Having constructed a robust status within the geotechnical engineering house for greater than 50 years, SRK Consulting South Africa (SA) has established its personal specialised in-house geotechnical laboratory at its Johannesburg apply – changing into one in all only some worldwide consulting corporations with such a facility.
The devoted laboratory started working in February 2025 to streamline and confirm testing – particularly within the demanding subject of tailings administration. There’s additionally a robust utilized analysis and abilities improvement side to the brand new laboratory, in line with John Stiff, Associate, Engineering Geologist and Division Lead at SRK Consulting SA. Stiff famous that in depth laboratory work has been required to drive mining corporations’ alignment to the International Business Commonplace on Tailings Administration (GISTM), and this has put added strain on the capability of laboratories world-wide.
“Our in-house geotechnical testing facility, which is solely for our personal inside functions, brings many advantages for us and for our purchasers,” he defined. “For a begin, it improves the companies that we ship, by permitting us to hurry up testing the place essential and so as to add a layer of high quality assurance to outcomes that we request from industrial laboratories.”
Driving abilities and innovation
The power may also make a significant contribution to the innovation efforts and depth of abilities throughout the firm, he emphasised. The specialised SRK professionals managing the in-house geotechnical laboratory will make their colleagues extra accustomed to the testwork they specify, permitting them to fine-tune their directions and acquire extra priceless outcomes from the industrial checks requested. He famous that SRK Consulting had at all times been a pacesetter within the geotechnical consulting subject, and particularly in its utility to tailings amenities.
“We’re pushing the boundaries of science and engineering within the design and administration of tailings storage amenities (TSFs), and wish specialist experience, infrastructure and adaptability to attempt new approaches,” he mentioned. “Not solely does the brand new laboratory give us instruments to do that, but it surely additionally attracts the sort of folks we have to advance the geotechnical self-discipline because it pertains to TSFs.”
The laboratory additionally makes SRK Consulting a extra enticing profession vacation spot to these researchers and practitioners who wish to discover new concepts, he mentioned.
“We’re at all times in search of scientists and engineers with enquiring minds, and tailings is an space of our work the place such an strategy is extra important than ever,” mentioned Stiff. “To draw these varieties of people, we’d like specialised amenities for them to conduct their very own analysis and testwork – geared toward understanding tailings amenities higher and lowering the dangers.”
Aligning TSFs to the stringent necessities of the GISTM over current years has already led SRK Consulting to accomplice with Steyn-Wilson Laboratories – offering them with the assets to higher serve SRK’s specific wants. The institution of the in-house geotechnical laboratory is one other step in the identical journey, he mentioned, which is able to additional elevate the corporate’s sport and supply a platform for abilities development and pathbreaking options.
Innovation a part of SRK’s DNA
“Analysis, improvement and innovation has at all times been a part of our DNA at SRK Consulting,” he mentioned. “We don’t essentially await analysis outcomes to come back to us from educational establishments; we’re concerned in tasks that want options, and we conduct as a lot analysis as attainable to handle these challenges in scientifically imaginative methods.”
Within the TSF house, this innovation extends to many different areas of technological exploration, akin to leveraging high-tech monitoring tools and digital communication applied sciences to trace the efficiency of tailings dams in near-real-time.
“Our strategy to geotechnical innovation can’t at all times be accommodated by industrial laboratories – who’ve urgent calls for on the amount and timing of their testwork,” he mentioned. “Having our personal devoted amenities and technicians frees up our engineers, scientists and researchers to pursue traces of enquiry which may be time-consuming and troublesome to coordinate with a 3rd get together.”
The laboratory is managed by SRK Consulting’s extremely skilled Principal Geotechnical Engineer Tinus Grobler, who reiterated the worth of this useful resource to the corporate – maybe the one one amongst its friends with its personal specialised geotechnical facility.
“It provides appreciable help to our colleagues, particularly these conducting pioneering analysis in understanding and mitigating tailings danger,” mentioned Grobler.
Gregory Mc Donald, Geotechnical Engineer at SRK Consulting, pointed to how the laboratory will help the corporate and its purchasers in responding to Precept 5 of the GISTM – which highlights the necessity to develop and refine alternate options and applied sciences within the design of TSFs.
“It provides us a software for validation testing and answering essential questions we’ve got about TSF materials in a particular venture, offering us with immediate and correct knowledge to maneuver tasks alongside expeditiously,” mentioned McDonald.
The work of the laboratory additionally added importantly to the standard assurance and high quality management (QAQC) of the geotechnical testing and knowledge era course of, mentioned Sthembiso Hadebe, Geotechnical Engineer at SRK Consulting.
“Investing on this tools, and the specialised abilities to make use of it, actually highlights SRK’s dedication to high quality within the strategy of geotechnical investigation and testing, so we will ship one of the best outcomes,” mentioned Hadebe.
The work of the laboratory is at present targeted on TSF research and analysis being carried out by the geotechnical and engineering geology groups, however in future is more likely to additionally maintain appreciable worth for different disciplines within the group akin to mining and geophysics, concluded Hadebe.
