The Group is an ASX listed diversified global mining services group headquartered in Australia.
From our meagre beginning as a one-drill operation in Kalgoorlie, the Group has become one of the largest diversified global mining services companies.
The Group has built a portfolio of companies designed to provide a complete mining value chain throughout Australia, Africa and around the world.
The Ausdrill team was met with the need to mobilise, facilitate the on-site construction of two new Caterpillar MD6310 drills, and seamlessly take over drilling. Ausdrill provided a project manager with engineering capabilities to offer bespoke blasting knowledge and maximise coal production. Health and safety were also engaged early to create a shared, industry-leading protocol and meet all production milestones.
Ausdrill has delivered two significant projects at Eliwana: crusher pocket access, followed by rail corridors. Both of these projects required meticulous delivery and tight quality control: we provided specialised loading, blasting and timing techniques to keep vibrations and over blast within limits to protect sensitive heritage sites; delivered a perfect crusher pocket opening in the side of a sheer cliff while protecting a nearby dolerite dyke; and completed a 3000 ton concrete pour for a super structure Off Shore Processing facility. Thereafter, expertly blasting within 10 meters of this structure.
The Ausdrill team was met with the need to mobilise, facilitate the on-site construction of four new Caterpillar MD6250 drills, and seamlessly take over drilling just before the height of COVID-19. Our dedicated project lead worked hand-in-hand with our client, OEM, and each sector manager to ensure that the drill delivery plan was created and commissioned in a timely manner. Despite global challenges and record-breaking floods, our competent team met each key milestone, did not lose a single day of production, and achieved an excellent safety record.
The Sanbrado Gold Project is a low-cost, high-grade operation – one of the highest margin gold projects in West Africa. Sanbrado is located 90 km east-southeast of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso and covers an aggregate area of 116 km².
AMS was awarded this contract late 2019 and went on to construct and fit out of the mine infrastructure, including wash bay facility and workshop fit outs. AMS commenced the open-cut mining operations, on time and on schedule. The project scope is full service open pit mining, including: establishment, site preparation, short & medium term mine planning, drill & blast, load & haul, grade control, dewatering, and mobile maintenance works.
The project currently runs with 5 main production excavators, 11 trucks, 2 graders, 2 water trucks and 4 dozers.
In its first year of production, Sanbrado is expected to produce more than 300 000 oz of gold and an average of 217 000 ozpa in its first five years and 153 000 ozpa over the current 10-year life of mine.
This long-term contract has garnered over eight years of project partnership, with up to seven exploration rigs during schedule peaks. Our team has met challenging terrain, fractured ground and large water volumes with RC and diamond drilling expertise.
SIMEC Mining owns and operates a 10m tonne per annum iron ore mine in the Middleback Ranges in South Australia, approximately 60 kilometers from the town of Whyalla. These operations incorporate the Iron Baron, Iron Knob and South Middleback Ranges mine sites.Ausdrill has been providing specialist exploration services at Whyalla for over 7 years – beginning with one RC rig and expanding through to 4, following a successful contract extension. Faced with particularly hard ground conditions, our expert crew have continued to deliver as needed, including deep hole pockets of up to 500 meters.
Ausdrill has forged a successful partnership with BHP Iron Ore, delivering services to mines across the Pilbara region for over 12 years. Our team has brought a number of efficiencies to BHP mine sites, including: the use of Ausdrill-designed Rock Commander drills for specific contour drilling. The use of the Rock Commander has achieved an impressive increase in meters drilled, as well as size of hole drilled, as a result of the contoured slope the Rock Commander is able to work on.
Meanwhile, in line with BHP’s technology roadmap, our exploration crews have utilised our award-winning Ausdrill automated sampler and semi-autonomous hands-free drilling equipment to increase safety and efficiency on site.
Consmin, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns 90% of Ghana Manganese Company Limited (GMC). The remaining 10% is owned by the Government of Ghana. Operations from this mine have a history stretching back to 1916 when the first manganese material was mined from the site. AMS was awarded the Mining Contract by Ghana Manganese Company Limited in March 2017 which was reviewed annually until February 2019 when AMS was awarded a two-year contract extension. Scope of works are mainly Load and Haul on hourly hire.
Iduapriem mine comprises the Iduapriem and Teberebie properties in a 110km2 concession and it’s located in the Western Region of Ghana, some 70km north of the coastal city of Takoradi and about 10km south-west of the Goldfields Tarkwa mine. Iduapriem mine is an open-pit mine and its processing facilities include a carbon in-pulp (CIP) plant with a gravity circuit.
In 2018, Iduapriem mine increased production 11% year on year to 254K oz and again to 275K oz in 2019 (the mine highest production since 2004). The production increase was driven by key factor of mining deeper and higher-grade areas in the Teberebie pit, where AMS was contracted to mine. AMS was awarded the mining services contract in February 2014 worth about 15 million US Dollars per year which is reviewed annually. Under the mining services contract, AMS is responsible for supplying all incidental goods, mining fleet and skilled labour necessary for the proper completion of the works and the performance of the contract. AMS employs 357 people at the Iduapriem project with 38% of the workforce coming from the catchment areas and the host region, and the remaining 62% being employees from the other regions of Ghana.
AMS has worked with respect to the environment and safety for its employees without affecting our ability to deliver AAIL required mining target KPIs. In December 2019 AMS was awarded a 1-year contract extension generating revenue of $45m for open pit mining services, equipment supply and maintenance. Following our revised production schedule issued by AGA, AMS labour numbers effective 16th April 2020 reduced to 267 people with 39% of the workforce coming from the catchment areas and the host region, and the remaining 61% from the other regions.
In the present day is AMS’s Senegalese journey; a journey which began almost exactly three years ago in 2016 as part of the business’s ongoing footprint expansion strategy. AMS’s venture into the country has kicked-off with the Mako project in the southeast, and the (at least) six-and-a-half year gold project will lay the foundations for AMS to replicate the same model already successfully implemented across much of the rest of West Africa. The project currently runs with 3 main production excavators, 14 CAT 777F trucks, 7 DPI Panteras rigs.
