BHP contracts Swick for Olympic Dam

Perth-based Swick Mining Services has been contracted by BHP to continue underground drilling services at the Olympic Dam copper mine in South Australia.

It comes after Swick flagged a solid financial year, with the ASX-listed contractor securing extensions of work with Northern Star Resources and NSW-based Perilya.

The five-year BHP contract – in addition to new work with Spanish company Minas de Aguas Tenidas SAU for its copper operations – brings Swick’s order book to $363 million, sending its shares up by as much as 28 per cent on Friday.

South Guildford-based Swick has provided services to BHP’s Olympic Dam site since 2017, when it began an initial trial of its underground mobile diamond drills.

Under the new contract, Swick will add five rigs to the three currently operating on site.

Managing director Kent Swick said the company's "outstanding safety performance, and high quality and productive drilling" had helped it secure the long-term contract with BHP.

At the same time, the contractor signed its first infield commercial agreement under its mineral technology business Orexplore (acquired by Swick in 2017) with St Barbara for its Gwalia goldmine in Leonora.

Orexplore will scan around 1,500 metres of core over a six-month period, as well as conduct technical assessment over a number of potential benefits of the detailed core analysis.

The six-month contract is valued at around $700,000.

Shares in Swick were down 7 per cent at 11:51am AEST to trade at 20 cents per share.