Over the last ten years, the value of Peru’s mineral production has increased dramatically. During the five-year period from 2005 to 2010, mining exports increased from $9.8 billion to $21.7 billion, raising the country’s mining profile internationally and presenting significant consulting opportunities.
The Peruvian company SVS Ingenieros has served the mining, engineering, and civil construction sectors since 1985. SVS employs a team of professionals with extensive experience in surface and underground mining, geology, geotechnical and civil engineering, environmental control, and mining health and safety. In the late 1990s, following the approval of mining-related environmental legislation, SVS dramatically expanded its environmental services to include the design of mine tailings and waste facilities and the supervision of mine services and field construction.
SVS's vision is to become the consultant of choice in its local market by providing exceptional service to its customers and meeting the highest international standards of quality, safety, and social responsibility. This vision moved closer to reality in 2011 when SVS merged with SRK Consulting.
Formed in 1974, SRK is an independent, international consulting practice that provides focused advice and solutions to clients, mainly from earth and water resource industries. For mining projects, SRK offers services from exploration through feasibility, mine planning and production to mine closure. Today, SRK employs more than 1,600 professionals internationally in over 50 offices on six continents. Among SRK's 1,500 clients are many of the world's major and medium-sized metal and industrial mineral mining houses, exploration companies, banks, petroleum exploration companies, construction firms, and government departments.
In 2010, SRK was looking for opportunities to expand. Peru was an attractive option, given a forecast increase in mining activity of $4 billion per year for the next five years. SRK had already worked on many projects in Peru and had enjoyed a strong working relationship with SVS for almost 20 years.
“In order to better serve our Peruvian clients, we decided in 2011 to merge with SVS,” said SRK Group CEO Andy Barrett. “SVS already held a very strong position in the local market and from this well-established base we have gained a foothold in Peru. We have brought new services to the marketplace by combining our mining and geology experience with SVS’s strong skills in rock mechanics, tailings, and the environment. We have also augmented our international teams, particularly in Latin America.”
SVS General Manager Carlos Soldi was equally enthusiastic about the merger and the resultant synergies. “Prior to the merger, SVS could not offer professional services in areas such as due diligence and hydrogeology,” he said. “Since the merger, we have drawn upon the talent and technical abilities that SRK has cultivated across its global operations. We have expanded our service line to include due diligence and geotechnical services, resource and reserve calculations and certification, mine planning, and process design. We have also strengthened SRK’s and SVS’s strategic relationships with international firms, further broadening the fields in which we provide high quality services to our Peruvian clients.”
Soldi concluded, “Following the merger with SRK, SVS has been able to offer a wider range of services to its traditional clients and to enter fruitful, new relationships with other mining companies. While we continue to work predominantly in Peru, we have also been able to take on more projects in countries such as Mexico, Columbia and Argentina.”
Written by Will Daynes, research by Jeff Abbott
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