australa sia
Nitro Drilling
Feature
rides the Drilling contractor
boom
F
or the best part of the last decade, mineral exploration drilling contractors have enjoyed boom conditions in many parts of the world. Companies working on both regional and international scale, and especially those that used their own proprietary
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equipment, were the main beneficiaries. Nitro Drilling is one of them. From one rig in 2002, the firm has expanded to employ more than 200 people with 22 state-of-the-art multi-purpose exploration rigs, operating in Australia. “Our growth has been impressive. In the last 12
months we have put on 12 new rigs and we putting another 10 on this year,” says Dan Rogers the firm’s general manager. Nitro’s head office is located on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and the company operates in the coal-rich Bowen Basin, with a six acre service and maintenance yard in Dysart
Nitro Drilling
From one rig in 2002, Nitro Drilling has expanded to employ more than 200 people with 22 state-of-the-art multi-purpose exploration rigs. By Ian Armitage
Focus Mining 3
Nitro Drilling
supporting major clients like BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Peabody Energy. “We are a dynamic Australian business with a proven track record of excellence in the field of coal exploration drilling,” says Rogers. “We’ve a modern fleet of multi-purpose exploration rigs.” Nitro is in a good position. “We are. We’ve a proven record, building and designing specific equipment to suit customer scope of work and exploration needs,” Rogers says. Safety, as you’d imagine, is vital. “We have a strong focus on management driven workplace health and safety initiatives and that has really been the core of the company’s working ethos,” he adds. Nitro has aligned itself with the health and safety expectations of a larger 4
“We’ve a strong safety culture and we operate up-to-date, modern, wellmaintained, equipment. We have modern functional safety systems. And we have competent operators”
organisation, employing Drilling Supervisors, Workplace Health and Safety offers and placing emphasis on ongoing training and career development. All employees have a full safety induction and certification requirements specific to their positions. “Safety is a major focus,” Rogers explains. “We’ve a strong safety culture and we operate up-to-date, modern, well-maintained, equipment. We have modern functional safety systems. And we have competent operators.” Next up, Nitro is pursuing opportunities within the burgeoning coal seam gas industry. “We’ll have a look at it,” says Rogers. There are a number of energy companies, ranging from major international players to
Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles Rocklea
is proud suppliers of equipment to Nitro Drilling with an association that started in 2002.
Nitro Drilling is an extremely important partner for us and we are pleased to be involved in their success by offering Sales, Service and Parts support to all of their vehicle fleet. As a supplier to Nitro Drilling we include onsite training and technician support and provide the latest electronic equipment so that Nitro Drilling keep on drilling.
Mercedes-Benz has a full range of all wheel drive vehicles which includes our: 路Sprinter Range in Two and Four wheel drive up to 3,500kg 路Atego and Axor 4x4 range and the impressive Actros range in 6x4, 6x6, 8x4 and 8x8 路Up to 44 ton Gross Vehicle Mass across the range
So if we can assist you in your mining vehicle requirements please do not hesitate to contact us: Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles (Rocklea) 1699 Ipswich Road Rocklea Brisbane Phone (07) 3275 8711 or Fax (07) 3275 8770
Nitro Drilling
“It is a very good time to be in that industry. We are specialised in coal exploration and obviously subsequent to that we see opportunities in coal seam gas. We get enquiries almost every day from people looking for us to put some rigs into that and it is something we are looking at currently” juniors, which are pursuing opportunities with the coal seam gas sector in Queensland and New South Wales. And, coal seam gas requires a lot of drilling. The three largest companies in the sector have estimated they need to drill 20,000 wells by 2016. That gives you some idea of the magnitude of the opportunity. “It will be something new for us, the gas industry. But it is a significant opportunity,” Rogers says. “It is a very good time to be in that industry. We are specialised in coal exploration and obviously subsequent to that we see opportunities in coal seam gas. We get enquiries almost every day from people looking for us to put some rigs into that and it is something we are looking at currently.” Although there are ample opportunities, along too come
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challenges. The main one being skills. “We have been looking at alternative sourcing strategies, upskilling less experienced or less specialised workers, and looking into international sourcing options,” says Rogers. “We are one of a number of companies in the industry gearing up for more growth, and the biggest fear is not being able to find the workers needed.” Nitro Drilling is a member of the Australian Drilling Industry Association (ADIA) and National Heavy Vehicle Accreditation Scheme (NHVAS). The company has always been a strong financial supporter of community organisations such as surf lifesaving and various local charities. To learn more visit www.nitrodrilling.com.
Sandvik Mining Sandvik Exploration works extensively with many Australian drilling contractors to jointly develop both new equipment and drilling tools for the exploration industry. Through close relationships and continual field testing Sandvik helps contractors achieve world class productivity and safety. Over the years close collaborations on new initiatives from customers have taken place. The initiatives have been developed, incorporated in the design and proven in field. By listening and working together with end users Sandvik can meet the different demands in the field. Going forward, Sandvik will continue to focus on being the key supplier and Exploration partner of choice.
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136 Verrierdale Road Verrierdale Queensland 4563 PO Box 894 Coolum Beach Queensland 4573 Tel: (07) 5471 0399
www.nitrodrilling.com