Brastus Nicodemas

Professional Metallurgy and Mineral Processing Engineer with 5 years of experience in Graphite, Gold and Copper. I am Safety focused, proactive, team player, flexible, good communication skills with strong knowledge towards innovation and continuous improvement. Highly motivated and vastly interested in mineral processing practices from designing, commissioning and operation stages.

Senior Metallurgist - Lindi Jumbo Graphite LTD - Tanzania

(2025-12)

• Ensuring all metallurgical activities complying with safety and environmental regulations and promoting a culture of safety and continuous improvement within metallurgical team.
• Leading metallurgical team and developing and mentoring junior metallurgical engineers and technicians by fostering technical growth and knowledge transfer and providing training and guidance to operation staff on safe and effective metallurgical practice.
• Providing technical expertise and support to the operations team by leading troubleshooting efforts for process related issues, ensuring minimum downtime and maximum efficiency.
• Analysing data to identify bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement and addressing process upsets and collaborate with operations, maintenance and project teams to identify root cause and implement solutions.
• Analysing metallurgical data and preparing detailed technical reports and presenting findings and recommendations to senior management and other stakeholders.
• Developing and monitoring process Key Performance Indicators and implement corrective actions when deviations occur.
• Leading effort to plant optimization from crushing, milling, flotation, filtration, drying, screening and packaging for improving Graphite recovery, grade, throughput and reagent consumption.
• Responsible for daily, weekly and monthly metal accounting and reconciliation reporting and plant consumable accounting and plant consumables cost optimization.
• Responsible for analytical laboratory monitoring and sample control, assay results checking and lab QA/QC checking and lab sample cost control or budgeting.
• Managing metallurgical projects from conception through to completion ensuring they are delivered on time and within budget and coordinate with cross function teams including maintenance, operation and project to achieve project objectives.
• Responsible for Annually Budgeting and Quarterly, monthly production forecasting and operation and plant consumable cost forecasting.
• Collaborating with cross function teams including mining, geology, maintenance, environmental and safety to optimize overall plant performance and to ensure alignment with production schedules.
• Provide coverage for the Production superintendent during extended absences.

Metallurgist - Lindi Jumbo Graphite LTD - Tanzania

(2024-05 - 2025-11)

• Ensuring that all metallurgical operations comply with safety regulation and environmental standards and implementing measures to mitigate risk to personnel and the environment.
• Improvement of plant flowsheet, mass balance, Process design criteria based on metallurgical test results and design information (grinding area we screen aperture size reselection reduced from 5mm to 2mm).
• Process optimization by analyzing process data to identify areas for improvement and implement strategies to optimize flotation and screening efficiency (Rotex screen mesh size reselection), (reagent optimization and flake/ jumbo size preservation).
• Monitoring and controlling the quality of ore processing, and flotation circuit, ensuring that metallurgical specifications are met and maintaining higher standard of product (95%-96% TGC) of final product at optimal plant recovery.
• Commissioning of Met lab by developing flotation Geometallurgical test work procedures and conducting flotation metallurgical test work to diagnose and reporting of test work results to resolve process issues.
• Developing metallurgical accounting system and validating reported metallurgical and operating data and prepare periodical management reports (met account, Reconciliation and plant performance reports).
• Development and implementation of analytical laboratory quality assurance program (QA/QC) and audits ensuring compliance with standard operating procedures and technical standards to improve product quality.
• Providing technical support across a range of unit processes including comminution (Rod Mill & spiral classifier), flotation, gravity separation, dewatering, drying, screening (gyratory Rotex screen) and TSF to maximize recovery and final product quality.
• Identify and implement process improvement projects (introduction of new concentrate thickener) and contribute to development of project scope and business cases and engage with project services, engineering and other internal departments.
• Providing training and guidance to plant metallurgist and technicians to enhance their understanding of metallurgical process and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• Establishment of reagent consumption rate, reagent mixing strength and plant consumable (grinding media, and chemical reagents) accounting, stock checking, budgeting and monitoring to optimize plant operating cost.
• Plant inspection and Identifying equipment performance led to metallurgical process deviation, and advice for PM or replacement (mill liner inspection Rotex screen mesh inspection).
• Developing plant consumables, mill liners and sample analysis forecast and budgeting.

Graduate Metallurgist - Barrick Bulyanhulu Gold Mine (BGML) - Tanzania

(2022-06 - 2024-04)

• Responsible for stopping any unsafe work and to ensure everyone on site adheres to safety regulations, occupational health, environmental safety and verification of safe work permits to ensure every workplace is safe for work to achieve journey to zero harm in our site.
• Process plant circuit operations: crushing, grinding, flotation, dewatering and gravity, pre-leach, CIL, elution, detox, filtration and paste plant, aggregate, batch plant, Tailing Storage Facility (TSF), ore sorter (TOMRA) and inline leach reactor (ILR) Gekko.
• Monitoring and troubleshooting flotation circuit by monitoring parameters and APC monitoring to optimize flotation circuit, Cu recovery of 85%.
• Plant inspection and working closely with maintenance team to ensure all required parameters are according to plant design and operational requirement; (mill liner, weight meter, hydro cyclone and flotation circuit (APC)system).
• Plant consumable (grinding media, and chemical reagents) accounting, stock checking, and monitoring to optimize plant operating cost.
• Responsible for shift, daily, weekly, and monthly metal accounting, metal reconciliation, consumables accounting, quarter production analysis, daily performance, data monitoring and process plant water balance reporting.
• Performing metallurgical test work (geometallurgy test) from different ore zones to simulate plant performance according to the mining and ore feed plan and optimization test work such as consumables and plant recovery optimization.
• Sample preparation and supervision of all sampling activities, such as concentrate sampling, and sampling point inspection to ensure quality control and assurance (QA/QC) of analysis methods to increase accuracy and precision of metal accounting system.
• Calibration, inspection, monitoring and troubleshooting of all metallurgical equipment's such as Multi Stream XRF Analyzer (MSA), TAC, WAD analyser.

Plant and Lab operations supervisor - Katavi Mining LTD - Tanzania

(2021-07 - 2022-05)

• To ensure all personal on plant adhere to safety regulation, occupational health and environmental and use of the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment
• Plant operation supervision from run of mine (ROM) pad, crushing circuit, grinding circuit, flotation circuit, filtration, shaking table, intensive Cyanidation, electrowinning, smelting and maintaining and monitoring optimal operating parameters.
• Sampling to ensure quality (required grade of copper and gold in concentrate) control and control plant operations and sample preparation by mixing or homogeneous, splitting and particle size analysis by sieving.
• Performing flotation test work by using PAX, SAX, SIPX, lime, sodium silicate and pine oil.
• Determination of copper content in ore and copper concentrate by iodometry titration of samples and determination of gold content in ore and concentrate samples by roasting, digestion by aqua regia and solvent extraction by DIBK and reading result by atomic absorption spectrometer (AAS) machine (Varian 55B).
• Conducting Quality Control and Assurance (QA/QC) throughout the metal content determination methods process.

Bachelor of Science - Metallurgy and Mineral Processing Engineering (MMPE) - University of Dar-ES-salaam (UDSM) (2017 - 2021)