Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Job Category
Faculty Non Bargaining

Job Title
Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Department
Research | MDRU | Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences | Faculty of Science (Shaun Barker)

Posting End Date
January 31, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date
Dec 31, 2025

The salary range for these positions located in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences is expected to be $72,000 to $85,000 per annum.

Postdoctoral Fellowships on Ore Body Knowledge

Mining operations are becoming more technically complex as mineral reserves that are relatively easy to bring to production are significantly depleted. This is resulting in greater financial and economic risks that make it harder for miners to attract capital and obtain government permits, posing a significant threat to the industry's growth in Canada and the ability of the mining industry to deliver critical minerals such as copper and nickel needed for the low-carbon energy transition.

The MDRU-Mineral Deposit Research Unit and BRIMM (Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining) at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, are looking for two postdoctoral research fellows (who have completed their PhD within the last 5 years at the time of appointment) to work on a newly funded 2-year NSERC Alliance funded postdoctoral research project (with possibility for extension). The project is supported by Ideon Technologies and Imdex Limited. This project seeks to develop a quantitative understanding of the value of ore body knowledge in mineral exploration and mining.

The ideal candidates will have an interest in mineral resources, with a quantitative background in geostatistics, mineral resource estimation, geophysics or related fields. Additional interests in ore body knowledge, including alteration mineralogy, geological engineering, sensing technologies or geophysics would be highly beneficial.   Background and experience working for or in collaboration with mineral exploration and/or mining companies would be beneficial, as the successful applicants will collaborate closely with both Ideon Technologies and Imdex Limited, two highly innovative companies that are at the forefront of cutting-edge technology and solutions in the field of mineral exploration and mining.

The successful applicants will be supervised by MDRU Director Shaun Barker, and BRIMM Director John Steen, and will work within a larger research team, including several MSc students and faculty members. There are also opportunities to interact with a variety of faculty in the Departments of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Mining Engineering at UBC, therefore, a willingness to collaborate and mentor graduate students is advantageous.

We highly value the following skills and knowledge for these positions:

• Interest and/or expertise in economic geology, mineral resources and mineral economics
• Strong quantitative skills, particularly in geostatistics, resource estimation or geophysics
• Machine learning and artificial intelligence particularly natural language processing
• Experience with databases and data wrangling

The salary range for these positions located in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences is expected to be $72,000 to $85,000 per annum.

The position will remain available until filled, and applications will be reviewed as they are received.

For more information about MDRU-Mineral Deposit Research Unit, please visit: http://www.mdru.ubc.ca/ and for BRIMM please visit: https://brimm.ubc.ca/

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.