SRK Global has appointed a new chairman, Mike Armitage, who has been with the company for 20 years. A geologist by profession, Armitage has been instrumental in the company’s expansion into Europe and Russia and has worked in the minerals industry for more than 25 years.
He replaces SRK’s chairman of 15 years, Neal Rigby. Currently chairman of SRK UK, SRK Sweden and SRK exploration, and previously chairman of SRK Russia, Armitage recently stepped down from his six-year posting as
managing director of SRK UK.
SRK Global chief executive Andy Barrett said the incoming chairman had big shoes to fill. Rigby, originally appointed in 1996 for what was going to be a three-year term, had succeeded one of the company founders.
“Neal had taken over from Oskar Steffen,” Mr Barrett said. “Oskar still has a very high profile, but handed over to Neal as he believed that succession was an important aspect of SRK’s philosophy.
“Neal’s key contribution to SRK was probably raising the profile of the group globally regarding due diligence and mine finance services. Still a very successful consultant with SRK, his work is typically in areas related to mining finance advisory services – due diligence and independent engineer work for M&A, equity and debt financing.”
Armitage took over the global chairman’s role at the beginning of November when Neal stood down. He was chosen particularly for his strong industry profile, Mr Barrett said. “During his term as managing director of SRK UK, we opened offices in Russia and Sweden, largely as a result of Mike’s leadership,” he said. “He is also leading an evaluation of possible closer integration of our European offices – UK, Russia, Turkey, Sweden and Kazakhstan.”
Armitage says he is committed to maintaining SRK’s standing and reputation for producing a quality product in the industry, while at the same time growing the company to
enable appropriate support in the developing parts of the world.
SRK has recently opened new offices in Lubumbashi in the Congo, Almaty in Kazakhstan, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and Zacatecas in Mexico and expects to expand further over the
next year.
“I bring to the role an understanding of and a commitment to both SRK and the mining industry as a whole and in particular to the independence, encouragement of
entrepreneurial individuals, and the overall philosophy that makes SRK the company it is,” Armitage said. “It makes me extremely proud and honoured to have been given the opportunity.”