Momentum founder, majority shareholder and managing partner Carl Adams will join KPMG next Friday as a partner and Australian mining head based in Perth.

The bulk of Momentum’s 28 staff across Australia will also join KPMG, including Sabina Shugg, who was recently named as one of the 100 global inspirational women in mining.

KPMG Australia CEO Gary Wingrove said that since being appointed as CEO last year, he’d rolled out a new strategy and identified areas where KPMG wanted to grow.

Wingrove said the company saw “medium-term significant opportunities” in the mining space.

“We are aiming to significantly grow our advisory presence in the mining sector over the next three years, supporting growing demand as the industry adjusts to the changes in its operating environment,” he said.

KPMG Western Australian chairman of partners Gary Smith said the acquisition was about rounding out the company’s offering and becoming more operationally relevant.

“We can bring a strong credible operational depth rather than the corporate depth we already have to these organisations,” he said today at a briefing in Perth.

Adams added: “It boils down to industry depth – that’s what companies are looking for.”

He said Momentum was having one of its busiest years in Perth in 2014 with companies looking to regain discipline and optimise operations.

“Productivity is top of mind,” he said.

KPMG also announced the appointment of Jonathan Smith as the new head of oil and gas in Australia, as well as another smaller acquisition.

The firm acquired a Karratha accounting firm to establish a presence in the key mining, oil and gas market.

“We’re the only one of the big four [KPMG, Deloitte, PwC and EY] in Karratha,” Smith said.

Commercial terms for the acquisitions weren’t disclosed.