Vivienne Snowden and her husband Phillip established mining consultancy Snowden Australia 17 years ago. Mrs Snowden has been instrumental in growing the company to one of the largest private mining consulting firms in the world, as Alison Birrane reports.
Snowden plays to its statistical strengths
Vivienne Snowden and her husband Phillip established mining consultancy Snowden Australia 17 years ago. Mrs Snowden has been instrumental in growing the company to one of the largest private mining consulting firms in the world, as Alison Birrane reports.
THE current resources boom has driven strong demand for mining consultants in Western Australia, with a rush of new and expanded projects requiring the consultants’ services to fuel exploration and feasibility needs.
As an industry closely tied to the fortunes of the miners and the commodity markets, the consulting industry is often the barometer of a change in the resources sector.
So it will also be one of the first industries to feel the inevitable downturn.
But Snowden Mining Consultants co-founder and director Vivienne Snowden has seen it all before.
Further, she believes the outlook for the resources sector remains positive, thanks to current commodity prices and strong demand from countries such as China.
Working in the highly specialised field of geostatistics, Mrs Snowden, jointly with husband Phillip, has built an international business in the evolving and lucrative sector.
Snowden is now one of the largest private mining consultancies in the world and has a multi-million dollar turnover.
Originally from Zimbawe, Dr and Mrs Snowden moved to Grahamstown, South Africa in 1976, “because our fortune was not to be had in Zimbabwe”.
While Dr Snowden, a geologist, took a university post lecturing in the Geology Department at Rhodes University, Mrs Snowden raised two children and completed her post-graduate studies before the family moved to the South African city of Welkom.
It was during this time in South Africa that the Snowdens’ fortune was sealed.
“It was right in the hub of everything mining,” Mrs Snowden said.
While her first love is mathematics, Mrs Snowden said she fell into mining by taking geology as a default option, and found she could combine both her interests in the field of geostatistics.
Mrs Snowden brushes off questions about working as a woman in a male dominated industry.
“I don’t ever expect it to be an issue and it has never been an issue,” she said.
“You take a professional attitude and you are treated as a professional.”
Moving to Perth in 1986, the Snowdens worked as consultants for other firms before establishing the business in 1987 with (then silent) partner, John Swire-Thompson.
“We always dreamt of starting a business, it was just a matter of when,” Mrs Snowden said.
“We were from a technical background and John brought business knowledge to the partnership.”
Mr Swire-Thompson, whose business interests include merchant banking, venture capital and corporate finance, took a more hands-on role in the business in May 1996 and is now a director of Snowden.
In the early days Perth’s consulting market was small but highly competitive.
But, 17 years on, Snowden is almost unrecognisable.
“There was a lot of competition with small one-man-band consultants,” Mrs Snowden said.
“[Today] in resources capabilities we would be one of the largest in the world, and in the mining and geotechnical we would certainly be one of the largest in Perth.”
Snowden now employs 150 staff across offices in Perth, Kalgoorlie, Johannesburg, Brisbane and Vancouver, and operates in Australia, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
Snowden’s core divisions include geology and geotechnical engineering and mining, mine planning and feasibility studies, along with services in due diligence, risk management, training and commodity marketing.
The company also has expertise in IT – having developed systems to service the mining industry through its Snowden Technologies division – and is also looking to grow its business improvement division, Snowden Max.
“Business has been good for the past three years. Others are saying it’s a bit more recent than that, that it is in the past year,” Mrs Snowden said.
“We think it’s still pretty strong; we wouldn’t be looking to have to cope with any severe downturns.
“I think you find differing types of views out there in the industry, but you have got a lot of things happening, absorbing a huge amount of raw materials.
“I don’t feel bleak in any way, and I don’t feel particularly positive.
“I think there is a danger in going too far either way.”
She said the company was looking at expanding its international operations, particularly in South Africa.
Snowden acquired 50 per cent of Johannesburg-based training firm TRAISC in May 2003 with the option to acquire the remaining 50 per cent in 2006.
“We are involved in training on mine sites, including strata control, ABET (Adult Basic Education Training), inductions and the like,” Mrs Snowden told WA Business News.
“South America is always interesting and we are keeping an eye on it. Canada is probably trending up.
“Africa is wide open and you never know what is going to happen in old Russian countries.
“The place that we are not, where all the action is, is China.”
Growing the company continues to be a priority with a recently expanded board driving expansion and change.
The recent growth of the company means the Snowdens are now more management focused.
An active member of the business community in WA, Mrs Snowden also serves on several boards and committees, including the Technology and Industry Advisory Council (TIAC), AusIMM and Edith Cowan University mathematics consultative committee.
Further, a recently expanded Snowden board has brought new blood and fresh ideas designed to drive the company forward.
Three recent board appointments include Brisbane office manager Mark Knoppe, group resource manager Ian Glacken and group manager mining Phil Morriss.
Mrs Snowden said the company attracted and retained its people by offering opportunities and training, particularly during difficult times of downturn.
She said that, because of the cyclical nature of the mining industry, different parts of the business were busy at certain periods of the resources cycle.
This has been one of the key survival mechanisms of the company and one that Mrs Snowden said helped its success.
“We look at the trends. We keep an eye on the trends and have to be aware of the industry,” she said.
“Australian mining expertise is very well regarded internationally. We would like to be the leading provider of professional services to the resources industry,”
- Snowdens moved from Zimbabwe to South Africa in 1976, then to Perth in 1986.
- Snowden Australia (now Snowden Mining Consultants) established in 1987.
- Working in the highly specialised field of geostatistics, Snowden now employs 150 people.
- Offices in Perth, Kalgoorlie, Johannesburg, Brisbane and Vancouver.
