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CAPITAL
Renowned drilling company broadens its ran
MINING | CAPITAL LTD
LIMITED
nge of services to the African mining market
In June 2020, Capital Drilling announced it would be rebranding to Capital Limited, after building a reputation for providing a range of exploration and production drilling services to Tier 1 mining operations predominantly across Africa and the Middle East over the last 17 years. Capital’s business development director – West Africa Chris Hall explains that the shortened name better resembles the company’s expanding suite of mining services, which now includes load and haul work at operating mine sites, as well as maintenance and geochemical analysis laboratories under the LSElisted company’s different brands. Nonetheless, with nearly two decades of experience operating drill rigs at mineral projects across Africa, Hall stresses that drilling will remain a large part of Capital’s offering to the mining market on the continent and the rebrand simply promotes the broader reach of the firm’s services in recent years.
Under the Capital Drilling
mine services. We had some
moniker, Capital developed
smaller contracts in place, but
relationships with some of the
this is our first major one,” he
biggest players in the mid and
proclaims.
major tiers of the global mining sector, including the likes of
“It’s all part and parcel of the
AngloGold Ashanti, Barrick
extension of our offering. We
Gold and Centamin. As a result
have successfully attached
of its quality of service delivery,
other strings to our bow since
Capital has provided drilling
our company’s inception
services to Centamin’s Sukari
and now we’ve moved into
Gold Mine in Egypt since 2005
the mining world. We have
and AngloGold Ashanti’s Geita
recruited a high calibre team
Gold Mine since 2006.
with extensive experience in
Transformative Sukari contracts
the field to manage this part of our business. It’s a big deal for the company.”
In December 2020, Capital revealed it had secured a
The transformative contracts
renewal of the drilling contract
at Sukari, which commenced
at the global Tier 1 Sukari
in Q1 of 2021, are expected to
mine that would extend the
deliver US$235-$260 million in
relationship to one year shy of
incremental revenues over the
20 years. But more significantly,
four-year term, with the 120
the company announced it had
million tonnes waste stripping
also entered into a conditional
contract the largest award
open pit waste mining services
since Capital’s inception. It is
contract with Centamin,
also symbolic of the company’s
which Hall describes as a
evolution into a full-service
‘transformational contract’.
mining contractor.
“A year or so ago, we made the
In addition to the drilling
decision to expand into broader
and mining segments of the business, Capital also offers
MINING | CAPITAL LTD
lab and mine maintenance
supplier,” Hall says. “It’s a
successful execution of this
services through the MSALABS
huge fillip to the company for
large-scale project.
and Mine Site Maintenance
Centamin to put their trust in
(MSM) brands, as well as Well
us as a mine services provider
“We’ll be able to go to tenders
Force International – Capital’s
to such a great extent. We
with other customers in Africa
tool business.
know the asset very well and
with real experience from a
have an established team and
large mining operation that
“We are evolving into a
infrastructure on site and we
will clearly demonstrate our
complete mining services
expect this to contribute to the
capabilities.”
MINING | CAPITAL LTD
Wooing West Africa
2020 review estimated that
The lion’s share of this total
more than $3.7 billion of new
investment sum in West
Hall’s area of focus is West
mine and expansion projects
African mining is focused
Africa, which has grown
are currently in build mode,
on gold exploration and
to become the busiest sub-
approved or awaiting final
production along the Birimian
region on the continent for
development and financing
Greenstone Belt – a world-
exploration and mining
decisions.
class geological formation
over the last decade. In fact,
that extends through Ghana,
Mining Journal’s West Africa
Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Burkina Faso.
Throughout the last yearand-a-half, gold exploration companies and producers in West Africa have been helped by sustained high gold prices, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented disruption and uncertainty in the global economy in 2020, when the gold price reached its zenith in August at around $2,068 per ounce.
CAP I TAL D R I LLI N G
AT A G L A N C E
STOCK TICKER: LSE:CAPD MARKET CAPITALISATION: US$156.1 million (as of February 22, 2020) aj
MINING | CAPITAL LTD
ALTUS S
“Our customers’ business
“But they need to take
deliver quality samples to meet
benefit from a strong gold
advantage of the wave, and
their timelines.”
price. When they experience
that’s when we as suppliers
the positive phase of the price
of drilling services need to be
True to Hall’s word, Capital
cycle, they attract investors
quick off the mark for them
has made sure to position
themselves and are able to
so they can get their drilling
itself front and centre in
ramp up exploration and
results into the market when
West Africa’s burgeoning
production.
things are going well. We have
mining sector during the
proven over the years that we
high gold price environment,
can mobilise rigs quickly and
as evidenced by recent
MINING | CAPITAL LTD
control drilling, while at Firefinch’s Morila Gold Mine in Mali, it is fulfilling delineation drilling and exploration, grade control and blast hole drilling, together with equipment, maintenance and management services at Allied Gold Corp’s Bonikro Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire. “In the last few years, we’ve focused on West Africa and invested heavily in equipment and infrastructure in the region. There are a number of new machines arriving into West Africa in this first quarter of 2021 and there are a lot of customers in the region who need rigs at the moment, which we can provide.” mobilisation of rigs at ASX-
exploration, delineation
listed Marvel Gold’s Tabakorole
and underground drilling
COVID-19 challenges
Gold Project in Mali and fellow
at Resolute Mining’s Syama
While the company has
ASX-listed explorer Predictive
Gold Mine in Mali and
certainly benefitted from high
Discovery’s Bankan Project in
Hummingbird’s Yanfolila Gold
metals prices – not just in gold
Guinea in Q1 of 2021.
Mine in Mali.
but also base metals, including copper and nickel – in 2020,
Other ongoing contractual
At Kinross Gold’s Tasiat Gold
Hall reflects on the challenges
work being fulfilled by Capital
Mine in Mauritania, Capital
that came about from the
in West Africa includes
is undertaking maintenance,
COVID-19 pandemic, not least
laboratory services and grade
the health risks facing its employees on the ground.
RGN editor Jacob Ambrose Willson interviews Capital Ltd business development manager – West Africa Chris Hall, January 19, 2021
“We have successfully attached other strings to our bow since our company’s inception and now we’ve moved into the mining world. We have recruited a high calibre team with extensive experience in the field to manage this part of our business.” - Chris Hall, Capital Ltd business development director – West Africa
“Many of our field guys did
As well as the entirely
very long stints last year as
unforeseen challenges facing
the first wave descended. Our
staff, the company also had
customers did a superb job of
to deal with disrupted supply
managing the implementation
chains across Africa and the
of health protocols required,
rest of the world. However,
while our team’s compliance
logistical issues were largely
with all new COVID-safe
resolved by the end of the first
procedures to prevent the
wave and Hall believes the
spread of the virus on-site and
industry has grown another
in the regions surrounding
layer of resilience in the wake
operations proved very
of the pandemic.
effective in minimising rates of infection.
The business development director also relays the
MINING | CAPITAL LTD
satisfaction felt by senior management after Capital financial results in midJanuary. The trading update
interesting take home from the
Diluted earnings per share: 17.8 cents (130.6% increase on 2019) Final dividend per share: 1.3 cents (85.7% increase on 2019) Total full-year dividend: 2.2 cents (57.1% increase on 2019) Net cash balance: US$5 million (13.1% increase on 2019)
^^
But perhaps the most
Net profit after tax: US$24.8 million (138.6% increase on 2019)
^
2019 to $135 million.
EBITDA: US$33.8 million (24% increase in 2019)
^
in 2020 had increased 18% on
Revenue: US$135 million (17.5% increase on 2019)
^
revealed that full-year revenue
Capex: US$48.7 million (145.7% increase on 2019)
^^ ^
published strong full-year
C A P I TA L LT D F U L L-Y E A R 2 0 2 0 F I N A N C I A L R E S U LT S
results was that non-drilling revenue contributed 16% to
continue to have confidence in
in the coming years, especially
total revenue in Q4, compared
the industry as can be seen by
as we continue to grow in West
with 12% in Q3. This 4%
the investment in Sukari.”
Africa. “We’re all about delivering
to further broaden its scope to
Advancing the evolution
full life-of-mine services.
Finally, Hall outlines Capital’s
services and we’ll continue
strategic priorities for the
to grow our own brands;
“We are gradually growing
rest of 2021: To bed in the
MSALABS, MSM and Well
our services offering. We like
full-service mining division,
Force International,” he
to grow slowly so that we can
to hit the ground running at
concludes.
continue to provide quality
Sukari and use that significant
services and not make the
waste stripping contract as
mistake of rushing into new
a stepping-stone to other
things and therefore not being
projects with existing and
able to do the job properly,”
new customers across the
Hall explains.
continent.
“Overall, we had a positive
“While we do that, we’re not
year notwithstanding COVID.
going to forget our exploration
We managed to weather the
drilling customers that need
storm extremely well and we
our service to further develop
quarterly increase is a sign of things to come as Capital looks
quality drilling and mining
Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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