions andpresentations for management, the Investment & Technical Committee and theMinistry of Energy and Minerals (MEM).
5. 16. Ensure fullcompliance with concession commitments, licence conditions, minimum expenditureobligations and statutory reporting deadlines.

People, HSE & Capability Building

1. 17. Mentor,coach and formally develop junior and mid-level Omani geologists throughstructured on-the-job field training, competency assessment and technicalreview.
2. 18. Lead bypersonal example on HSE in remote field operations – risk assessments, journeymanagement, permits, toolbox talks, incident reporting and close-out.
3. 19. Support COMPANY’sOmanisation and In-Country Value objectives in team development and contractorselection.

Requirements

Education

• – Bachelor’sdegree in Geology or Earth Sciences (essential).
• – MSc orPhD in Economic Geology, Mineral Exploration, Structural Geology or a relateddiscipline is strongly preferred.

Experience

• – Minium10 years of post-graduate experience in mineral exploration with progressivelyincreasing responsibility, of which a minimum of seven years must bepredominantly field-based.
• – Demonstrabletrack record of taking targets from generation through drill testing toresource definition; involvement in at least one discovery or delineatedMineral Resource is highly desirable.
• – Directexperience of VMS copper-gold systems in ophiolite terranes is preferred –Semail Ophiolite experience a distinct advantage – with exposure to otherdeposit styles (orogenic and epithermal gold, porphyry, podiform chromite,carbonate-hosted base metals) also valued.
• – Multi-commodityexposure across base metals, precious metals, chromite and industrial minerals.
• – Provenexperience planning and supervising RC and diamond drilling campaigns inremote, arid environments, including camp-based and rotational operations.
• – Experienceleading and developing national geological teams; GCC, wider Middle East orcomparable remote-region experience preferred.

Special Skills & Knowledge

• – Expertpractical field skills – geological and structural mapping, core and chiplogging, recognition of ore and alteration assemblages, and the ability toinstruct staff to identify favourable geological settings.
• – Strongcommand of mineral deposit models and the exploration methods used to discoverand evaluate them, including geochemical and geophysical (IP, ground magnetics,EM, gravity) survey design and interpretation.
• – Thoroughunderstanding of sampling theory, QA/QC design and data integrity standards.
• – Competentworking knowledge of Leapfrog Geo, MX Deposit (or equivalent, e.g.acQuire/DataShed), ArcGIS and/or QGIS, ioGAS, and a mine planning or resourcepackage (Micromine, Surpac, Datamine); strong MS Office and reporting skills.
• – Practicalcompetence with pXRF, handheld GPS/GNSS, and digital field data capture.
• – JORC2012, NI 43-101 and UMREK technical report writing; eligibility to act, or aclear path to acting, as a Competent Person for Exploration Results and MineralResources.
• – Experiencein technical due diligence, project evaluation and audit of third-party data.
• – Generalunderstanding of mining operations, processing routes and the mining valuechain.
• – Physicallyfit for sustained, exertive fieldwork in high ambient temperatures and roughterrain; must hold and be able to use a valid driving licence, with competent4x4 off-road driving skills.
• – Fluentwritten and spoken English; working Arabic is an advantage.

Business Understanding

• – Strongcommercial awareness and the ability to link exploration decisions to value –discovery cost, cut-off grade, stage-gate criteria and project economics.
• – Familiaritywith the Omani Mineral Wealth Law, the concession and licensing framework, andMEM reporting requirements, or the demonstrated ability to acquire thisquickly.

ADDITIONAL QUALIFICATION /CERTIFICATION REQUIRED

• – Professionalmembership of a Recognised Professional Organisation (e.g. AusIMM, AIG,EurGeol, Geological Society of London, SME) supporting Competent Personeligibility.
• – Validdriving licence, transferable to an Omani licence; off-road and defensivedriving certification desirable.
• – Remotearea first aid and H2S/field safety awareness certification desirable (COMPANYwill support where not already held).
• – Fitness-to-workmedical clearance for remote site operations.

HEALTH, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT

• – Thisposition requires full compliance with all HSE procedures and standards set bythe Company.
• – As asenior field leader, the incumbent is accountable for the safety of personneland contractors under their supervision, and is expected to visibly lead riskassessment, journey management, incident reporting and safety culture in thefield.

KEY COMPETENCIES

• – TechnicalDepth – authoritative geological judgement; makes sound calls with incompletefield data and defends them with evidence.
• – FieldLeadership – credible and effective at the outcrop and at the rig; setsstandards by doing, not by directing from Muscat.
• – DeliveryFocus – plans realistically, executes to schedule and budget, and closes outprogrammes with documented outcomes.
• – DataIntegrity – uncompromising on sampling discipline, QA/QC and database quality.
• – Coaching& Development – genuinely invests in building Omani geological capability.
• – CommercialJudgement – distinguishes technically interesting from economically material.
• – Communication– writes clear, defensible technical documents and presents confidently tomanagement, committees and regulators.
• – Collaboration– works effectively across Exploration, BD, PD, JV partners and consultants.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• – Based atCOMPANY’s Muscat office, but this is a field-oriented role: the incumbent isexpected to spend approximately 50% of working time (in the order of 120 fielddays per year) at project sites across Oman.
• – Fieldwork involves remote, camp-based operations in mountainous and desert terrain,high ambient temperatures, and extended rotations during active drillingcampaigns.
• – Occasionalinternational travel in support of COMPANY’s overseas exploration projects andjoint ventures.
• – StandardCOMPANY working hours, with flexibility required during field and drillingprogrammes.