Tag Archives: Rocksure International

Perenti books exploration, development and production work with Australian miners

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Perenti says it has secured new work and contract extensions with the likes of Regis Resources, BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) and Catalyst Metal in Australia representing nearly A$150 million ($97 million) of revenue across its 2024 and 2025 financial years.

It has booked a A$70 million, six-month contract for the continuation of underground development and production works at the Regis Resources Garden Well and Rosemont underground gold mines. Barminco and Regis continue to progress collaboratively towards further and material contract extensions at these two mines, it says.

It has also sealed a A$27 million, 24-month contract for exploration surface drilling services at the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance in Queensland, while a A$14 million, 24-month contract has been awarded for underground diamond drilling works at Catalyst Metal’s Plutonic underground gold mine in Western Australia, subject to finalisation of contract terms.

Furthermore, AUMS (through UMA, a joint venture with Rocksure International) received a limited notice to proceed related to the initial underground development works at the Newmont Akyem underground gold mine in Ghana. The finalisation of contractual negotiations continues, however, once finalised it is forecast that the contract could represent circa-A$32 million of revenue over an initial term of 11 months, with a capital structure that is likely to be similar to that adopted for Newmont’s Subika project.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Perenti, said: “The award of these contracts and the limited notice to proceed across both our underground and surface mining businesses demonstrates the diversity of our service offering and the strength of the relationships we share with our clients. Collectively these three contracts and the limited notice to proceed represent nearly A$150 million of revenue across FY2024 and into FY2025 and come after the recent announcement in which Perenti secured circa-A$360 million of revenue at the Sandfire Resources A4 project in Botswana.”

Perenti’s AUMS extends ties with Newmont at Subika Underground

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Perenti Limited’s African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) subsidiary, through its UMA joint venture, has been awarded a new, circa-A$630 million ($418 million), 60-month contract at the Newmont Subika underground gold mine in Ghana, the ASX-listed company says.

The term of the contract is effective from January 1, 2023.

UMA is a joint venture (70:30) between AUMS and Rocksure International, a local Ghana-based civil and mining contractor. Under the terms of the contract, through the UMA joint venture, Perenti will undertake all underground development and production activities, diamond drilling and associated support services at the Subika Underground Mine, some 310 km to the northwest of Accra, Ghana.

In addition, under the terms of the new contract Newmont will acquire the current fleet of underground equipment associated with the project and will also be responsible for the acquisition of additional fleet as required for the project, Perenti says.

Perenti expects that this capital strategy will have significant benefits, but primarily will reduce the capital intensity of the project while still delivering strong returns. Perenti expects to finalise the sale of these assets before the end of June.

As a part of Newmont’s larger Ahafo complex, AUMS commenced development and production activities at the Subika underground mine in mid-2017.

Mark Norwell, Managing Director and CEO of Perenti, said: “With this new contract, Perenti not only expands its tenure in Ghana but furthers its relationship with Newmont, the world’s leading gold company with a world-class portfolio of assets in favourable mining jurisdictions. We are very pleased that we will continue to deliver value and certainly to Newmont and our other stakeholders in Ghana and beyond.”

Paul Muller, President Contract Mining of Perenti, said: “Ausdrill commenced operations in Ghana in 1991 and, with this 60-month contract, Perenti through its subsidiaries, will have accumulated nearly 40 years of in-country expertise with a strong track record of prioritising local procurement, training and employment opportunities across a wide range of local and regional Ghanaian stakeholders.”

Sandvik helping facilitate Rocksure’s mining services growth in Ghana

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Rapidly growing mining services provider Rocksure International in Ghana, Africa, has had a 100% Sandvik drill rig fleet since it was established and, according to the OEM, the partnership has been delivering spectacular results.

With drill rigs used in mining applications, the secret to success is to keep them in tip top condition throughout their working lives.

So, parts – who makes them and the service that comes with them – is of critical importance for these machines, Sandvik says.

By adopting the best work practices and latest premium equipment, Rocksure has gone from two drill rigs and eight employees when it was established in 2009, to today’s fleet of over 20 rigs and 1,200 workers. In the process, the company has been winning work that was once the preserve of Western multinationals.

In 2020 Rocksure delivered some 50 Mt of material to its customers in Ghana’s gold fields and is soon to be working on a major bauxite project in the West African country.

Partnership is the new leadership

Part of Rocksure’s strategy is to partner with leading equipment brands – and its fleet now includes 123 pieces of heavy equipment, all from the biggest names in the mining industry.

All of its drill rigs are from Sandvik, all of which have been supplied with comprehensive parts, service and training support bundles, the OEM says.

The predominant machine used by Rocksure is the Sandvik Pantera DP1500i. It is a hydraulic top hammer drill rig designed for production or pre-split drilling in open-pit mines, drilling holes with a diameter of 89-152 mm. The company also has a Sandvik DE881 multipurpose exploration rig.

“We work closely with clients like Rocksure to understand their needs,” Daniel Korsah, Sandvik Business Line Manager for Surface Drilling in West Africa, says. “We look at a long list of site variables, including blast efficiency, hole depth, length, type of rock, etc – and that helps inform the type of equipment we recommend. But that is only half of the story – the aftermarket support package is also vital to customer success.”

Fellow Business Line Manager Parts & Services, Ricus Terblanche, added: “It’s our job to make sure the rigs maintain their productivity targets, reduce costs and help the customer be more profitable. To ensure this, we look at the site data and use it to build a comprehensive parts list of the supplies that are likely to be needed. These parts are then ordered in conjunction with the machine sale, and both delivered to site at the same time. For major projects we can put large parts stocks in place, from which Rocksure can draw using a vendor-managed inventory approach. But our support bundles are much more than parts and include machine operation and safety training.

“We would never sell a machine unless we were sure the customer could operate it effectively and safely and had the skills and resources to support it.”

A recent sale of Sandvik Pantera DP1500i machines saw Sandvik support Rocksure with a four-week intensive classroom and practical operator and technical (maintenance) training, along with three months of asset support. This involved technicians being on site 100% of the full time, providing on-the-job coaching and inspections to ensure the rigs are operating to their highest potential, Sandvik explained.

Predictive parts replacement

Using Smart Inspections supported by years of accumulated analysis on component lifespan, Sandvik can calculate predictive operating costs and recommend a parts replacement service policy before parts fail.

Typically, when the machine has reached 14,000 hours of operation, the Sandvik Pantera DP1500i’s operated by Rocksure undergo a comprehensive overhaul, which can include the installation of new engines, pumps, track frames and undercarriage parts. Adding new technology can bring the machines to a better-than-new condition, with a significant reduction in fuel consumption, according to Sandvik. The fitting of new monitoring systems also helps to give much greater visibility of drilling performance – data that can further help boost productivity.

Terblanche said: “Rocksure is the perfect customer. They are professional, experts in their local market and loyal towards Sandvik – as well as growing at a fantastic rate. We do our best to support them with all the tools at our disposal to maximise their production performance. It’s a great partnership – when Rocksure is successful, Sandvik is too.

“A local mining services supplier supported by a global equipment manufacturer is a winning combination.”

AUMS wins contract at AngloGold Ashanti’s Obuasi mine in Ghana

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African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) has been awarded a $375 million underground mining services contract at one of West Africa’s oldest mines, Obuasi, in Ghana.

The five-year contract at the AngloGold Ashanti operation will see AUMS team up with Rocksure International, a Ghana-based mining contractor, under a 70:30 joint venture.

AUMS, owned 50:50 by Ausdrill and Barminco Holdings, will provide a full suite of underground mining services at Obuasi, with major capital equipment supplied by AngloGold. Works are expected to commence in the March quarter, with some 550 people due to be employed during the project term.

Blair Sessions, AUMS Chief Operating Officer, said the company was pleased to extend its relationship with AngloGold, adding AUMS and Rocksure would “deliver on this project using modern and efficient mining methods, supporting local suppliers and providing employment and training opportunities to Ghanaians”.

Graham Ehm, AngloGold Executive Vice President – Group Planning and Technical – said the contract award was a major milestone towards recommencing production at Obuasi and delivering on outcomes that would benefit the national, regional and local economies.

Earlier this year, AngloGold said it would spend $450-500 million to redevelop Obuasi into a modern, productive mining operation. The mine had been in limited operating phase since 2014.

Since commencing operations in Ghana eight years ago, AUMS has trained over 1,200 Ghanaians through a range of mining, engineering and apprenticeship programmes, AUMS said. Ausdrill, meanwhile, has a 27-year history in the country through its African Mining Services (AMS) subsidiary.

AUMS and AMS, combined, employ more than 1,800 people in Ghana across five projects. The two businesses have generated around A$2.8 billion ($1.99 billion) of revenue in the country.

Ausdrill is currently in the middle of taking over AUMS JV partner Barminco in a deal that values the latter’s equity at A$271.5 million. Last week, Ausdrill shareholders approved the acquisition, paving the way for the deal to be completed by the end of the month.