UK-based SLR Consulting says its acquisition of Western Australia’s Spectrum Ecology & Spatial is an important step in its “ecological intelligence journey”.
SLR has bought a number of mining consulting firms and its acquisition of Spectrum and connected Millcrest Technology from founder Cameron Mounsey and minority partners Chris Parker and Ben Boothby, extends its footprint in resources.
Mounsey was a senior rehabilitation ecologist at BHP before he started Spectrum in 2016.
Millcrest’s proprietary GIS and spatial analysis software, Tyton Ecological Intelligence, was added in 2020.
“From humble beginnings in 2016 as a two-person team working from a lounge room we have grown to more than 50 people across botany, zoology, spatial ecology, software development, data science and machine learning,” Mounsey said.
“Along the way our ecology teams have built an outstanding reputation within the WA environmental consulting industry, while Tyton has grown into a genuinely world-class ecological intelligence platform. I’m immensely proud of what our team has built and achieved together.
“We’ve reached a point where taking Spectrum and Tyton to the next level requires more than we can provide as a relatively small, locally based business. In SLR I believe we’ve found the right partner to help us do that.”
SLR says Tyton Ecological Intelligence opens “new opportunities to combine ecological expertise, environmental data and advanced technology to help clients better understand ecological change and make informed decisions”.
“Over the coming months SLR will share more about how ecological expertise, data and technology are being brought together to deliver deeper environmental insight and support better sustainability outcomes.
“The acquisition significantly expands SLR’s ecological presence in Western Australia and strengthens the specialist expertise available to clients across Australia. It also creates greater capacity to support major and complex projects across mining, infrastructure, rehabilitation and natural capital.”
Mounsey is taking on the role of director, Tyton Ecological Intelligence, at SLR, with responsibility “for leading the global rollout of technology we have spent the past decade developing”.
