Graham Howell, incoming chairman, SRK Consulting SA, William Joughin, new board member, SRK Consulting (SA), Marcin Wertz, partner and head of the mining business unit, SRK Consulting (SA), Adriaan Meintjes, partner and new head of the environmental geotechnical business unit, SRK Consulting (SA)
05 February 2016 – Johannesburg: SRK Consulting (SA) has announced a number of new appointments within the firm, including a new chairman, board member and heads of business units.
Taking on the chairmanship from January 2016 is partner and principal engineer Graham Howell, filling the role formerly played by Roger Dixon – who retired at the end of last year but remains at SRK as corporate consultant.
With 40 years of experience in his field, Graham is a structural and geotechnical engineer focused mainly on to soil-rock-structure interaction. He first joined SRK in 1985 and has worked in the Johannesburg and Cape Town offices, while working closely with colleagues all over Africa, Australia, UK and North America. Graham also has the honour of having been elected a Fellow of the South African Academy of Engineering.
Taking over Roger’s roles on the board and as head of SRK’s mining business unit are William Joughin and Marcin Wertz, respectively. A partner and principal mining geotechnical engineer at SRK, William joined SRK in 1998 from a career in South Africa’s largest gold mining companies, and specialises in underground rock engineering investigation and design.
The head of SRK’s mining unit is principal mining engineer Marcin Wertz, who has over 25 years of experience in his field and has been with the company since 1996. His focus areas have included reviewing mining methods, underground layouts and production scheduling for underground hard rock mines, and conducting reserve audits. He has also coordinated and managed mining engineering studies from scoping through to full feasibility study level to bankable standards involving multi-disciplinary teams.
The environmental geotechnical (Engeo) unit also has a new head in Adriaan Meintjes, a principal geotechnical engineer at SRK, who assumes this role from Graham Howell. Adriaan joined the company in 1992 as an expert in soil and rock engineering, and also specializes in tailings and slimes projects in various parts of the world.
“SRK is well known for the quality and experience of its engineers and scientists, and these appointments secure a strong leadership to fully leverage future opportunities,” said incoming chairman, Graham Howell.
Sidebar
Past-chairman’s legacy
After 11 years at SRK Consulting (SA) – and six of those as the chairman – Roger Dixon has retired from this role while continuing as corporate consultant to the company.
“Apart from my duties for SRK in the public domain, the change will give me more time to commit to the development of the up-and-coming consultants in SRK,” said Dixon. “One of the legacies of my chairmanship has been a focus on nurturing a younger generation of engineers and scientists to take the business and industry forward.”
An Honorary Life Fellow of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), he will be involved in the SAIMM’s mentorship programme; he will also continue his work as the South African representative for the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO).
As a corporate consultant with SRK, he will be able to focus more on technical work, and be available to take up non-executive directorships with mining-related companies.
About SRK Consulting www.srk.co.za
SRK Consulting is a leader in natural resource and development solutions, providing independent technical advice and services through over 45 offices in 22 countries, on six continents. With an African presence in Angola and Cameroon, and practices in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and South Africa, the global group employs more than 1,400 professionals internationally in a range of engineering, scientific, environmental and social disciplines.