Quartz Technical Specialist

Quartz Technical Specialist

1. Geological Identification & Material Assessment

Technically sort post-blast quartz based on crystalline structure, fracture pattern, and silicon purity classification.

Conduct real-time purity assessments through drill cuttings (rock powder) analysis to ensure zero cross-contamination.

Characterize quartz lenses and veins by interpreting strike, dip, mineral zoning, and structural deformation patterns to plan efficient, high-yield extraction benches.

Identify geological anomalies such as weathered zones, inclusion pockets, and iron-bearing minerals that may affect purity and processing yield.

2. Drilling & Blasting Optimization

Operate and tune high-pressure DTH rigs, optimizing percussion frequency and rotation speed to suit Mohs 7.0 hardness and maintain crystal integrity.

Design blast patterns, burden and spacing parameters, and powder factors to prevent internal micro-fracturing of quartz crystals while achieving the required fragmentation.

Recommend explosive selection and charge sequencing to minimize thermal and shock damage to quartz structure.

Validate blast performance through post-blast quality mapping and fragmentation analysis to continuously refine blast strategies.

3. Contamination Control & Quality Assurance

Implement contamination prevention protocols during drilling, blasting, handling, storage, and sampling to protect high-purity quartz from contact with steel, ferrous material, clay, or organics.

Monitor equipment wear and tool material transfer that may reduce SiO purity.

Work closely with laboratory teams to correlate field assessments with XRF, ICP-MS, XRD, magnetic susceptibility, or wet chemistry results.

Develop and maintain grading and acceptance criteria for raw quartz supplied to downstream processing.

4. Production Planning & Operational Support

Coordinate extraction sequencing and selective mining with quarry operations to maximize high-grade quartz recovery.

Provide technical input on bench design, slope control, haulage routes, pump placement, and resource optimization.

Support selection, commissioning, and optimization of quartz handling and processing equipment (jaw crushers, magnetic separators, optical sorters, flotation circuits).

Conduct material flow assessments to ensure quartz feed meets plant capacity and purity requirements.

5. Data Recording, Reporting & Continuous Improvement

Maintain detailed purity mapping and geological database for resource tracking and planning.

Analyze productivity, yield variance, and purity deviations; recommend improvements based on data trends.

Prepare weekly and monthly technical reports covering extraction quality, purity results, and operational recommendations.

Education Requirements

Candidates should possess one of the following qualifications (or equivalent):

Bachelor's Degree in Mining Engineering, Mineral Processing or related field.

Professional certifications in drilling & blasting, explosives handling, or mineral quality assessment are an added advantage.

Working Experience Requirements

Minimum 10 years of hands-on experience in quartz mining and silica operations.

Proven experience in DTH drilling, blast design, purity control, and contamination prevention for high-purity mineral extraction.

Experience working with high-purity quartz (>99.5% SiO) is highly preferred.

Familiarity with mineral laboratory analysis (XRF, ICP-MS, XRD) and on-site purity grading is an advantage.