Tag Archives: Daniel Simoncini

Foraco to help Rio Tinto manage groundwater activities in the Pilbara

Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Steel and iron ore, Water management, , , , , , ,

Foraco International SA, a global provider of mineral and water drilling services, says it has been awarded a major contract with Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

This contract is for water-related drilling services in the Pilbara region, involving both monitoring wells, dewatering wells and vibrating wire piezometers digital networks installation, mostly with flooded reverse circulation rigs. The length of the contract is two years, with an option for a further three years. It will see a total of four rigs deployed and a VWP grout unit, including Foraco’s new proprietary generation of BF800, the NGBF. This 60 t pull, remotely-operated rig brings Foraco’s diameter drilling capacity to the next step in term of intrinsic safety and capabilities, according to the company.

The contract has a total value of A$111 million ($74 million), including options.

Daniel Simoncini, CEO of Foraco, said: “Our remarkable partnership with Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara has gone one step further with this additional contract on top of our long-term exploration contract and we’re very excited to extend our collaboration with Rio Tinto to help them to manage their mines’ groundwater, which is now seen as a critical and vital natural resource to be preserved and well managed.

“We are very proud that Rio Tinto management and their field operators appreciate Foraco technical expertise, safe execution and reliable services. This is a great reward for all our employees, field crews and support teams in Australia.”

Foraco’s drilling team extends stay at Vale Canada operations

Base metals, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Mining services, Water management, , , , , , , , ,

Foraco International, a provider of mineral and water drilling services, has announced a series of major contracts with Vale Canada for the provision of exploration, definition drilling and large diameter rotary drilling.

The exploration and evaluation drilling services – both surface and underground – are key services for Vale operations and include drilling at the Voisey Bay mine in Labrador, Copper Cliff and Coleman mines in Ontario, as well as at Thompson mine, Manitoba, the company said. All operations involve deep directional diamond requiring a total of 30 rigs, and have a total face value of $55 million.

Daniel Simoncini, CEO of Foraco, said: “We are partnering with Vale in Canada since 2007 and developed an excellent relationship with this prestigious client which was one of the very first to test us for our deep directional drilling technology. This is a great reward for all our staff, engineers, field crews and support teams.

“As already stated before, we believe long-term relationships with leading global mining companies like Vale are an efficient way to increase our business model resilience, ensure a stable and fair financial return while providing good quality professional life to our employees with who we can share a time horizon long enough to develop them, train them and make them safer and happier.”