SRK Consulting is expanding its presence in Argentina, opening a second office in the
country to service the increasing demand from mining industry clients. The new office in
Mendoza will complement SRK’s Buenos Aires office, which opened two years ago.
SRK Argentina managing director Dr Alejo Sfriso will oversee the Mendoza office team. “The
majority of consulting demands come from mining companies in San Juan, Mendoza, Salta
and other western provinces,” Dr Sfriso said. “We have been awarded our first project and
are actively working on proposals for several other opportunities. We will be actively recruiting to meet project demands and anticipate adding several
further engineers and scientists in the next few months.” He expects to have five permanent
staff before the end of the year.
“One of our goals is to hire several of the top-class Argentinean consultants, many of whom
now work independently,” Dr Sfriso said.
Argentina has one of the world’s largest and most prospective metalliferous mineral
districts in its Andean region and non-metalliferous mineral deposits elsewhere within its
territory, according to a trade agency. Since the development of investor friendly mining
laws in 1993, Argentina’s mining exports have grown to more than $6 billion in 2009 (up
from $70 million in the early 1970s). The industry is expected to double in the next five
years.
Dr Sfriso, a geotechnical engineer with more than 18 years of experience working mainly in
Latin America, and who is also a university professor, will initially manage both the Mendoza
and Buenos Aires offices. The Mendoza staff will have environmental, geology and resource
estimation expertise, with the Buenos Aires office offering geotechnical, civil and structural,
tunnelling, seismic and earthquake services.
Mendoza was chosen as SRK’s second Argentina office as it was the biggest city in the west
and only five hours’ drive to Santiago, Chile. “Argentina is tall and wide,” Dr Sfriso said. “A
desert lies in between the agricultural oriented eastern region, where Buenos Aires is
located, and the mining, wine-making western region. Mendoza is the natural capital of this
second region.
Mendoza is a large and hospitable city in the Cuyo region in western Argentina. It is located
close to several of the major operating mines in Argentina, has very good communication
with the rest of the country as well as Chile and Brazil. It hosts a variety of mining and
consulting companies and many mining professionals live in the city or nearby.”
SRK Argentina is a member of the SRK Group of companies. SRK has recently opened offices
in Almaty in Kazakhstan, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Zacatecas in Mexico.