Babylon Pump and Power’s water management activities are set to expand with the planned acquisition of RHB Engineering Pty Ltd (RHB) for A$3 million ($2.04 million).

The transaction, which is expected to complete on January 31, will see Boddington, Western Australia-based RHB become a part of Babylon’s expanding groundwater and water ingress teams in Australia. The company provides rental pumps and specialist mechanical services in the water management field, with these pumps and services critical to mining operations in the southwest and other areas of Western Australia, Babylon said.

The RHB assets have been independently valued at over A$2.6 million, according to Babylon, having high utilisation rates and providing immediate earnings contribution to the company through existing rental contracts with clients.

Babylon Managing Director, Michael Shelby, said: “Management of groundwater and water ingress issues remain a ‘mission critical’ requirement for the mining and resource sector and the acquisition of RHB is a further strategic step into this attractive sector. This is an exciting and well-priced acquisition for Babylon which will expand our rental fleet, client base and water management activities. The acquisition complements our current operations with minimal increase in overheads while continuing to advance our rental and water management strategy.”

In August, Babylon executed a business asset acquisition agreement to acquire the operational assets of Resource Water Group, which provides bore field test pumping equipment and related data collection services as well as a range of water management disciplines to the mining industry.

This followed a June announcement from Babylon saying that it planned on expanding its mine water management activities.