Tag Archives: Capital Drilling

Capital Drilling solidifies safety commitment with new Epiroc Explorac RC rig

Automation, IoT, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining safety, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Capital Drilling says it has added a brand new Epiroc Explorac 235 reverse circulation drilling rig to its exploration line up in Mali.

The contractor, which is currently carrying out drilling contracts for the likes of Altus Strategies/Glomin, Hummingbird Resources and Resolute Mining in Mali, said the new rig features fully radio remote-controlled operation and pipe handling.

Epiroc says the Rig Control System, or RCS, with radio remote allows for these tasks to be carried out.

Such facilities keep the crews up to 40 m from the operating rig and remove manual rod handling – “these features further support our company’s strong commitment to keeping our employees safe”, Capital Drilling said.

The on-board 35 bar compressor on the rig also provides capacity to drill to depths up to 450 m, it added.

Epiroc says the rig comes with a maximum torque of 14,000 Nm, a rod length of 6 m and a pull force of 220 kN.

Capital Drilling bolsters Bonikro gold mine operation with new equipment

Equipment maintenance, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , ,

Capital Drilling says it has commissioned new equipment to supplement Allied Gold’s existing mining fleet at the Bonikro gold mine, in Côte d’Ivoire, with the two companies currently in the process of implementing an interim mine plan at the operation.

The London-listed company was awarded the mining services contract – the company’s first – back in October 2019.

In Capital Drilling’s December quarter review, it said it had further established personnel and equipment to support the contract over this period and, in December, had commissioned three dozers (Cat D9Rs), one grader and one excavator, together with four production rigs (blast hole and grade control) at the operation.

It said 2020 contract revenues, while being subject to finalisation, were now expected to be around $15 million across the range of site services at Bonikro, compared with the $25-$30 million previously outlined.

The interim mine plan at Bonikro was scheduled to last until December 2020, but a long-term mine plan is expected to be completed in the September quarter, it said. This would allow the company to transition to a “Schedule of Rates contract”.

Bonikro commenced production in 2008 and was previously operated by Newcrest, prior to the sale of its majority interest to a consortium of F&M Gold Resources and the Africa Finance Corp, in December 2017, and the recent acquisition by Allied. It has historically produced over 1 Moz of gold.

On top of this news, Capital Drilling said, in its December quarter, revenue jumped 4.8% quarter-on-quarter to $30.7 million, while its cash flow generation had risen to $4.4 million at the end of the year, compared with $2.5 million at the end of the September quarter. This jump in cash came despite ongoing growth capital expenditure during the three-month period.

The company’s fleet utilisation also rose over the quarter to 59%, compared with 52% in the previous quarter. This is the equal highest utilisation level in four years for the group, driven by new contract start-ups, with most of the new work commencing in West Africa, it said.

Capital expected to spend $20 million on capex in 2020. This follows the addition of eight new rigs and mining equipment in 2019, of which four rigs are due for commissioning this quarter.

Capital Drilling expands into heavy mining equipment services sector

Equipment maintenance, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , ,

Capital Drilling says it has signed binding agreements with Allied Gold Corp for the provision of a full range of mining services to its Bonikro gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire.

Additionally, Capital Drilling has made a strategic investment of $3 million in Allied.

The contract represents the company’s first comprehensive mining services contract win, with Capital Drilling now able to provide load and haul services to its clients in addition to its existing drilling, maintenance and mineral analytic capabilities.

Bonikro is a producing gold mine in Côte d’Ivoire which commenced production in 2008 and was previously operated by Newcrest, prior to the sale of its majority interest to a consortium of F&M Gold Resources and the Africa Finance Corp, in December 2017, and the recent acquisition by Allied. It has historically produced over 1 Moz of gold. With existing in-pit resources of 1.17 Moz of gold, Allied expects to produce approximately 120,000 oz of gold in the coming 12 months, Capital Drilling said.

Under the agreements, which are in addition to the previously announced exploration drilling contract, Capital Drilling will provide a full range of mining services at Bonikro including drill and blast, load and haul, grade control dewatering.

Capital Drilling commenced a phased management oversight at the Bonikro site in July 2019 with a small team of personnel, followed by an expanded team in September.

The company recently attained management control of mining operations and is working closely with Allied’s management to refine the Bonikro mine plan, it said. “Once the mine plan has been confirmed, the parties intend that the agreements will transition in the first half of 2020 to a comprehensive schedule of rates contract, primarily linked to tonnes mined and moved (schedule of rates contract).

Subject to the agreement of the schedule of rates contract, it is intended that the initial term of the contract will be five years, with contract revenues subject to the confirmation of mine plans and the terms of the schedule of rates contract. It is anticipated that revenue for 2020 will be in the range of $25-$30 million, with activity primarily focussed on the existing Hiré pits before ramping up over the life of the contract.

The contract will initially utilise five production rigs (blast hole and grade control), including two from Capital Drilling’s existing fleet. Furthermore, Capital Drilling will assume management control of Bonikro’s heavy mining equipment (HME) fleet including 16 mining dump trucks, four mining shovels and other associated mining equipment, “providing the group with a unique opportunity to enter into a contract of this nature with modest immediate capital requirements”.

Capital Drilling says it has committed to supplement the existing HME fleet with additional equipment at its own cost, including one excavator, three bulldozers and auxiliary equipment to ensure that the contracted material movement is achieved.

“Together with the three new blast hole rigs to be acquired, near term capital commitments are expected to total approximately $8 million, apportioned between the drilling fleet ($4 million) and the ancillary earth moving equipment ($4 million).

Under the agreements, Capital Drilling assumes full responsibility for the on-going upkeep and maintenance of the HME fleet and will assess longer term capital requirements as the contract progresses, the company said.

Commenting on the contract win and strategic investment, Jamie Boyton, Executive Chairman of Capital Drilling, said: “We are excited to embark on this new phase for Capital Drilling and to commence our first comprehensive mining services contract. Load and haul operations are a natural extension to our existing world-class drilling and maintenance capabilities. It means we can now offer clients a completely integrated mining service from initial exploration drilling right through to extraction and delivery of ore to the mill. We will draw on the extensive experience of our team to successfully incorporate and deliver this new service.

“It is also pleasing to add another long-term contract to our existing portfolio of long term, mine-site based projects. Further to this, our strategic investment into Allied represents a transformational opportunity for Capital Drilling. It expands our revenue sources into less cyclical mine-site based activities, while being aligned to our growth strategy of building a superior portfolio of long-term contracts.

“Allied’s pipeline also presents substantial growth opportunities and we look forward to working closely with the company to deliver incremental operational and productivity improvements at the Bonikro site. We anticipate this strategic investment, together with the addition of load and haul services, will provide further long-term growth opportunities with projects in the production phase and greater revenue and earnings sustainability in the future.”

West Africa investments about to pay off for Capital Drilling

Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Capital Drilling’s push into West Africa will start paying off in the second half of the year, according to Executive Chairman, Jamie Boyton, with the contractor having sealed a number of drilling agreements in the region in the opening six months of 2019.

The company has progressively invested more resources in West Africa over the past few years, aiming to capture market share in a region where gold exploration is high.

The company recorded revenue of $54.7 million over the six-month period, a 0.4% year-on-year increase, while its average revenue per operating rig dropped to $183,000, compared with $200,000 in the first half of 2018, primarily due to new contract mobilisations. The group maintained guidance on anticipated revenues for the current financial year of $110-120 million, with revenue expected to increase in the second half of this year.

During the period, the company purchased an additional blasthole rig for the long-term contract at Centamin’s Sukari gold mine, in Egypt, as part of the group’s ongoing fleet management; made further progress in the establishment of its West Africa operations, with drilling commencing in Burkina Faso with Golden Rim Resources in May; and was awarded its first drilling contract in Nigeria with Thor Explorations Ltd, with drilling scheduled to commence in the December quarter.

The company also, in these six months, appointed Jodie North as Chief Operating Officer, increased business development resources, appointing Chris Hall to position of Business Development Manager, West Africa, maintained its ongoing rig improvement program and achieved a number of safety records at the likes of Sukari, North Mara (Tanzania), Geita (Tanzania), Tasiast (Mauritania) and Syama (Mali).

Boyton said: “The first half of the year was focused on further consolidating Capital Drilling’s presence in the highly active West African market, with a number of new contracts awarded, which will contribute to group revenues from the end of Q3 (September quarter). This strong push into this region has seen the commencement of our first drilling contract in Burkina Faso during Q2.

“Today we have also announced our expansion into Nigeria from Q4 (December quarter), a mineral rich, yet poorly explored country with significant potential, where we already operate a successful mineral analytics laboratory. Pleasingly, our major operations have also continued to achieve significant safety milestones throughout the first half.”

New contracts awarded during the first six months include:

  • Compass Gold Corp (Sikasso, Mali, pictured). Awarded a 10,000m exploration drilling contract, using one reverse circulation (RC) and one diamond rig from the existing fleet. Drilling commenced in June;
  • Golden Rim Resources (Kouri, Burkina Faso) (previously announced). Awarded a 20,000m exploration drilling contract using one multi-purpose rig from the existing fleet. Drilling commenced in May;
  • Allied Gold Corp (Bonikro, Côte d’Ivoire). Awarded a five-year exploration drilling contract, using one diamond rig and one RC rig from the existing fleet. Drilling is scheduled to commence in December quarter;
  • Thor Explorations Ltd (Segilola, Nigeria). Awarded a five-year exploration and grade control contract, using one RC rig from the existing fleet. This will transition to grade control in 2020, with exploration drilling scheduled to commence in the December quarter and grade control in H1 2020;
  • Kinross Gold Corp: (Tasiast, Mauritania): MSALABs was awarded a three-year onsite laboratory services contract with Kinross at the Tasiast gold mine. Operations commenced in July 2019, and;
  • Resolute Mining Ltd (Syama, Mali). Awarded one-year extension of the long-term underground grade control drilling contract using two underground rigs from the existing fleet. Contract extended to June 2020.

Capital Drilling wins one-year extension at AngloGold’s Geita mine

Mine operation news, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining services, Precious metals, , , , ,

Capital Drilling will continue underground exploration and underground grade control drilling services at AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita gold mine in Tanzania after the two companies agreed a one-year contract extension.

The contract extension will commence in January and use the existing underground drill rig fleet, currently located on site.

The underground drilling services represent a sub contract of the comprehensive drilling services contract with Geita, which encompasses blasthole, grade control, delineation, exploration and underground drilling. The master contract is a five-year contract running to December 2020, with Capital Drilling having commenced drilling operations at the Geita gold mine in 2006.

Jamie Boyton, Executive Chairman of Capital Drilling, said: “The experience Capital Drilling has gained at the Geita gold mine over the past 13 years underpins our strategy of targeting Tier 1 long-life assets with quality operators. We continue to deliver excellent operational results for AngloGold Ashanti and are pleased to have the extension of the underground drilling contract for a further year.”

Geita, a multiple open-pit and undergoing operation 120 km from Mwanza, produced 539,000 oz of gold at an all-in sustaining cost of $941/oz in 2017.

Capital Drilling provides specialised drilling services to mineral exploration and mining companies in emerging and developing markets, for exploration, development and production stage projects. The company currently owns and operates a fleet of 91 drilling rigs with established operations in Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mauritania and Tanzania.

Capital Drilling wins contract at Yepleu nickel-copper-cobalt-palladium project

Base metals, Energy minerals, High tech minerals, Mineral exploration, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , , ,

Capital Drilling has been awarded a contract with Canada-based Sama Resources at its Yepleu base and platinum group metal deposit in Côte d’Ivoire.

Drilling is anticipated to commence in November with the initial programme being 6,000 m of diamond core drilling, targeting semi-massive and massive polymetallic sulphide targets for nickel-copper-cobalt-palladium between 600 m and 900 m from surface.

The contract is Capital Drilling’s first in the country following its strategic expansion into West Africa where the company now has 31 rigs – a third of its fleet.

“This contract will initially utilise two diamond drill rigs, sourced from the group’s base in Yamoussoukro, which was established in H1 2018 as part of the group’s strategic growth focus into the West African market,” the company said.

Commenting on the contract, Jamie Boyton, Executive Chairman, said: “It is very pleasing to see our increased presence in the high-growth West African region continue to deliver results and we look forward to starting our first contract in Côte d’Ivoire.

“With the increased fleet and new infrastructure in place, we are well positioned to continue to secure additional work in the country in the future.”

Sama said the drilling programme will test high-conductivity targets defined by the Phase 1 Typhoon™ electromagnetic geophysical survey carried out earlier this year.

“It is at the Yepleu area that Sama made the first discovery of nickel-copper sulphide mineralisation at surface in West Africa with material grading up to 1.39% Ni and 2.26% Cu sulphide (tested using a hand held Niton XRF analyser),” the exploration company said.

The Yepleu area is 18 km southwest of Sama’s Samapleu nickel-copper deposit.