MINING CONSULTANTS
strategies that allow for flexible expansion and integration of new technologies; tailings co-disposal and conveyor-based waste transfer, which reflect a move towards more sustainable and automated material handling; process flowsheet evolution, including run of mine and near-face ore sorting, liberation through stirred media mills and dry processing alternatives; and the incorporation of innovative advancements and emerging technologies during study phases in areas like tailings valorisation, bioleaching, hydromet, water conservation and wastewater management, and associated clean technologies.
This approach, Gillian says, results in those technologies advancing to commercialisation while the project matures through its lifecycle, as opposed to looking for an off-the-shelf solution at the tendering stage.
Such planning only works if consultants are schooled in mining domain expertise, with Gillian casting some doubt over the ability of firms in adjacent industries being able to match Stantec’ s established credibility of mineral resource project development and operations.
“ To my knowledge, many of the market
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entrants do not have the breadth of services to be able to successfully deliver projects of scale,” he said.“ While compensation considerations are usually front of mind for people, they also care about the reputation of their employer.”
A few of Stantec’ s primary differentiators outside of pure mining expertise relate to a focus on communities and its approach to sustainability, according to Gillian.
“ Being recognised by Corporate Knights in 2025 as one of the top 10 most sustainable companies in the world, and first among industry peers, certainly resonates with existing employees – supporting retention – and helps recruitment efforts,” he said. This leads to Stantec populating project teams with established talent.
Speaking of recruitment, Gillian’ s colleague, Cody Ryckman, Innovation & Technology Lead of Mining, Minerals, & Metals, says he and the wider Stantec team has seen a year-to-date trend of an increasing reliance on consultancies to fill mining companies’ critical gaps through embedded roles, secondments and engagements where it has shared accountability, like EOR roles.
The company is balancing this demand with its own sustainable employment pipeline, though.
“ While we always strive to support our clients when they’ re resource-constrained, some disciplines pose a significant challenge to recruit intermediate and senior staff to backfill those longer-term dedicated assignments,” he said.“ This often results in expensive and enduring talent hunts. Labour market tightness in some disciplines demands we reconsider the value of our finite resources on an individual basis and calibrate to the supply / demand dynamics. Otherwise, we might not be able to retain our top talent and sustainably continue to service the industry.”
Being truly global means we can select the best experts from our worldwide talent pool for any project, regardless of geography or discipline, without being constrained by franchise limitations or silo boundaries,” SLR’ s Marco Maestri says
SLR on financeable, operational and responsible projects
Having teams that appreciate how responsible mining connects to all the various processes that take place at mine sites is imperative to creating practical solutions that can contribute to mining companies’ ambitious emission reduction targets, according to Marco Maestri, Global Mining Sector Director for SLR Consulting.
“ What differentiates us is understanding how everything connects,” he told IM.“ How processing decisions affect water management, how carbon reduction drives operational efficiency and how environmental performance links to social licence. Most consultants treat these as separate workstreams, but that’ s not how mining works in practice.” This integrated thinking has guided SLR’ s recent expansion strategy that contributes to the company’ s aim of‘ Making Sustainability Happen’.
The company recently added Robertson GeoConsultants and RPMGlobal’ s Mining Advisory division, bringing the global team to over 4,500 professionals, with 2,000-plus focused on mining across more than 30 countries.
These two additions strengthen SLR’ s position as one of the few mining consultancies that can genuinely integrate strategic advisory, technical delivery and sustainability implementation at global scale, Maestri said.
“ The RPMGlobal integration significantly expands our mining advisory team and geographic reach, particularly strengthening International Mining | AUGUST 2025