BMS Engineers was founded in 2011 by Mark Peacock and Shana McDougall when they were specifically requested 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 technology within the uranium industry.
The ARP 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.
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 concentrate stream.
In 2025, BMS Engineers was restructured through the incorporation of a Board of Directors. BMS Engineers remains a privately owned, family-oriented company of specialised engineers.
Refer to our Projects page for more details of our capability.