Petrolab is an independent petrographic consultancy, established in 1991, that specialises in microscopical investigations of natural and man-made inorganic materials.
Petrolab have been operating for over 16 years and have analysed the content of vast quantities of rocks, minerals, ores, aggregates and concrete from all over the world. Petrolab was incorporated as a limited company in 2003.
KEY PETROLAB PEOPLE
James Strongman, Chief Project Mineralogist, graduated with an MSci in Earth Resources (Mineral Deposits Geology) from Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. His Masters dissertation was concerned with the petrography and paragenesis of Irish base metal ores. James has developed his enthusiasm for metallic ore deposits and since joining Petrolab he has worked on base and precious metal ores, tin, tantalum and niobium mineralisation, various industrial mineral assemblages (marble, glass sands, evaporites, aggregates, slate) and the recovery of precious metals from electronic scrap. James has a special interest in applications of image processing and analysis in the quantitative investigation of ores and concrete. In October 2006, James became Managing Director of Petrolab and is focused on building up the minerals expertise and expanding the mineralogical services provided.
John Fletcher, Mundic Test Manager, joined Petrolab in 2007 to assist with the expansion of the business. He has a BSc in Geography from Liverpool University and a MSc in Waste Management. He has worked in the environmental sector for over a decade and has extensive experience in project management and operations management. He is a chartered environmentalist. After undergoing in-house training at Petrolab, he has taken specific responsibility for Petrolab's mundic concrete testing services.
Lesley Atkinson, Laboratory Manager, gained her PhD in micropalaeontology but turned rapidly to minerals. She ran the world-famous geological museum at the Camborne School of Mines for twenty years before joining Petrolab in 1993. As a curator Lesley developed an encyclopaedic knowledge of minerals and a passion for classification. She created and controls Petrolab's extensive reference collection of concrete and its various databases. She also has expertise in the digital imagery that is a major feature of Petrolab's reporting. In 1991 Lesley won the Plessey Prize for promoting women in science and engineering - she has lectured in Russia, China and Oman to raise the profile of women in science and technology.
Alan
Bromley, Consultant Petrologist, has forty years of experience
in university teaching, research and consultancy. He taught
transmitted and reflected light polarizing microscopy at
undergraduate and postgraduate level throughout his university
career and supervised many MSc and PhD dissertations based
on petrographic investigations. He carried out extensive
research and acted as consultant to many exploration and
mining companies, government organizations and local authorities.
Since setting up Petrolab in 1991, he has turned his attention
to the petrographic and petrological study of concrete.
He has become especially involved in the local problem of
concrete degradation associated with the use of sulphide-bearing
mine waste aggregates. He is the author of several papers
and two books on sulphide-related concrete degradation and
served on the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors "Mundic"
steering committee. He has acted as an expert witness in
major litigation in various areas of the extractive and
construction industries. In October 2006, Alan retired from
Petrolab but he remains closely associated with Petrolab
as a consultant.
