Arafura is developing the Nolans rare earths project in the Northern Territory. It’s a billion-dollar greenfield operation producing the rare earths needed for the global energy transition and future-facing technologies.
At Nolans, water is both our biggest constraint and one of our biggest commitments. As the project moves through construction and into operational readiness, we’re looking for a Hydrogeologist to join our Environment & Approvals team. You’ll hold the water discipline on the first fully integrated rare earths processing facility in Australia, at a stage when today’s decisions will shape how Nolans runs for decades.
The role
You’ll provide the groundwater, surface water and water balance expertise behind our water supply, licence compliance and water management planning.
- Own the site water balance across construction, commissioning and operations
- Lead the hydrogeology for borefield development, abstraction strategy and drawdown assessment
- Design and manage the groundwater and surface water monitoring network and the water data behind it
- Maintain and improve groundwater models,
including the verification program required under our approvals
- Lead the technical delivery of water-related approval and licence conditions, and the reporting that goes with them
- Manage specialist consultants and drilling contractors
What you’ll bring
- A genuine commitment to responsible water stewardship in an arid environment
- Tertiary qualifications in hydrogeology, hydrology, water resources or a related discipline
- Experience as a practising hydrogeologist or hydrologist on mining, processing or major infrastructure projects
- Solid modelling capability (MODFLOW, FEFLOW or equivalent)
- Hands-on experience with monitoring programs, bore installation and aquifer testing
- Working knowledge of water licensing and approvals (NT Water Act, Commonwealth, IRMA and IFC highly regarded)
- Sound judgement, and ability to give pragmatic advice
If you want to shape how a first-of-its-kind Australian project manages water for decades, we’d like to hear from you.