2026
Comparably’s Best Company Outlook
Mining Development, Operations, and Reclamation
Optimizing the Mineral Lifecycle from Exploration to Reclamation
SWCA bridges the gap between extraction and stewardship. We help developers clear permits faster, support operators in maintaining production, and guide asset retirement leads through compliant, long-term liability reduction.
What Mining Teams Need to Know
Mining operators and developers face a unique set of environmental and regulatory hurdles, from initial prospecting and site permitting to active production and eventual reclamation. Whether you are engaged in traditional mining for precious and base metals, mining fertilizer minerals such as potash, phosphate, and sulfur, extracting critical minerals and rare earth elements for energy transition and high-tech manufacturing or managing traditional aggregate operations, you need a partner who understands the intersection of mineral economics and environmental stewardship.
- Project Developers: SWCA helps you anticipate regulator concerns early, translating complex environmental risks into investor-ready narratives to clear capital gates and secure defensive permitting outcomes.
- Mine Operators: We seamlessly integrate into your day-to-day tactical operations, resolving compliance bottlenecks and managing waste/water risks to ensure uninterrupted production continuity.
- Closure & Mitigation Managers: Our team delivers defensible, geochemically sound reclamation strategies that establish regulatory cost certainty and actively lower your long-term bonding burdens.
SWCA provides the scientific rigor and regulatory strategy necessary to keep mining projects on track, ensuring compliance with federal, Tribal, and state mandates while managing social risk and public trust.
Sound Science. Creative Solutions.
- Permit and Regulatory Strategy Planning
- Constraint Evaluation and Due Diligence
- Baseline Environmental Surveys and Studies
- Surface and Groundwater Services
- Permit Preparation, Support and Oversight
- Public Involvement and Community Engagement
- NEPA and Environmental Impact Analysis
- Construction Services
- Operational Support
- Compliance Monitoring and Reporting
- Closure and Reclamation Planning
Pain Points We Address
Early-Stage Development and Permitting
- Permitting Schedule Slippage
- Late-Stage Redesign Risks
- Unclear Technical Risk Narratives
Active Operations and Production
- Costly Operational Downtime
- Evolving Multi-Permit Compliance
- Complex Tailings Management
Closure and Asset Retirement
- Legacy Geochemical Liabilities
- Challenging Soil and Plant Growth Conditions
- Uncertain Reclamation Criteria
- Prolonged Financial Assurance Burdens
Clients Like You
- Closure Managers and Asset Retirement Leads
- Federal, Tribal, and State Governments
- Mine Managers and Operations Directors
- Mining and Exploration Companies
- Mitigation, Land Management, and Conservation Organizations
- Oil & Gas
- Project Developers and Permitting Directors
- Renewable Energy
Featured Projects
Related Insights
Meet the Experts
Mining Director • Denver
Andrew Harley
Andrew has more than 35 years of experience delivering environmental solutions to resource and industrial clientele. With a background in geochemistry, soil science, plant nutrition, and agronomy, Andrew integrates innovative solutions to reduce costs and improve efficiencies throughout the mine life cycle. Recent mining work includes geochemical evaluation and waste rock characterizations; supporting permit and license applications for proposed mining, ore processing and smelting operations; and supporting mining companies with water quality issues, including overburden characterization and land application of treated water. Andrew combines extensive field experience and academic research to evaluate new soil amendments and fertilizers aimed at improving reclamation of severely disturbed soils resulting from resource extraction.
Planning Director
Donna Morey
Donna has worked for more than a decade on large mining environmental impact statements involving multiple federal agencies and addressing NEPA, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, realty actions, and state environmental regulations.
Ecosystem Restoration Director
Tony St. Aubin
Tony has over 20 years of experience working in the construction, design/ build, energy, renewables, water resources, mitigation/conservation banking, and reclamation industries.
Principal Hydrogeologist
Sophie Swanson
Sophie is a water resource engineer and hydrologist with expertise in mine water engineering, including geochemistry, groundwater modeling, surface water management, reclamation planning, and third-party auditing.
Strategic Growth Director
David Kelly
David has 29 years of experience specializing in water supply planning, sustainable yield evaluations, water use, and hydrogeologic investigations. He manages projects including mine water balance modeling, water quality evaluations, and new water supplies.
