Specialist mineral drilling services company Swick Mining Services Ltd has appointed William Gove to the newly created position of General Manager (North America) as the company moves to expand into the North American mineral drilling market.
Mr Gove is an experienced business manager with over 25 years involvement in the Australian and North American mining industries.
For the past 12 years, Mr Gove has been based in Ontario, Canada, managing a major division of mining products group Atlas Copco and more recently managing the Canadian operations of mining communications company Mine Site Technologies.
During this time, he has developed an extensive network of mining industry contacts throughout Canada and has serviced a number of blue chip mining houses, including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Vale Inco and Xstrata.
The appointment of Mr Gove is an important milestone for Swick Mining Services as it embarks upon a major expansion program into the North American mineral drilling market.
The company will initially focus on driving new business opportunities through its underground diamond division in the Sudbury Mining District of Canada.
The company's underground diamond rigs have been a stunning success in the Australian market owing to their consistent ability to deliver superior productivity, safety and versatility, and are expected to be equally well suited to the Canadian mining industry.
The canadian mining industry contributed almost C$40 billion to the country's GDP in 2006, highlighting the significant opportunity awaiting the Company.
Three new underground diamond drill rigs are currently being constructed to Canadian specifications at the company's South Guildford workshop facilities, in anticipation of securing initial drilling trials in Canada.
Mr Gove commences his Canadian based position with Swick Mining Services on 15 July 2008.
