Director, Environment & Permitting

Reports to: President & COO

Job Location: USA with travel required

Duration:  Full Time

The Opportunity

The company is advancing a portfolio of strategically important critical mineral assets, including the Nussir copper project in Norway, the Springer tungsten project in Nevada, the Blue the company zinc-copper project in California, and the Apex germanium-gallium project in Utah. These projects position Blue the company at the forefront of securing domestic supplies of critical minerals essential to the economic, technological, and national security interests of the Western world.

As a key leadership role within the organization, the Director, Environment & Permitting is responsible for leading all environmental, regulatory, and permitting activities required to support the successful development, construction, operation, and closure of mining projects. This role provides strategic leadership and technical oversight for permitting processes across multiple jurisdictions while ensuring compliance with local, regional, national, and international regulatory requirements.

The Director, Environmental & Permitting works closely with environmental, engineering, legal, community relations, sustainability, and operations teams to secure and maintain all permits necessary for exploration, construction, mining, processing, infrastructure, water management, and related activities.

Key Responsibilities

Permitting & Regulatory Affairs

• Lead preparation, submission, and management of permit applications across all project stages — exploration, development, construction, operations, and closure.

• Own the permitting strategy and schedule for Springer (NDEP/NDWR/BLM/NEPA), Blue the company (California BLM/NEPA/CEQA/SMARA), Nussir (Norway), and Apex, adapting to each jurisdiction's regulatory framework.

• Monitor legislative and regulatory changes across all operating jurisdictions; translate implications into actionable guidance for project teams and executive leadership.

• Coordinate environmental baseline studies, impact assessments, technical reports, and supporting documentation required for regulatory approvals.

• Manage relationships with regulatory agencies and government authorities

Environmental Compliance & Management

• Develop and maintain environmental management systems to support compliance across the full project lifecycle.

• Oversee environmental monitoring programs, regulatory reporting, inspections, audits, and corrective action initiatives.

• Support development and implementation of mine closure plans, reclamation strategies, financial assurance programs, and long-term environmental management.

• Collaborate with sustainability and ESG teams to ensure alignment with corporate environmental and social responsibility commitments.

Project Integration & Technical Support

• Integrate environmental and permitting requirements into engineering, scheduling, procurement, construction, and operational plans from the outset.

• Support feasibility studies (PEA, PFS, FS), financing due diligence, and independent engineering reviews with accurate permitting status and risk assessments.

• Support due diligence activities related to acquisitions, partnerships, and project evaluations.

• Develop and maintain permitting schedules, budgets, risk registers, and reporting systems.

Team & Consultant Leadership

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing environmental and permitting team as the portfolio grows.

• Manage and direct external consultants, legal advisors, environmental specialists, and technical experts.

• Provide clear, timely briefings to executive leadership on permitting risks, regulatory developments, and approval timelines.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Geology, Mining Engineering, Natural Resources, or a related discipline.

• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible experience in environmental management, permitting, and regulatory affairs within the mining or natural resources sector.

• Direct experience with U.S. federal permitting processes — State Agencies, NEPA, BLM, and/or Army Corps of Engineers.

• Experience managing large-scale environmental and permitting programs across multiple jurisdictions simultaneously.

• Demonstrated success building and maintaining relationships with government regulators, Indigenous communities, and local stakeholders.

• Strong working knowledge of water permitting, land use permitting, tailings management, and mine closure requirements.

• Excellent communication, negotiation, and executive presentation skills.

Preferred

• Experience with California environmental permitting (CEQA, SMARA).

• Familiarity with BLM right-of-way, NOI, and Plan of Operations

• Experience with international or Nordic mining jurisdictions.

• Experience with underground mining operations.

• Experience supporting project financing, EPCM projects, and feasibility-stage technical studies.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Thinking — ability to anticipate regulatory risk and build permitting strategies that protect project timelines.

• Regulatory Expertise — deep, current knowledge of mining permitting frameworks across U.S. federal, state, and international jurisdictions.

• Stakeholder Engagement — credibility and skill working with regulators, communities, Indigenous groups, and elected officials.

• Leadership & Team Development — track record of building and developing high-performing environmental teams.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration — ability to integrate permitting work seamlessly with engineering, legal, operations, and finance.

• Communication & Executive Presence — clear, confident communicator in both written and verbal formats; comfortable briefing C-suite and investors.