Kent Swick

Mineral drilling company Swick Mining Services Ltd has announced a record first half profit and an upgrade to its full year earnings forecast, as it continues its market expansion.

Swick Mining Services has signed yet another contract with Newmont, this time a short term diamond drilling contract at Newmont's Deep Star Mine in the United States state of Nevada.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’ would be an apt word to describe demand for the services of family owned and operated Wallis Drilling, which has done surface drilling work for some of the biggest open-pit miners since it was founded in 1964.

SHRINKING profit margins and dwindling cash balances in the junior mining sector are not only putting pressure on miners, but also those who provide key services to the sector.

Swick Mining Services’ underground division has renewed its contract with international miner Newmont for an additional three years.

Swick Mining Services’ underground diamond drilling division has been awarded three new contracts and renewed several existing agreements.

Swick Mining Services has forecast lower annual earnings and cut more than 100 staff in the space of 12 months amid challenging conditions in the mineral drilling sector.

Drilling contractor Swick Mining Services is planning to invest up to $6.5 million in a Swedish mineral analysis technology company as it looks to turn around its performance.

Swick Mining Services has been awarded contracts for underground diamond coring at MMG’s Golden Grove and Rosebery mines.

Swick Mining Services has posted a narrow half-year loss on the back of softer demand in the mineral driling market.

An unscheduled shutdown by one of its key mining clients has forced Swick Mining Services to again lower its revenue guidance, despite a rebound in fleet utilisation.

Drilling company Swick Mining Services has announced it should beat its downgraded guidance for the year in its quarterly update today.

Drilling services provider Swick Mining Services has released its earnings and dividend for the 12 months to June 30, with net profit after tax down 83 per cent year-on-year to $1.5 million.

Perth-based Swick Mining Services says it made a number of redundancies to minimise costs during the March quarter and plans to make an impairment adjustment at year’s end, despite an increase in demand for underground drilling from its existing clients.

Western Australia’s minerals exploration spending has reached its lowest level since the March quarter of 2007, according to the latest update from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Drilling contractor Swick Mining Services has flagged an impairment of up to $25 million in its full-year result, on the back of troubled times in the mining services sector and the low use of its assets.

Perth-based Swick Mining Services has won a number of new contracts and renewals with Newmont Mining, with 15 rigs expected to be in operation by early next year.

Swick Mining Services has won two new contracts for work with Independence Group, while the local subsidiary of Queensland firm Hughes Drilling has also picked up more work.

Perth-based Swick Mining Services has flagged a $3 million net loss for the financial year, as the company works to improve productivity to weather the tough times for mining contractors.

Swick Mining Services shares closed 14 per cent higher on the ASX today after the company announced it had been named the preferred proponent for underground drilling work for Newmarket Gold.

Swick Mining Services has raised about $5 million from investors to fund the buyout of minority shareholders in a mineral analysis and measurement technology company in which it already owns a major stake.

Russell Clark has been appointed chief executive of Kasbah Resources. He was managing director of Wolf Minerals and Grange Resources, and has more than 38 years of experience in technical roles, project development, general management and executive positions.

Revenues at Swick Mining Services are up, in another sign of a strengthening mining sector, with managing director Kent Swick saying the new financial year had brought some optimism.