SRK Consulting and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation have signed an agreement for the transfer of ANSTO's sulfidic mine materials business to SRK.
SRK Consulting and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation have signed an agreement for the transfer of ANSTO's sulfidic mine materials business to SRK.
The agreement includes the transfer to SRK of the expertise and technology vested in this division of the ANSTO business, along with the trade marks, patents and current project commitments in the area. Former ANSTO employees Drs Andrew Garvie and Claire Linklater will also be transferring to SRK as from today.
The announcement comes after discussions between SRK and ANSTO were initiated earlier this year to explore obvious synergies between the two parties.
SRK Managing Director Dr Peter Williams today said that he was pleased with the successful outcome: "SRK is glad to announce the enhancement of our services in the geoenvironmental area with the acquisition of this significant component of the ANSTO business and we are looking forward to add the expertise of Drs Garvie and Linklater to our resources."
"ANSTO is very pleased to be involved in the transfer of technology which has been developed in our nuclear focused research but with broader application to industry. We see this as a key role for ANSTO and it fits with our strategic goal of maximising return on investment on our expertise and specialised facilities," said ANSTO's Executive Director, Dr Ian Smith.
"The transfer of ANSTO's sulfides business helps to demonstrate how our core activities may lead to new processes and techniques which are relevant to industry," Dr Smith said.
Dr Williams said that the delivery of an integrated and highly skilled service to the company's mining clients has always been a defining factor in the decision to expand SRK's service portfolio.
"The broadening of our specialised geoenvironmental service offering is part of an internal growth strategy, which includes the strengthening of our capabilities in hydrogeology, tailings engineering and advanced mine closure with the view on delivering a comprehensive service from exploration through to mine closure," said Dr Williams.
"The management of sulfidic materials constitutes a key element in acid rock drainage and pit lake geochemistry and adds to SRK's expertise in this field," Dr Williams said. "This area of expertise is critical for closure planning, operational support and compliance reporting. The additional expertise allows for closer points of contact with our major environmental partner, MBS Environmental, and provides clients with seamless access to a very wide range of environmental and environmental engineering services."
Dr Garvie and Dr Linklater have been appointed Principal Consultants (GeoEnvironmental).
Dr Garvie's technical strengths are in gas transport related to acid mine drainage, and the development, installation and operation of field monitoring systems, while Dr Linklater's expertise lies in environmental geochemistry, in particular the modelling of contaminant generation and reactions during transport.
SRK will have nine full-time geoenvironmental and hydrogeology staff located in Perth, Sydney and Brisbane as a result of this and other expansions.
