News

World Soil Day 2022 and its campaign “Soils: Where food begins” aims to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems and human well-being by implementing more sustainable soil managing practices, increasing soil awareness, and encouraging societies to promote soil health.

Think about what you might eat for dinner tonight, the chances are your plate will be filled with vegetables, cereals, and meat, all of which started their journey to your plate in the soil. In fact, 95% of our food comes from soils. With the increasing global demand for food, it is estimated that agricultural production will have to increase by 60% to meet global demand in 2050!

Wardell Armstrong have supported Spaceport Cornwall and Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit on their latest venture – the UK’s first licensed Spaceport! 
Being the newest airport in the UK and with one of the longest runways at 2,744m, Newquay Airport has been selected as home to a new horizontal launch Spaceport. Within the next few weeks, Cornwall Council and Virgin Orbit hope for orbiting satellites to be launched from a modified Boeing 747 aircraft. Once the aircraft reaches 35,000 ft, a rocket will detach, igniting its boosters and taking its payload of satellites into orbit. 

Wardell Armstrong were commissioned to provide a bespoke Sustainability Plan for the Spaceport, to be submitted to the UK Space Agency as part of the project development and permitting. By taking into consideration the effects of the Spaceport on a range of receptors we were able to determine how well the project is likely to accord with low carbon and sustainability policy and objectives, in the context of Cornwall’s declared climate emergency and alignment of the project with the UN Sustainability Goals. 

Over the past five years Environmental, Social and Governance, or ESG, is a term that has become increasingly prevalent across the extractive sectors.

Much of the conversation surrounding ESG until this point has been focused on GHG emissions and climate change. Whilst these continue to remain vital components, other aspects of ESG are now acknowledged as equal contenders. Below, the Wardell Armstrong International (WAI) team summarises its key thoughts on what ESG actually means in the context of the mining industry. Let’s break it down:

Happy GIS Day!

What is GIS? Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a system that captures, creates and manages digital data. The data is linked geospatially, allowing it to be analysed and visually observed based on its specific location. This helps users of GIS understand patterns, relationships and geographic content to make better informed decisions, improve communication and work more efficiently.

What is geotechnical engineering in mining?
Geotechnical engineering is the discipline concerned with the engineering behaviours of earth materials. It uses the principles of soil and rock mechanics to form a solution for engineering problems. Principally, geotechnical engineers are involved in the investigation, design, and monitoring of open pit and underground mines. Geotechnical engineers are also involved in the design of waste dumps, tailings storage facilities and stockpile design, as well as backfill placement in underground operations.

Successful Metallurgical Testwork Programme Confirms Viability of a Conventional Processing Flowsheet for Elementos’s Oropesa Tin Project

Wardell Armstrong is pleased to announce the completion of a programme of metallurgical testwork and flowsheet development in support of a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for Elementos’s Oropesa Tin Project. Oropesa, based in Andalucia, Spain, is amongst the largest undeveloped, mineable tin projects in the world, with a recent JORC compliant Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 75,400 tonnes of tin.

Draper Gardens in the village of Gayton, west Norfolk is a new development of residential property available for shared ownership and to rent by Freebridge Community Housing. The development required the discharge of a planning condition relating to archaeology, and prior to construction, Wardell Armstrong conducted an archaeological trial-trench excavation, which demonstrated the presence of significant archaeology, followed by an open area archaeological excavation to fully record and analyse the remains.

To accommodate the demand for our services and new opportunities in the Southwest of England, we have relocated our Bristol office within the city.

Wardell Armstrong has had an office presence in Bristol city centre since last summer, however due to the continued success and expansion of the Firm, our new office, located in Temple Studios, provides a newly refurbished open plan and bright contemporary working environment with a range of improved facilities and further room for growth.

Wardell Armstrong are delighted to share the news regarding the recent approval of two solar and battery storage projects for our client Renewable Connections, in West Lothian and Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Both projects will make a considerable contribution to Scotland’s green energy network, by helping to meet national targets with regard to decarbonising the energy system and producing more energy via renewable means.

Our multidisciplinary team provided planning, community engagement and environmental assessment support for both projects, including landscape and visual, ecology, noise, glint and glare, heritage and archaeology, traffic and flood risk.

Last night we were delighted to win ‘UK Geotechnical Team of the Year’ at the Ground Engineering Awards with Network Rail Design Delivery and BakerHicks for the Rolling Programme of Decarbonisation.