Gold Trader - Mining

Key responsibilities: Origination Build and own a pipeline of gold financing opportunities with producers across Africa: producing and near-production mines, mid-tier and junior listed companies, licensed aggregators and exporters, and refiners. Lead the commercial conversation from first contact: size the producer's need, propose the structure (prepayment, offtake with embedded finance, stream, royalty, inventory or consignment line, or a combination) and agree indicative terms that work for company before the counterparty anchors the discussion. Screen every counterparty and project before a term sheet goes out: technical (reserves, mine plan, cost base), legal (title, permits, capacity to grant security), country (FX and repatriation rules, mining code, fiscal terms) and compliance (origin and ownership). Structuring Structure each transaction end to end: advance amount and tenor; repayment in ounces or cash; pricing mechanics (fixed or floating, reference price, quotational periods, discounts); delivery schedules with shortfall and catch-up mechanics; security package (offtake assignment, collection and escrow accounts, share and asset pledges, parent guarantees); covenants, events of default and step-in rights. Build the deal model and the credit paper: mine cash flows, debt sizing and coverage, price and production sensitivities, downside cases, and the return on company's capital on a risk-adjusted basis. Design the hedging program for financed ounces with the trading desk and Risk, so the book's price exposure is known and inside limits from the first drawdown. Negotiate term sheets and long-form documents with counterparties and external counsel: prepayment agreements, offtake and purchase agreements, stream and royalty agreements, security documents, intercreditor and account bank agreements. Leading and syndicating Lead each transaction as deal captain: own the timetable, the data room, the due diligence workstreams, the approvals and the closing. Syndicate: bring banks, trading houses, development finance institutions, export credit agencies, credit funds and insurers in alongside company's balance sheet; structure risk participations, sub-participations and co-lending; negotiate intercreditor terms; place credit and political risk insurance. Build and maintain a lender and investor network that can fund gold flows out of Africa at scale, and keep company's own facilities (trade finance lines and borrowing bases) drawn efficiently, compliant and reported. Take every transaction through company's Investment Committee and, where required, the board, with a complete and candid credit paper. No transaction proceeds because a partner is keen; each must stand on its own economics. Portfolio management and delivery Run the book after closing: deliveries against schedule, outstanding balances, quotational period and hedge positions, covenant and reporting compliance, mine performance and developments in each country. Act early on problems: restructure, extend, enforce or exit, and manage workouts with Legal. Monetize delivered ounces with the trading desk: refining, hedging and sale to refiners and bullion banks, with shipment, assay and settlement coordinated through Operations. Report monthly to the Trading CEO and the Investment Committee on exposures, returns, covenant status and pipeline. Compliance and responsible sourcing Finance or buy only from counterparties that have passed KYC, sanctions and responsible sourcing due diligence by the Compliance function. Build provenance into the structure: chain-of-custody documents, mine-site visits, and the right to stop deliveries and advances on any red flag on origin, ownership, payment or transport. Never sign, advance or release a transaction that Compliance has not cleared. Support audits, regulatory reviews and reporting, and complete mandatory training on time. Team and firm-building Set the standards for the function: term sheet, model, credit paper and due diligence templates; approval workflow; portfolio reporting. Hire and develop a small structuring team (analyst and associate level) as the book grows, and coach trading and finance colleagues on structured products. Work with Trading, Risk, Finance, Legal, Compliance and Operations as one team, and treat the control functions as partners rather than obstacles. Must have: 10 or more years in structured commodity finance, metals origination or mining finance, including at least five years at a tier-one commodity trading house in a structured finance, origination or metals finance role. Bullion bank or mining finance bank experience alongside this is welcome; the trading-house years are not optional. Precious metals as a core product: gold prepayments, offtake-backed financings or streams that the candidate structured and closed personally, not supported from the side. A named track record: at least three closed transactions as lead structurer, with a reference-checkable role in each, at sizes relevant to company (USD 25m to 250m and above per transaction). Syndication: has brought banks, DFIs, funds or insurers into transactions as arranger or lead, and has negotiated intercreditor, risk participation and credit or political risk insurance terms. Command of gold mechanics: LBMA pricing, quotational periods, fixed against floating pricing, discounts, assay and refining, logistics, delivery and settlement, and hedging of financed ounces. Credit and modelling strength: builds mine cash flow models, sizes debt, stress-tests price and production, and writes a credit paper an Investment Committee can act on. Documentation fluency: prepayment, offtake, stream and royalty, security and intercreditor documents; comfortable instructing and managing external counsel. Africa: has closed transactions in at least two African jurisdictions and understands FX and repatriation regimes, OHADA security, mining codes and political risk mitigants. Working knowledge of KYC, AML, sanctions and responsible sourcing requirements for gold, including LBMA and OECD due diligence principles. Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, law, engineering or a related field. Fluent English, written and spoken. French strongly preferred, given the francophone footprint. Proven integrity and the maturity to stop a transaction when compliance or credit concerns arise. Preferred: Experience at a streaming or royalty company, or on a mining finance desk that writes streams and royalties. Established relationships with development finance institutions and export credit agencies active in African mining and trade (Afreximbank, AfDB, IFC, TDB, DFC, UKEF and similar). Experience in the Dubai or wider UAE gold market, including DMCC and UAE-licensed refiners and dealers. Experience with the credit and political risk insurance market (Lloyd's syndicates and private CPRI insurers). CFA, a legal qualification, or the LBMA Diploma in Global Precious Metals. Show more Show less