SRK Consulting Expands Country Practice into Kazakhstan

The international mining consultancy group SRK Consulting is pleased to announce that it has opened a new country practice office in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The office, headed by Tony Thornton, a mining engineer with global experience in designing, developing and managing operating mines, will provide Kazakhstan and Central Asian clients with additional mining skills, a local contact point and easier access to SRK’s international network, which already includes a practice in China and representative office in Mongolia.

SRK will offer its full range of services to the mining industry in Kazakhstan including:

• Exploration programme management
• Resource estimation and reporting to international standards
• Planning and supervision of exploration drilling and quality assurance programmes
• Mining feasibility studies, including geotechnical engineering, mine design and mine planning, process metallurgy, mine water management and financial modelling
• Baseline environmental assessments, environmental impact studies and international standard ESIAs
• Independent audits, including the preparation of competent persons reports for stock exchange listing and due diligence studies for debt finance and mergers and acquisitions
• Operational performance improvement, business comparison and benchmarking studies

Speaking about the office opening, Tony Thornton commented: "It is important for us to have an office here in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as a base for offering services to the mining sector across the Central Asia region.

"Kazakhstan is leading the Central Asian region in mineral resource exploitation and SRK is now here on the ground with the aim of becoming fully involved with this vibrant mining community. It is an exciting prospect to be able to join in the opportunities created from the Government of Kazakhstan’s vision of mining output increasing by more than 100% by 2015.

"In preparation for the opening of the Almaty office, we have identified and recruited promising Kazakhstan technical specialists who are now undergoing training and development in other international SRK practices. We anticipate their return in time to the Kazakhstan office with new skills and international perspectives to work alongside our international mining consultants in residence".

As part of the global SRK Consulting group, the Almaty office will also be able to draw on the skills and resources of more than 1,000 staff from SRK’s 43 consulting practices located in Europe, Asia, Australia, North America, South America and Africa.

For further information, please visit the company website.