Decades of investment in local skills and experience has established SRK Consulting – a leading international network of consulting engineers and scientists – as a major force offering sustainable solutions to the natural resources sectors across Africa.

“The days of the expatriate mining engineer are nearly over,” said Roger Dixon, chairperson of SRK Consulting South Africa (SRK SA). “SRK’s approach is to attract the best local skills and support those with our network of offices – drawing skills whenever necessary from other experts in the group.”

Spanning the globe with 49 offices in 22 countries and employing over 1 600 people, SRK’s African presence includes Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe, a joint venture in Angola, and seven offices in South Africa – where the company was originally founded in 1974.

SRK has always worked in Africa, and currently has projects in 41 of Africa’s 47 countries. With the Harare office opening as early as 1981, the group has been placing special emphasis on extending its footprint on the continent in recent years, to have a physical presence in the main growth areas.

In line with SRK’s entrepreneurial business model, based on staff ownership and empowerment, the offices are manned by local engineers with an in-depth understanding of the country’s conditions and environment. They are also well-respected practitioners with a good network in their areas of operation.

Dixon said that African projects outside of South Africa now make up about 40% of the business of SRK SA, which offers a broad spectrum of technical consultancy services for projects ranging from greenfield exploration through to mine closure.

“We have also become increasingly involved in infrastructure projects, which tend to go hand-in-hand with new mine development,” he said. “Our skills in water management, engineering geology and civil engineering are integrated into environmental and social programmes.”

Reflecting the quality brand that SRK has developed in its market, its recently opened Ghana office has already been able to deliver geotechnical engineering services to twelve different clients in eight African countries – Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Cameroon, Zambia, DRC, Sudan and Ghana – within nine months of launching.

“The gold mining industry in Ghana is strong and growing,” said country manager John Kwofie. “Obuasi Mine used to be one of the only world-class mines in Ghana, but there are now similar ones operated by Gold Fields and Newmont Mining. Diamonds and bauxite are also attracting attention from investors.”

In another African mining hotspot, SRK opened its DRC office in Lubumbashi in 2010, and the practice has grown rapidly under the stewardship of SRK Congo country manager Susa Maleba.

“We started with four professionals a couple of years ago, and already have 15 employed,” said Maleba. “Our projects include work with most of the mining groups in the DRC, and we’re already known by all the major players here; we will also soon be involved in a project in Rwanda.”

He said the SRK professionals are currently fully engaged with mining-related work, but prospects exist in other sectors, especially in infrastructure, water management and rail.

“The DRC’s mineral sector development for the next 10 to 15 years will be significant, especially when government increases its investment in infrastructure and improves electricity supply,” said Maleba.

In Zimbabwe, the SRK office has been busy with mining projects and also in exploration for diamonds and gold. Country manager Arimon Ngilazi reported that there has been significant demand for due diligence reviews and desktop studies, mainly for foreign investors seeking to acquire exploration and mining concessions.

He said that 2013 may be a “watershed year” for Zimbabwe. “Political direction and economic policies should become clearer after the elections planned to be held between March and June,” said Ngilazi. “This should boost the mining industry, which remains an important anchor for the Zimbabwean economy.”

He said there were still good prospects for platinum-group metals, diamonds, chrome, gold and coal; nickel would also get a shot in the arm, as Mwana Africa’s Bindura Nickel Corporation comes back on stream.

From a global perspective, SRK has maintained steady growth despite the general economic downturn since 2008 – while maintaining its high standards of quality and building on its reputation for independence and integrity.

“We are a truly independent consultancy,” said Dixon.

This reputation has attracted the attention not just of the private sector but also of governments looking for expert advice on developing an optimal environment for minerals investment. Recently, the Ministry of Mines and Energy in Cameroon, a country with little history of commercial mining, appointed SRK as technical consultant and adviser.

“Faced with the opportunity of becoming a major player in global mining, Cameroon has asked us to advise on how the country can best develop its mineral resources,” said Dixon. “This will include the technical, social, economic and environmental aspects of the proposed iron-ore developments.

“With our wide range of disciplines, we’re in a good position to do this, as well as to ensure the participation and support of communities and minimal environmental impact. The iron-ore projects, for instance, are surrounded by wonderful equatorial forest, so the utmost care must be exercised.”

The iron-ore deposits in the far south of Cameroon could warrant a 35-million-ton-a-year mining operation on the scale of South Africa’s huge Sishen mine; this would also require a rail link some 500 km long and a port from which to ship the ore.

Demand for SRK’s services in Africa emanate from an ever increasing number of countries on the continent, so it is unsurprising that two more African offices are already being considered.

“The most likely locations would be Tete, in Mozambique, to assist in the development of the area’s coal deposits, and Zambia, which is seeing substantial growth in the copper mining industry,” said Dixon. “The potential to assist in countries like Cameroon, Mozambique and Namibia is also great, but we have to be realistic about the rate of growth we can support.”

The group has recently also been busy in Madagascar and Malawi.

Its gradual advance into bulk commodities like iron-ore, coal and aluminium has been a key factor behind the diversification of SRK’s expertise, which now also includes in-depth rail engineering.

According to group chairperson Mike Armitage, it now also performs many of the engineering tasks historically done internally by the large mining houses.

“There is still a trend among many of the larger mining companies to have fewer employees and to use more consultants,” said Armitage. “The result is that we’re doing much more work directly for the mining companies, doing work that was previously done in-house, such as resource estimates, mine design and drawing up water management strategies.”

Bulk commodity projects also require more people, he said, which has contributed to the doubling of SRK’s global staff numbers since 2007. To leverage the full value of this growing human resource, the group facilitates regular contact between offices – sharing best practices, experience and expertise.

“We encourage interaction among the practices through technical workshops, secondments and transfers,” he said. “To enhance our research efforts, we have increased our links with universities and colleges in many countries. This also puts us in contact with newcomers to the industry, as the recruitment of good people remains a key focus for our success and future growth.”