Commercial Manager - Mining Mineral Trading

Job Description

• The Commercial Manager is responsible for driving the commercial viability, profitability, and market expansion of the company's tin and technology minerals portfolio.
• The role combines strategic commercial management (pricing, sales, contracts, off-take) with hands-on field operations specifically the responsible sourcing, aggregation, and procurement of base/precious metals (Tin, Lead, Gold, Lithium, Tantalum, etc.) from licensed Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (ASM), cooperatives, and aggregators in strict compliance with Nigerian Mining Act, ESG principles, and responsible sourcing standards.

Responsibilities

Commercial Strategy and Business Development:

• Develop and implement commercial strategies for tin, lead, and associated mineral products.
• Lead price discovery, negotiation, and closing of domestic and export sales, including off-take agreements, spot sales, and forward contracts.
• Identify new domestic and international markets, customers, smelters, mineral traders, and offtake partners.
• Develop business plans, revenue forecasts, sales targets, and profitability objectives.
• Evaluate new commercial opportunities, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, and long-term supply agreements.
• Monitor global tin and lead prices, market demand, exchange rates, and industry trends to
• guide pricing and sales decisions.
• Provide commercial recommendations to senior management on investment opportunities and market expansion.
• Prepare weekly commercial reports, sales forecasts, and profitability analysis for the Board.

Field Sourcing & Aggregation from Small-Scale Miners:

• Design and manage a robust, traceable, and compliant field sourcing network for
• Base/precious metals from ASM, cooperatives, and licensed buying centres across Nigeria.
• Lead field expeditions to mining sites to directly source, assess, and aggregate tin and other precious metals.
• Establish and manage relationships with miners, village heads, cooperative leaders, and state mineral buying centres to ensure consistent, ethical supply.
• Assess and mitigate potential risks associated with supplier relationships, supply chain disruptions, and regulatory compliance.

Mineral Sales and Marketing:

• Manage the sale and marketing of tin and lead concentrates and other approved mineral products.
• Negotiate sales prices, payment terms, delivery schedules, quality specifications, and offtake agreements.
• Maintain strong relationships with buyers, smelters, traders, and strategic customers.
• Coordinate product sampling, laboratory analysis, grade certification, weighing, and quality assurance.
• Ensure that mineral pricing reflects grade, recoverable metal content, moisture, impurities, treatment charges, refining charges, freight, and applicable market benchmarks.
• Monitor customer payments, outstanding invoices, sales performance, and collection risks.
• Ensure that all mineral sales are supported by appropriate documentation and traceability records.
• Ensure all field procurement adheres to Responsible Sourcing, KYC (Know Your Customer), and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) protocols. Zero tolerance for conflict minerals or child labour.
• Supervise on-site assaying, weighing, grading, and documentation using modern equipment (XRF Analyzer, Testing Kit, Precision Scales).

Production and Commercial Planning:

• Work with the mine manager, geologists, and processing plant team to align production plans with market demand and sales commitments.
• Review mine production forecasts, ore grades, concentrate output, recovery rates, and stockpile levels.
• Develop production-to-sales plans to minimise inventory holding costs and maximise cash flow.
• Evaluate the commercial impact of changes in ore grade, processing recovery, operating costs, and product quality.
• Ensure that production targets are aligned with customer requirements and contractual obligations.

Operations, Logistics & Compliance:

• Coordinate with Operations, Security, and Logistics teams for safe evacuation, transportation,
• and storage of aggregated minerals from field to secure vaults / refinery.
• Ensure full compliance with Ministry of Solid Minerals, Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) and Nigeria Customs Service regulations for possession, movement, and export.
• Maintain accurate records of all field purchases, assay reports, receipts, and traceability documents (Mine-to-Market).
• Ensure contractual compliance, accurate documentation, and timely fulfilment of obligations.
• Assess commercial risks relating to price volatility, currency fluctuations, credit exposure, logistics, product quality, and counterparty performance.
• Establish controls for stock reconciliation, product custody, weighing, sampling, and dispatch.
• Investigate commercial discrepancies and recommend corrective measures.
• Work with Finance for timely payment to miners (via approved banking channels) and reconciliation of field cash advances.
• Regulatory Compliance and Responsible Mining:
• Ensure commercial transactions comply with applicable mining laws, mineral trading and export requirements, tax obligations, customs rules, and environmental regulations.
• Maintain accurate records of mineral production, purchases, sales, transportation, and exports.
• Support responsible sourcing, mineral traceability, anti-bribery controls, and applicable antimoney-laundering requirements.
• Work with the company's regulatory and compliance teams to maintain relevant licenses,permits, certificates, and export documentation.
• Promote ethical business practices, transparency, and responsible mineral supply chains.

Stakeholder & Client Management:

• Build and manage relationships with local and international off-takers, refineries, bullion banks etc.
• Represent the company at mining conferences, including LME Week, Mining Indaba, and Nigeria Mining Week.
• Manage relationships with government regulators, traditional institutions, and host communities.

Financial Management and Cost Control:

• Prepare and manage the commercial department's annual budget and business forecasts.
• Monitor operating costs, sales margins, working capital, cash flow, and commercial performance.
• Conduct cost-benefit analyses and profitability assessments for mining and processing activities.
• Track key financial indicators, including cost per tonne mined, cost per tonne processed, cost per tonne of concentrate produced, and revenue per tonne sold.
• Work with the finance team to reconcile production records, stock movements, sales invoices, customer payments, and supplier accounts.
• Identify opportunities to reduce costs, improve margins, and increase the company's return on investment.

Reporting and Performance Management:

• Prepare monthly commercial performance reports for the Managing Director or CEO.
• Report on sales volumes, revenue, gross margins, inventory, procurement savings, customer performance, and market trends.
• Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) for the commercial team.
• Provide timely market intelligence and recommendations to support management decisions.
• Lead, supervise, and develop commercial, sales, procurement, and logistics personnel.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Mining Engineering, Geology, Metallurgy, Mineral Economics, Business
• Administration, Supply Chain Management, Finance, or a related discipline.
• A postgraduate qualification or MBA in Business Administration, Finance, or Commercial Management is an advantage.
• At least 7 - 10 years of relevant experience in mining, mineral trading, metals marketing,
• procurement, or commercial management, including 3 - 5 years in a senior or managerial role.
• Demonstrable experience in tin, lead, zinc, or other base-metal mining and mineral sales is highly desirable.
• Proven experience negotiating mineral sales contracts, offtake agreements, supplier contracts,and logistics arrangements.
• Deep knowledge of TIN grading, assaying (fire assay, XRF), weighing systems, and identifying adulterated tin and other precious metals.
• Strong knowledge of mineral pricing, concentrate specifications, grade analysis, smelter terms, and international commodity markets.
• Experience in budgeting, financial modelling, cost control, and commercial performance reporting.
• Strong understanding of Nigeria's mining laws, Knowledge of relevant mining and mineral trading regulations in the company's operating jurisdiction.

Skills and Competencies:

• Commercial Acumen: Exceptional negotiation, pricing, and deal-closing skills.
• Good understanding of mining operations, mineral processing, and metallurgical recovery.
• Integrity & Ethics: Highest level of integrity this role handles high-value assets.
• Field Resilience: Willingness and physical ability to travel extensively to remote mining
• locations under difficult terrain.
• Language: Fluency in English; proficiency in Hausa and/or Yoruba is a major advantage.
• Digital Literacy: Proficient in MS Excel for commercial modeling, ERP/commodity trading
• systems.
• Leadership: Proven ability to lead and manage a dispersed field sourcing team.

Additional Information:

• Competitive renumuneration