Operator, Water Treatment

Job Summary

The Operator, Water Treatment is responsible for the safe, efficient and environmentally compliant operation of the site’s effluent water treatment system supporting mining and tailings operations.

The Operator will operate, monitor and maintain water treatment plant and associated equipment to remove, reduce and control contaminants from mine-impacted and tailings water prior to discharge or reuse. This position plays a critical role in ensuring treated effluent meets applicable regulatory requirements, environmental approvals and site-specific discharge criteria, as well as the responsibility to maintain the water treatment system.

Key Responsibilities and Duties

• Operate and monitor water treatment plant, pumping stations, tanks, and other related equipment in accordance with operating procedures, environmental approvals and regulatory requirements.
• Inspect equipment and identify operational or maintenance issues.
• Maintain, manage, and troubleshoot equipment and implement corrective actions. 
• Monitor process parameters including flow, pH, turbidity, conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and other site-specific water-quality parameters.
• Safely prepare, handle and dose water-treatment chemicals used for pH adjustment, precipitation, coagulation, flocculation, and other treatment processes.
• Collect water samples and perform bench top and/or field testing in accordance with regulatory and site requirements.
• Perform routine maintenance, preventative maintenance and diagnostic activities.
• Coordinate maintenance activities with mechanical and electrical personnel as required.
• Monitor and assist with inventory levels of chemicals, consumables, and spare parts.
• Respond to alarms, equipment malfunctions, and emergency situations by troubleshooting the concern and implementing corrective actions.

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• Immediately report potential environmental exceedances, treatment upsets, spills, unauthorized discharges, or permit compliance concerns in accordance with site notification and escalation procedures.
• Support compliance with Environmental Compliance Approval requirements, monitoring plans, discharge criteria, environmental management system requirements, and future regulatory obligations associated with mine water treatment and discharge.
• Maintain accurate operational logs, field records, chain-of-custody documentation, calibration records, and monitoring data required for regulatory compliance and inspections.
• Conduct and log daily site inspections.
• Compile, maintain, and verify operational and environmental monitoring data required for Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) compliance tracking, regulatory reporting, and internal performance metrics.
• Maintain excellent housekeeping activities at all times.
• Operate light duty equipment (forklift) to move materials and chemicals.
• Work in a healthy work environment with full support, cooperation, and commitment to satisfy our operation’s goal of being accident-free.
• Support a work environment that is aligned with Kinross’ Safeground principles.
• Comply with federal and provincial acts and regulations, and legal requirements.
• Support internal audits, regulatory inspections, and compliance assessments by providing records, documentation, operational information, and site access as required.
• Adhere to all relevant Great Bear policies and procedures.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications and Skill Requirements

College Diploma or equivalent in Water and Waste Treatment, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Technology, or a related field.

Water Treatment Operator Certification (Level 2 or higher) or eligibility to obtain, is considered an asset. Additionally, previous experience operating industrial, mining, or water treatment facilities is preferred.

Operation of equipment, including forklift operation is preferred; however, training will be provided.

• Knowledge of water treatment process equipment, pumps, filtration systems, and chemical treatment systems.
• Previous experience operating industrial wastewater, mine-water or effluent treatment plant is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with membrane treatment system and Bioreactors is desirable.
• Demonstrated experience with chemical water-treatment processes and chemical dosing systems
• Understanding of environmental regulations and compliance requirements.
• Ability to identify and resolve operational issues.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Experience treating mine-impacted water containing metals, suspended solids and other regulated contaminants is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, clarification, filtration and pH-control processes.
• Ability to interpret laboratory results, operating trends and process data and make appropriate operational adjustments.
• Experience with pumps, valves, piping systems, instrumentation and automated process-control systems.
• Familiarity with environmental compliance requirements associated with industrial or mining effluent is an asset.
• Strong mechanical aptitude and demonstrated troubleshooting abilities

Work Conditions

This position is based in Red Lake, Ontario. In this role you will work a 7x7.

Compensation and Total Rewards

The hourly rate for an Operator, Water Treatment is $52.00 per hour, plus a target quarterly bonus of 10%.

The hourly rate is in accordance with our established compensation framework for the role. This rate is fixed for the role and reflects requirements and benchmark market data for similar positions. 

Use of AI in Our Hiring Process

We use AI-enabled tools to help sort and review applications based on job-related criteria. All hiring decisions, including who moves forward in the process, are made by a human.