Great Chairs at SRK – Steffen, Rigby and Armitage – and moves into Mongolia and Mexico
SRK Global has appointed a new chairman, Mike Armitage, who has been with the company for 20 years. A geologist by profession, Armitage has been instrumental in the company’s expansion into Europe and Russia and has worked in the minerals industry for more than 25 years. He replaces SRK’s chairman of 15 years, Neal Rigby. Currently chairman of SRK UK, SRK Sweden and SRK exploration, and previously chairman of SRK Russia, Armitage recently stepped down from his six-year posting as Managing Director of SRK UK.
SRK Global Chief Executive Andy Barrett said the incoming chairman had big shoes to fill. Rigby, originally appointed in 1996 for what was going to be a three-year term, had succeeded one of the company founders. “Neal had taken over from Oskar Steffen,” Barrett said. “Oskar still has a very high profile, but handed over to Neal as he believed that succession was an important aspect of SRK’s philosophy. Neal’s key contribution to SRK was probably raising the profile of the group globally regarding due diligence and mine finance services. Still a very successful consultant with SRK, his work is typically in areas related to mining finance advisory services – due diligence and independent engineer work for M&A, equity and debt financing.”
Armitage took over the global chairman’s role at the beginning of November when Neal stood down. He was chosen particularly for his strong industry profile, Mr Barrett said. “During his term as managing director of SRK UK, we opened offices in Russia and Sweden, largely as a result of Mike’s leadership,” he said. “He is also leading an evaluation of possible closer integration of our European offices – UK, Russia, Turkey, Sweden and Kazakhstan.”
Armitage says he is committed to maintaining SRK’s standing and reputation for producing a quality product in the industry, while at the same time growing the company to enable appropriate support in the developing parts of the world.
“I bring to the role an understanding of and a commitment to both SRK and the mining industry as a whole and in particular to the independence, encouragement of entrepreneurial individuals, and the overall philosophy that makes SRK the company it is,” Armitage said. “It makes me extremely proud and honoured to have been given the opportunity.”
SRK has recently opened new offices in Lubumbashi in the Congo, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Zacatecas in Mexico and expects to expand further over the next year. Having built a successful presence in China, and serviced the Mongolia market from that base, SRK is now on a recruitment drive to expand its Ulaanbaatar team. The company will look to recruit local geologists, mining engineers and interpreters. SRK currently has active exploration management projects in Mongolia; and as well as being a logistics centre for existing projects, the Ulaanbaatar office will provide exploration QA/QC services and translation services.
According to SRK China Managing Director Yonglian Sun, Mongolia is “the next frontier” for mining development. The country’s rich mineral deposits are being recognised and it has the potential to become one of world’s biggest copper, coal and gold producers. “SRK has been active in Mongolia since 2002 when it commenced work on the Ivanhoe mine,” Sun said. “At the moment, SRK is running three QA/QC exploration management projects in Mongolia. In addition, SRK has been regularly working in Mongolia on geology review, mine design as well as full due diligence studies for acquisition, merger and listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
“To facilitate project execution, it is necessary for SRK to have a presence in Mongolia, where both Mongolian and international clients can meet SRK regularly for project updates, and where SRK can provide services to them. On the other hand, SRK needs to understand the local culture and business model in Mongolia. The proposed Ulaanbaatar office is designed to meet these challenges, and to lay a solid foundation for the foreseeable future,” said Dr Sun.
The Ulaanbaatar office manager is Ms Erdene-Otgon (Oogii) Dalai. Oogii has an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Mongolian State University. She is multilingual, speaking Mongolian, Russian, English and Chinese. Oogii has strong industry contacts within the local government and will be able to assist in facilitating the execution of projects in Mongolia.
A strong resurgence in investment activity in Mexico’s minerals industry in the wake of the global financial crisis as well as solid relationships with a number of key clients have prompted SRK Consulting to open its fourth office in Latin America. The company inaugurated the office in Zacatecas, Mexico, in November 2010. Mexico’s improved mining regulatory framework and attractive investment rules have underpinned stronger foreign and domestic minerals sector investment while reducing uncertainty around greenfield development and expansion projects. A recent forecast of the Mexican mining chamber put potential investment by mining companies in Mexico between 2010 and 2012 at more than $13 bllion, SRK says.
“As a strong trading partner of the US and Canada, Mexico offers an attractive business environment for our services,” said Terry Braun, SRK Consulting Principal, who is leading the new office team. “We also see Mexico as strategic in terms of building the global SRK consulting practice as we will enhance opportunities to collaborate between our established offices in North and South America.” SRK first flagged the opening of a Mexico office two years ago after its work with Fresnillo, the country’s largest primary silver producer and second largest gold producer, to list on the London stock exchange. This experience in gaining access to international investment capital helped pave the way to a more open-door policy for foreign-based consultants working in Mexico, according to Braun. “The success of the Fresnillo raised awareness of domestic and other foreign-based mining companies and the potential for raising capital outside of Mexico,” he said.
Zacatecas is strategically located near a number of existing and planned long-term precious and base metal mining operations. SRK will offer strategic consulting services to mining companies, including technical and economic assessments of projects based on international standards. Prior to establishing SRK Mexico, SRK maintained an active project backlog in Mexico and Latin America. This included a wide-range of technical and economic assessment type studies. For example, a large base metal mining company retained SRK to perform a resource audit of its in-country portfolio, a major steel producer recently engaged SRK to assist in development plans for a mine expansion plan, and SRK conducted a detailed geotechnical assessment of a proposed open-pit expansion for a large copper producer.
Luis Arroyo, a mining engineer with more than 30 years of experience in Mexico’s mining industry, is the Director for SRK Mexico. The management team will be assisted by various technical professionals already working in Mexico. “A key goal is to enhance the SRK brand by increasing our roster of bilingual technical specialists who are familiar with our consulting culture, methodology and Mexican mining industry,” Braun said. “We also see a broader opportunity to share our technical staff between SRK offices in North and South America. This will continue to enhance our goal to be the employer of choice in our market.”
SRK Global Chief Executive Andy Barrett said the incoming chairman had big shoes to fill. Rigby, originally appointed in 1996 for what was going to be a three-year term, had succeeded one of the company founders. “Neal had taken over from Oskar Steffen,” Barrett said. “Oskar still has a very high profile, but handed over to Neal as he believed that succession was an important aspect of SRK’s philosophy. Neal’s key contribution to SRK was probably raising the profile of the group globally regarding due diligence and mine finance services. Still a very successful consultant with SRK, his work is typically in areas related to mining finance advisory services – due diligence and independent engineer work for M&A, equity and debt financing.”
Armitage took over the global chairman’s role at the beginning of November when Neal stood down. He was chosen particularly for his strong industry profile, Mr Barrett said. “During his term as managing director of SRK UK, we opened offices in Russia and Sweden, largely as a result of Mike’s leadership,” he said. “He is also leading an evaluation of possible closer integration of our European offices – UK, Russia, Turkey, Sweden and Kazakhstan.”
Armitage says he is committed to maintaining SRK’s standing and reputation for producing a quality product in the industry, while at the same time growing the company to enable appropriate support in the developing parts of the world.
“I bring to the role an understanding of and a commitment to both SRK and the mining industry as a whole and in particular to the independence, encouragement of entrepreneurial individuals, and the overall philosophy that makes SRK the company it is,” Armitage said. “It makes me extremely proud and honoured to have been given the opportunity.”
SRK has recently opened new offices in Lubumbashi in the Congo, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Zacatecas in Mexico and expects to expand further over the next year. Having built a successful presence in China, and serviced the Mongolia market from that base, SRK is now on a recruitment drive to expand its Ulaanbaatar team. The company will look to recruit local geologists, mining engineers and interpreters. SRK currently has active exploration management projects in Mongolia; and as well as being a logistics centre for existing projects, the Ulaanbaatar office will provide exploration QA/QC services and translation services.
According to SRK China Managing Director Yonglian Sun, Mongolia is “the next frontier” for mining development. The country’s rich mineral deposits are being recognised and it has the potential to become one of world’s biggest copper, coal and gold producers. “SRK has been active in Mongolia since 2002 when it commenced work on the Ivanhoe mine,” Sun said. “At the moment, SRK is running three QA/QC exploration management projects in Mongolia. In addition, SRK has been regularly working in Mongolia on geology review, mine design as well as full due diligence studies for acquisition, merger and listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
“To facilitate project execution, it is necessary for SRK to have a presence in Mongolia, where both Mongolian and international clients can meet SRK regularly for project updates, and where SRK can provide services to them. On the other hand, SRK needs to understand the local culture and business model in Mongolia. The proposed Ulaanbaatar office is designed to meet these challenges, and to lay a solid foundation for the foreseeable future,” said Dr Sun.
The Ulaanbaatar office manager is Ms Erdene-Otgon (Oogii) Dalai. Oogii has an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands and a Bachelor’s Degree from the Mongolian State University. She is multilingual, speaking Mongolian, Russian, English and Chinese. Oogii has strong industry contacts within the local government and will be able to assist in facilitating the execution of projects in Mongolia.
A strong resurgence in investment activity in Mexico’s minerals industry in the wake of the global financial crisis as well as solid relationships with a number of key clients have prompted SRK Consulting to open its fourth office in Latin America. The company inaugurated the office in Zacatecas, Mexico, in November 2010. Mexico’s improved mining regulatory framework and attractive investment rules have underpinned stronger foreign and domestic minerals sector investment while reducing uncertainty around greenfield development and expansion projects. A recent forecast of the Mexican mining chamber put potential investment by mining companies in Mexico between 2010 and 2012 at more than $13 bllion, SRK says.
“As a strong trading partner of the US and Canada, Mexico offers an attractive business environment for our services,” said Terry Braun, SRK Consulting Principal, who is leading the new office team. “We also see Mexico as strategic in terms of building the global SRK consulting practice as we will enhance opportunities to collaborate between our established offices in North and South America.” SRK first flagged the opening of a Mexico office two years ago after its work with Fresnillo, the country’s largest primary silver producer and second largest gold producer, to list on the London stock exchange. This experience in gaining access to international investment capital helped pave the way to a more open-door policy for foreign-based consultants working in Mexico, according to Braun. “The success of the Fresnillo raised awareness of domestic and other foreign-based mining companies and the potential for raising capital outside of Mexico,” he said.
Zacatecas is strategically located near a number of existing and planned long-term precious and base metal mining operations. SRK will offer strategic consulting services to mining companies, including technical and economic assessments of projects based on international standards. Prior to establishing SRK Mexico, SRK maintained an active project backlog in Mexico and Latin America. This included a wide-range of technical and economic assessment type studies. For example, a large base metal mining company retained SRK to perform a resource audit of its in-country portfolio, a major steel producer recently engaged SRK to assist in development plans for a mine expansion plan, and SRK conducted a detailed geotechnical assessment of a proposed open-pit expansion for a large copper producer.
Luis Arroyo, a mining engineer with more than 30 years of experience in Mexico’s mining industry, is the Director for SRK Mexico. The management team will be assisted by various technical professionals already working in Mexico. “A key goal is to enhance the SRK brand by increasing our roster of bilingual technical specialists who are familiar with our consulting culture, methodology and Mexican mining industry,” Braun said. “We also see a broader opportunity to share our technical staff between SRK offices in North and South America. This will continue to enhance our goal to be the employer of choice in our market.”
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