SRK Australia is expanding its mine closure team as demand for environmental and social governance (ESG) services continues to grow.
The development of the Australia-based group builds on the strong global reputation of SRK as a leader in mine closure, set by Jeff Parshley and his US team. Jeff has more than 35 years of environmental and closure experience in the mining industry.
One of the newest additions to the Perth, Western Australian team is environmental scientist Ray Mayne, who has more than 15 years’ experience in the environmental field including the past three years spent specialising in mine closure.
Mayne said there had been a significant increase in industry recognition in the past few years to include mine closure arrangements in early-stage mine plans. This included planning services to better understand closure principles, highlighting opportunities to undertake progressive rehabilitation, responsible mining activities, and assistance in addressing the realities of ESG challenges and opportunities.
When I began my career, mine closure was mostly considered during approval phases as part of a regulatory requirement, and at the end of operations," Mayne said. "A trend now exists where mining companies have seen the economic benefits of integrating closure into their initial planning and are undertaking methods to manage the mining impacts such as practising concurrent rehabilitation."
SRK was one of the first consultancies to recognise the importance of mine closure in the early 1990s and has continued to make it a central focus of its business units. It has worked closely with industry and government to develop state-of-the-art practices that meet today’s rigorous standards.
Mayne believes increasing awareness from investors is driving resource companies to include ESG factors when reporting reserves, which has augmented demand for specialist mine closure experts.
Investors who target ESG factors require a certain level of ESG reporting," he said. "The mine closure discipline, in terms of closure planning and cost estimation, is attractive for potential investors as it can provide an overview of the potential closure liability impact on an operation or company, versus its value to purchase or invest in."
