London-listed mining services company Capital has announced the award of a significant drilling contract in Nevada, in the US, along with associated rig purchases, as well as an update on the ramp-up of operations at its Ivindo iron-ore contract, in Gabon. 

The new major contract is a three-year comprehensive drilling services agreement with Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) in the US. This contract encompasses a range of drilling services, including diamond drilling for both surface and underground, and underground reverse circulation drilling.  

The drilling activities will span several operations across NGM, including underground diamond drilling in the Leeville underground mine within the Carlin complex, underground reverse circulation drilling in Carlin, and diamond drilling at the Robertson project within the Cortez complex. 

NGM is a joint venture between diversified miner Barrick Gold, holding a 61.5% ownership stake, and Newmont, which holds 38.5% ownership. Barrick serves as the operator. 

NGM operates three Tier 1 gold assets, comprising Carlin, Cortez and Turquoise Ridge, consisting of ten underground mines, 12 openpit mines and associated facilities. 

The contract will involve nine rigs and include equipment with advanced automation features to enhance safety and efficiency. 

The contract is expected to generate yearly run-rate revenues of about $35-million once all the rigs are fully operational by 2025, with profit margins in line with the broader group. Capital will procure new rigs and associated equipment for the contract, with capital expenditure estimated at about $20-million, primarily in 2024. 

Regarding its Gabon drilling and mining services contract, Capital reported that the ramp-up of operations for its load and haul, crushing and drilling contract with Ivindo Iron SA is progressing well.  

Operations continue to ramp up successfully at the Ivindo project. The company has now initiated drilling operations to further define the world-class deposit. Most of the mining equipment is already in the country, and operations are already under way, with crushing scheduled to commence later in the year. 

“This new drilling contract award represents a significant milestone for Capital as we expand our geographic footprint into North America, complementing our existing and growing operations in Canada with MSALABS. . . [and] extends our partnership with Barrick, which began with our collaboration across operations in Africa and later expanded globally, starting at the Reko Diq mine, in Pakistan, earlier this year and now including the Nevada gold mines complex in the US.   

“We . . . continue our strategic efforts to reposition and enhance our contract portfolio, as outlined in the second half of 2022, with a focus on large-scale mine sites and Tier 1 projects with substantial growth potential. The addition of world-class contracts in 2023 . . . presents significant additional opportunities and provides a strong foundation as we look ahead to 2024," said Capital CEO Peter Stokes.