BMS Engineers was established in 2013 by Mark Peacock and Shana McDougall after being engaged by Paladin Energy to manage the design of the Acid Recovery Plant (ARP) at the Kayelekera mine in Malawi.
Commissioned in 2013, the ARP was the world’s first installation of membrane filtration technology within the uranium industry.
The patented technology developed during the ARP project enabled significant cost savings for both fresh acid and neutralising chemicals, whilst also increasing uranium production.
A verified payback period of less than 6 months was achieved.
This was followed by the world’s second membrane plant installation at a uranium operation; the Bicarbonate Recovery Plant (BRP) at the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia in 2015.
The BRP delivered significant cost savings for both fresh sodium bicarbonate and neutralisation chemicals, whilst also significantly reducing site water consumption.
BMS Engineers took the success of these projects to specialise in designing containerised membrane pilot plants, which – once installed on site – facilitate continual improvement initiatives. Containerised pilot plants have been installed at both the Rössing and Langer Heinrich mines in Namibia.
Further to designing and installing major plants, BMS Engineers are equipped to perform conceptual testwork anywhere in the world thanks to the portable Batch Test Rig (BTR).
Equipped with a feed pump and single membrane housing, the BTR is used primarily during the concept phase to assess membrane filtration performance.
In 2020, BMS Engineers expanded their capability into the rare earth element (REE) sector by successfully demonstrating the recovery of phosphoric acid from a REE liquor contaminated with thorium and uranium.
This was followed up in 2022 by another successful pilot plant in which REE’s were recovered into a low-volume, high grade concentrate stream.
Refer to our Projects page for more details of our capability.
In 2025, BMS Engineers was restructured through the incorporation of a Board of Directors. BMS Engineers remains a privately owned, family-oriented team of specialised engineers.