Colorado-based Connors Drilling and sister company, Sanderson Drilling of Western Australia have purchased the assets of the Surface Diamond Division of Swick Mining Services (ASX: SWK) of Australia.
The acquisition of assets, including equipment, trained operations staff and existing drilling contracts in Australia, will provide added resources to help both companies meet increased demand for exploration drilling services. The transaction, valued at $17 million, closed last Friday in Perth, Australia.
“The mining and mineral industry is experiencing record demand for exploration drilling services and Sanderson and Connors view this acquisition as a prime opportunity to continue our growth,” said Steve Swallow, managing director of Sanderson Drilling, in a news release. “This acquisition supports our need for additional resources while maintaining our commitment to lead the industry in safety excellence, productivity, innovation, value and professionalism.”
Sanderson Drilling and Connors Drilling are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Tarn Drilling Company.
Swick’s inventory includes four KWL 1600 multipurpose drill rigs, compressor/booster packages for surface reverse circulation drilling, five LF-90D crawler mounted drills, associated support equipment (trucks and spare parts), the existing complement of employees who operate and support the KWL 1600 rigs, and existing contracts in Australia where the KWL 1600 rigs are currently operating. All of the LF-90D crawler rigs will be allocated to Connors Drilling for work in North America where the more compact, crawler style drills are favored for low ground pressure access to drill locations in sensitive environments.
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Comments
Paul Bear
Drilling services get to play with some remarkable toys. It is hard to imagine the kind of forces the business end of that drill bit will be exposed to. Exploration can be done in part with dynamite and sonar equipment, but to know what’s down there you ultimately have to drill. bainesdrillingservices.com.au