Swick forecasts solid FY21 on renewals

Contractor Swick Mining Services has raised its order book to $244 million after receiving an extension of works with Perilya and Northern Star Resources.

Swick said the contract renewals would provide a solid foundation for its drilling business heading into the 2021 financial year.

The South Guildford-based company will continue drilling at Northern Star’s Jundee gold operations – the contractor’s largest project – for a further two years.

Swick said it had also exercised its two-year option to continue work at Perilya’s Broken Hill iron ore mine in NSW, where the contractor has provided underground drilling services since 2009.

Managing director and founder Kent Swick said the company's mining services were skewed towards tier-one clients.

He said Swick had drilled more than 2.35 million metres of underground core at Jundee since being contracted in 2007.

“The Jundee scope is one of the largest underground drilling programs in the world,” Mr Swick said.

“The contract renewal further strengthens our relationship with our key customer Northern Star Resources, whom we also work for at the Pogo mine in Alaska.”

Mr Swick said there was also potential to deploy the company’s DeepEx division, created in 2019.

He said DeepEx had completed holes up to 1,607 metres in depth at the Jundee site to date. The rigs are capable of drilling up to 3,000 metres.

Mr Swick said he was pleased the company had also received a contract extension at Broken Hill, where the contractor has drilled nearly 400,000 metres.

Swick says it maintains a strong financial position including with $12.7 million in cash, as at June 30.