Tag Archives: contractor

DDH1 drilling contractor debuts on ASX after stellar IPO

Explosives and blasting, Mining equipment, Mining finance, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DDH1 Ltd has officially commenced trading on the Australian Securities Exchange following an initial public offering last week that saw the drilling contractor secure gross proceeds of A$150 million ($115 million) through the issue of around 40% of its shares.

The IPO proceeds were used to allow existing shareholders to realise part of their investment in the company and to repay company borrowings, the company said. The IPO was one of the largest by a Western Australia-based business in the past decade, according to DDH1.

“The ASX listing marks a significant milestone in the evolution of DDH1, which was established in Perth in 2006 with the vision to create Australia’s premier mineral drilling contractor,” the company said. “Over time, DDH1 has earned the custom of Australia’s premier mining companies through its repeated and meticulous service offering of gathering the critical geological data that supports the decision making in respect of all mining activity through the complete cycle of a mine’s life.”

DDH1 has a portfolio of approximately 102 clients, with a financial year 2020 pro-forma revenue of A$249.8 million. Its earnings are diversified across multiple commodities and geographies, with a client base that includes Newcrest Mining, BHP, Evolution Mining, Gold Fields, Independence Group, Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines, Newmont Corp, Ramelius Resources, Rio Tinto, Roy Hill Iron Ore and St Barbara.

It offers both surface and underground drilling services, with diamond coring and reverse circulation rigs on offer.

Sy Van Dyk, DDH1’s Managing Director and CEO, said: “The growth and success of DDH1 to date is testament to the commitment of the whole team, which strives to ensure the safety of all stakeholders while delivering exceptional service to our clients.

“Our long-term client relationships are built on the provision of quality drilling services and a deep understanding of our client’s business needs. The company’s significant market position reinforces the strong levels of industry recognition.”

He concluded: “There is growing demand in the Australian mineral drilling sector for DDH1’s services because of increased exploration, development and production spending by minerals exploration and mining companies. As an ASX-listed company with a strong balance sheet, a committed shareholder base, a disciplined approach to growth and access to capital markets, DDH1 is well positioned to pursue its growth strategy.”

Swick Mining Services goes all-in on underground drilling

Automation, Mineral exploration, Mining equipment, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , ,

Swick Mining Services has decided to sell its surface drilling business and concentrate on underground mining in a move Managing Director, Kent Swick, says is a logical step for the company “aligned with our strategy”.

The Surface Reverse Circulation (RC) Drilling business is being sold to K-Drill Pty Ltd and K-Drill Equipment Pty Ltd.

The sale includes six surface RC rigs, associated equipment, inventory, personnel and contracts, with the transaction expected to complete in the March quarter of 2021.

Including the recent sale of a number of residual RC assets to other parties, Swick will receive total proceeds for its RC business and assets of around A$6.4 million ($4.8 million) in cash and will report a profit on sale of some A$1.2 million before tax, it said.

K-Drill is a new RC drilling company that will be specialising in providing high quality, safe and productive drilling solutions to the Australian mining industry, Swick said. It will be building on the foundations set by Swick and will be led by Managing Director, Brendan O’Shea, who is Swick’s current Business Development Manager.

The Surface RC Drilling business provides reserve definition and exploration drilling to clients and its sale enables Swick to focus on its core Underground Diamond (UD) Drilling business; a 70-rig fleet providing reserve definition and grade control drilling at producing mines. This business represents 96% of annual revenue, Swick says.

O’Shea said: “This opportunity will allow K-Drill to focus completely on surface drilling and we are pleased to provide clients with peace of mind in knowing that we will be bringing all current Swick RC employees and Swick’s existing robust operating systems to K-Drill, ensuring a smooth transition for existing clients.”

After the disposal of the RC division, Swick’s drilling revenue will be generated entirely by the company’s UD Drilling division. This division drills around 100,000 m/mth of core across four countries – Australia, USA, Portugal and Spain. It is on track to deliver a forecasted revenue of A$68-$70 million, with utilisation remaining strong with 13 rigs operating internationally, 25 in Western Australia (including two DeepEX rigs) and 20 across the rest of Australia in December 2020.

On top of the Surface RC drilling business sale, and in response to increased market demand, Swick has agreed to manufacture and sell its “world-class” GenII mobile drill rigs, it said. These rigs are the smallest footprint, but highest-powered mobile drill available on the market, according to Swick, with many unique features including a “world-class automation package”.

Four GenII rigs are currently under construction for two large global drilling contractors for use outside of Australia, Swick said.

In response to increased demand for drill rigs from both Swick’s in-house drilling division and expected interest by external customers, Swick is gearing up its engineering facility at its South Guildford, Western Australia headquarters, to meet this demand, it said.

Swick Engineering has appointed an experienced senior mechanical engineer for the role of Production Manger that will manage the engineering business and oversee the efficient builds and rebuilds of the GenII drills.

Fleetwood to support Rio’s Pilbara rail works with Ti Tree camp upgrades

Mineral project development, Mining maintenance, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , ,

Fleetwood Ltd says its Fleetwood Building Solutions subsidiary has been awarded a A$30 million ($23 million) camp expansion and upgrade contract by a subsidiary of Rio Tinto.

The contract award from Pilbara Iron Company has a scope including supply, installation, refurbishment upgrades and relocation of buildings at Rio Tinto’s Ti Tree Rail Camp, 170 km southeast of Karratha and 100 km north of Tom Price.

The expanded rail camp will support a peak workforce of more than 300 people completing future rail maintenance and upgrade works on the Tom Price to Cape Lambert rail line.

Commencing in December 2020, the contract is expected to take around 10 months to complete and contribute to the company’s 2021 calendar year revenue, Fleetwood said.

During the tender process, Fleetwood met the Rio Tinto Category 3 supplier requirements, which allows it to perform works on site as the primary contractor across other potential projects, it said.

Fleetwood’s Interim CEO, Andrew Wackett, said: “The opportunity to partner directly with one of the world’s largest mining companies like Rio Tinto highlights Fleetwood’s experience as the largest Australian-owned modular building company.”

Capital bolsters Barrick Bulyanhulu work with laboratory, drilling contracts

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

Africa-focused mining services company, Capital, says it expanded its operations at Barrick Gold’s Bulyanhulu gold mine in Tanzania with the award of two new contracts for its drilling and geochemical laboratory services divisions.

The contracts include a five-year laboratory services contract for Capital’s MSALABS subsidiary, together with a two-year underground grade control drilling agreement.

Capital commenced operations at Bulyanhulu in February 2020, undertaking a complex deep hole delineation drilling program. The company’s execution of the program resulted in an expansion of services, with two underground rigs added to operations from May, it said. The new contract will expand the underground fleet at Bulyanhulu to four, using two rigs from the existing fleet and including the acquisition of a further two underground rigs.

MSALABS, meanwhile, will undertake initial laboratory design and deliver ongoing laboratory management and analysis services under the laboratory services contract. Analysis capabilities will include fire assay together with new Chrysos PhotonAssay technology that uses X-ray technology to determine the gold content of mineral ores more quickly and accurately than traditional methods.

The contract terms are expected to be finalised imminently for a five-year term, key personnel recruitment and training is now complete and initial commissioning processes are underway, Capital said, adding that the new contracts were scheduled to commence on December 1.

Stuart Thomson, MSALABS CEO, said: “We are excited to commence this new contract with Barrick to manage their on-site laboratory at the Bulyanhulu mine. The use of the ground-breaking new Chrysos PhotonAssay technology will significantly increase assay throughput at Bulyanhulu, while delivering a much faster sample turnaround time for Barrick.”

Capital’s Executive Chairman, Jamie Boyton, said: “We are very pleased to be expanding our services at the Bulyanhulu Gold Mine and continue our valued relationship with Barrick. It is particularly pleasing that our team’s successful execution of the initial deep hole drilling program has contributed to this expansion and we are now delivering multiple services at the site.

“This aligns to Capital’s growth strategy of expanding services with existing customers at established mine sites, with the laboratory services contract to contribute to an increase in the company’s non-drilling revenues.”

CSI and Metso’s NextGen crushing plant to go to BHP Mt Whaleback mine

Comminution of minerals, Mine operation news, Mineral processing, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , , ,

CSI Mining Services (CSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mineral Resources Limited, has been awarded a milestone contract to design, construct and operate the latest “NextGen” crushing plant at BHP’s Mt Whaleback iron ore mining operation in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

The contract award includes the supply, construction, installation and operation of CSI’s NextGen crushing plant, which will replace the existing CSI crushing plant at Mt Whaleback. This new scope builds on a 13-year working relationship with BHP and allows CSI to extend its history of safe and successful operations on the site since 2012, CSI said.

BHP has an option to extend the initial five-year 12 Mt/y contract for a further two years, according to the company.

Back in November, Mineral Resources Ltd told investors at its annual general meeting that it had designed a 15 Mt/y capacity portable crushing plant and planned to develop it in joint venture with Metso.

The NextGen crushing and screening plant was expected to come with low capital and operating costs, in addition to significant flexibility with its portability. It is assembled in modules and, compared with fixed crushing plants, provides for sustained reliable performance over time with the flexibility required to meet clients’ changing and challenging production demands, according to CSI.

CSI and Metso have established a partnership to develop and market the NextGen plant worldwide, CSI said.

Mineral Resources Chief Operating Officer, Mike Grey, said: “This contract extension and expansion at Mt Whaleback is a tribute to the fantastic work CSI has been providing for one of our key blue-chip clients for many years now. It is also testament to our team for the innovation and customer focus they have built into the NextGen design.

“We look forward to the successful construction, installation and commissioning of the new plant at Mt Whaleback and are confident this will be the first of many opportunities for this ground-breaking approach to deliver safe, reliable production for the hard-rock crushing industry.”

He added: “CSI is already the world’s largest crushing contractor and NextGen will help us maintain our position as the partner of choice for the mining industry.”

CSI will oversee construction of the NextGen plant modules, both in Turkey and at its Kwinana, Western Australia workshop, with assembly of the plant completed on site at Mt Whaleback.

Hamptons moves from gold to nickel for Mincor Resources

Base metals, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , ,

Mincor Resources has awarded Hampton Mining and Civil Services with an early works contract to kick off the pre-development stage of a new nickel sulphide mine at its Cassini project in Kambalda, Western Australia.

The award of the contract follows board approval for the early works program and is consistent with one of the key uses of funds outlined in the company’s recent A$35.6 million ($23.8 million) capital raising.

The scope of works involves a “discrete two-month program” focused on site clearance activities for infrastructure and services, plus the excavation of the box-cut at Cassini, Mincor said.

Hamptons had a previous successful association with Mincor undertaking open-pit mining at its Widgiemooltha gold operations, and has therefore been able to mobilise promptly to complete work on this contract, according to the ASX-listed miner.

Following the completion of the updated Cassini mineral resource in November, the total nickel resources across Mincor’s Kambalda tenements now stands at 4.9 Mt at 3.8% Ni for 187,900 t of nickel.

Mincor’s Managing Director, David Southam, said the award of this early works contract, prior to completion of the definitive feasibility study scheduled for later this quarter, represents a strong vote of confidence by the board in the long-term future of Cassini – a key pillar in the company’s integrated nickel restart strategy.

“Given that Cassini is our flagship deposit, and with the project recently receiving all necessary key State Government approvals, it was a logical decision to commence pre-mining works as soon as possible,” he said. “We are currently assessing the mining contract tenders for both the Northern and Southern Operations, and these contractors are, importantly, separate from Hamptons for this discrete program.”

He added: “With Hamptons commencing work immediately, we expect this initial program of site works to be largely completed by the end of the current quarter. This will ultimately save the company time by having this preparatory work finished early, particularly as decline development to access the new underground mine at Cassini is one of the longer lead items in our overall development timeline.”

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.

DRA Global to carry out feasibility study work on Managem’s Tizert copper project

Base metals, Bulk handling, Mineral project development, Mining services, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

DRA Global says it has been awarded the bankable feasibility study (BFS) contract for the Managem Group-owned Tizert copper project, in the Souss-Massa province of Morocco.

The Tizert copper deposit is located on the northern edge of Igherm Precambrian buttonhole and is the largest copper deposit in the western Anti-Atlas Copper Belt, according to DRA. The underground mine, with a targeted production of 3.3 Mt/y of ore, is expected to use multiple mining methods including room and pillar and long hole stoping.

An aerial ropeway system will be used to convey the ore from the mine site to the process plant across an 800 m wide and 250 m deep canyon. The process plant will be a flotation concentrator producing oxide and sulphide copper concentrates.

DRA’s Montreal office has been awarded the full BFS scope which will include mining, backfill, ore transport, process plant and infrastructures. The BFS is expected to be completed in the June quarter of 2020.

Pierre Julien, DRA’s Executive Vice President Americas, attributes the winning of the contact to an excellent working relationship with Managem: “The DRA team has been working closely with the Managem leadership team for almost two years, and through a dedicated and collaborative approach has built a partnership which culminated with the award of this BFS contract.”

SIMPEC starts FY2020 with more WA contract extensions

Communications in mining, Mining services, , , , , ,

SIMPEC has continued to add to its structural, mechanical and piping (SMP), and electrical and instrumentation (E&I) work, in Western Australia, bolting on another A$5 million ($3.49 million) to its current list of contracts.

Having been awarded contracts totalling A$50 million in its 2019 financial year to end-June, the WestStar subsidiary has started its 2020 financial year strongly.

Although the company didn’t mention the specific contracts it had won extensions on, SIMPEC has previously been awarded work involving pyromet piping installation at the lithium hydroxide process plant (LHPP1) at Tianqi Lithium’s Kwinana project (pictured), in addition to installing electrical and communications systems at the Rio Tinto’s West Angelas iron ore mine construction camp.

The latest news come less than two weeks since SIMPEC registered A$2.5 million of extensions to previous contracts.

SIMPEC Managing Director, Mark Dimasi, said: “Having delivered a strong pipeline of contract awards over the past year, SIMPEC continues to consolidate its position and build its credentials on major projects.”

The company added: “SIMPEC continues to tender strongly for new work and expects outcomes from these tendering activities in due course.”

BGC Contracting, SIMPEC awarded contracts for FMG’s Eliwana iron ore project

Mineral project development, Mining equipment, Mining project news, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, , , , , , , , , ,

Australia mining and construction firm, BGC Contracting has been awarded a A$24 million ($16.9 million) contract to deliver bulk earthworks and roads at Fortescue Metals Group’s A$1.7 billion Eliwana iron ore project, 90 km west-northwest of Tom Price, in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The six-month project is underway and BGC Contracting will deliver infrastructure including the construction of the permanent accommodation village earthworks and access road, a RFDS airstrip and a 16 km-long construction access road, the company said. BGC is carrying out all earthworks and civil works necessary to develop initial road facilities, which will also facilitate connection to near-future construction packages to rail and other infrastructure.

The Eliwana project will involve the building of 143 km of rail, a new 30 Mt/y dry ore processing facility and infrastructure. Production is expected to commence in December 2020 with a life of mine strip ratio of 1.1. The project underpins the introduction of a 60% Fe grade product (Fortescue Premium) in the second half of the company’s 2019 financial year.

BGC Contracting CEO, Greg Heylen, said the Eliwana contract is a major achievement for the company’s diversification strategy and allows BGC to extend its expertise in the mining construction sector.

“When you partner with BGC Contracting, you don’t just partner with one of Australia’s largest contractors; you partner up with every person that works on the job. You get their collective experience, their knowledge, and their work ethic. You get 110%,” he said.

“There has been a real increase in resource sector and construction opportunities, particularly in Western Australia and Queensland, and we look forward to this next phase in our growth strategy.”

The day after BGC announced this contract award, WestStar business SIMPEC said it had been awarded a circa A$10 million contract by ATCO Structures and Logistics to design, supply, construct, test and commission the electrical, communications and dry fire systems for an 800-room mine camp at Eliwana.

The contract, SIMPEC’s largest single contract award to date, was scheduled to commence in mid-2019 and was expected to take nine months to complete.

SIMPEC Managing Director, Mark Dimasi, said: “To see the fruits of the concerted effort during the Fortescue Eliwana tender phase is very rewarding for the team. This Tier One project award is a significant achievement for SIMPEC allowing the company to construct alongside some of Australia’s biggest construction companies.”