Tag Archives: WSP

WSP grows presence in Western Australia with Calibre acquisition

Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , ,

WSP says it is strengthening its position as a leading provider of services across the full mining asset life cycle with the addition of Calibre Professional Services and its 800 professionals in Australia.

The company’s mining team now represents over 5,200 professionals globally, including 1,400 experts in Australia, and benefits from an enhanced ability to support blue-chip mining clients in Western Australia, WSP says.

“We are eager to leverage the full potential of our combined teams and work together to support mining clients with strong ESG commitments,” Alexandre L’Heureux, President and CEO of WSP, said. “We have the opportunity to play a pivotal role at a time when mining companies are making bold commitments towards decarbonising their operations and infrastructure, while providing the critical minerals required for the green transition.”

Guy Templeton, WSP’s President and CEO, Asia Pacific, said: “With the acquisition of Calibre, we are significantly growing our presence in Western Australia, and in the mining sector, while further building on our Earth and Environment capabilities. We also look forward to creating significant value for our clients in the Pilbara Region and across the country.”

Adrian Chapman, Executive General Manager at Calibre, said: “Over the past two decades, we have focused on building Calibre as a consultant of choice for major mining projects. Joining WSP enables our talent to leverage the scale, capabilities, and expertise of a global company with 67,000 professionals.”

Stantec helps Generation PGM achieve Ontario regulatory milestone at Marathon

Base metals, Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Mining policy, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering and one of the largest environmental services firms in Canada, says it has assisted Generation PGM Inc and its Marathon palladium-copper project in becoming the first mine in Ontario’s history to obtain environmental approval following a Joint Review Panel.

The project, a platinum group metals (PGM) and copper mine development and milling operation near the Town of Marathon in north-western Ontario, recently received approval from the federal and provincial governments’ coordinated Environmental Approval (EA) process under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act. The project is the first mining project in Ontario to be assessed through a Joint Review Panel pursuant to the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Environmental Assessment Cooperation (2004).

Generation PGM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Generation Mining.

Stantec led and coordinated preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Addendum and various technical reports as part of a collaboration with Generation PGM and other consultants. The firm’s experts completed technical assessments for the EIS Addendum, responded to information requests from the panel and shared expertise at the public hearing held by the Joint Review Panel.

Stantec’s discipline leads presented their conclusions and recommendations regarding the project as expert witnesses at the hearing in the areas of hydrology, hydrogeology, air quality, greenhouse gases, acoustics and socio-economics. The firm also coordinated preparation of the EIS Addendum based on updates to existing baseline conditions, changes to regulatory standards and refinements to the project relative to the original EIS – which was submitted in 2012 and supported by True Grit Engineering Ltd (acquired by Stantec in 2018). Generation PGM also retained Stantec to support consultation with agencies and Indigenous communities, consider comments and traditional knowledge, and scope follow-up programs and environmental management plans.

Stantec’s Chris Powell, Senior Environmental Planner, said: “This is a big win for the Marathon project, and Stantec is thrilled to have been a part of this process to leverage our expertise in mining and environmental assessment for Generation PGM in their efforts to proceed to the next phase of the project. This critical minerals project will provide a lot of opportunity for the region and benefits to the local Indigenous community, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg. I’m proud of our team for the hard work and dedication to deliver on such an important project.”

The Joint Review Panel’s public review process included 10 months of written filings and a public hearing consisting of 19 oral hearing days. The panel received input from more than 50 individuals, including representatives from Indigenous groups, government agencies and interest groups. This Joint Review Panel process was among the largest regulatory hearings of 2022. To secure the panel’s approval, Generation PGM and Stantec collaborated with experts from Ecometrix, Knight-Piésold, Northern Bioscience and WSP, with legal support from Cassels.

Drew Anwyll, Chief Operating Officer of Generation Mining, said: “We greatly appreciate the work of the Stantec team, who significantly contributed through the EIS Addendum and the Joint Review Panel hearings. Stantec worked side-by-side with the Generation team and other consultants and advisors with a ‘one-team approach’. Stantec stewarded us through this and made this less of a process. We are extremely proud to be the first mine in Ontario to be approved through the Joint Review Panel.”

Stantec says it continues to highlight its strong environmental assessment expertise and presence in north-western Ontario, following the success of the Greenstone Gold Mine’s Hardrock Project Federal EIS Approval in 2018 and Provincial EA Approval in 2019. For the Marathon project, Stantec continues to assist Generation PGM with components of its ongoing baseline monitoring and regulatory permitting work, led from Stantec’s Thunder Bay office.

Generation PGM will now proceed to obtain the necessary permits for construction and operation of the mine. The Marathon property covers a land package of approximately 220 sq.km. The processing plant will operate at approximately 9.2 Mt/y of ore, produce approximately 87,000 t/y of copper concentrate, and employ up to 1,000 workers during construction and 375 workers during operation.

Tetra Tech to take over environmental consulting company RPS Group

Environmental, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Sustainable mining, Water management, , , , , ,

Tetra Tech Inc looks to have won the battle for environmental and social engagement consulting specialist, RPS Group plc, after the boards of both companies reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition whereby a Tetra Tech subsidiary will acquire RPS.

The £2.22/share ($2.39/share), all-cash acquisition price trumps the £2.06/share price WSP offered back in August and also represents a 109.5% increase on the volume-weighted average price of £1.06/share for the 90-day period ended August 8, 2022.

The combined Tetra Tech and RPS will represent a premier international consulting, engineering and program management firm, and will leave RPS well-positioned to provide a strong platform to drive long-term growth within the broader enlarged group, Tetra Tech said. The acquisition is also expected to be mid- to high-teen percent accretive to Tetra Tech’s adjusted earnings per share after realising the full benefit from an estimated £21 million in cost synergies and integration into Tetra Tech.

On August 8, 2022, the boards of WSP Global, WSP Holdings and RPS announced that they had reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash offer pursuant to which WSP Holdings, or another wholly-owned subsidiary of WSP Global, would acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of RPS. However, Tetra Tech’s new proposal has now been deemed superior by the RPS Directors and advisors.

As at the date of this announcement, Tetra Tech has received irrevocable undertakings and letters of intent accounting for approximately 27.53% of RPS’ issued share capital.

Tetra Tech is a global consulting and engineering firm, which provides high-end services for projects worldwide in multiple sectors including mining.

RPS, meanwhile, says it solves problems that matter in a complex, urbanising, resource-scarce world and concentrates its expertise on the parts of project lifecycles that have the biggest impact on project outcomes, with a strong sustainability agenda.

John Douglas, Chief Executive of RPS, said: “Joining Tetra Tech represents a highly attractive combination of two leading companies in the industry for our clients and provides an ideal opportunity for our people to realise RPS’ goals to meaningfully contribute to the world’s most challenging problems in energy transformation and water management around the world. I am very excited about the future of our combined company and the benefits for our people and clients.”

Dan Batrack, Tetra Tech Inc Chairman and CEO, added: “The RPS Group advances our long-term strategy to enhance our position as the premier global high-end consultancy in water, environment, sustainable infrastructure and energy transformation. We welcome the RPS Group’s associates to join us and collectively leverage our long-term client relationships and project experience. As a global consultancy with a commitment to high-end solutions, we can offer our expanded team of associates even greater professional opportunities.”