Could you provide a summary of Boart Longyear and its offerings for mining companies in the Southwestern US?

Boart Longyear is a global drilling company that provides drilling services, drilling products, and innovative technologies to the mining sector. Its range of services is available in the Southwestern US, with surface coring and reverse circulation (RC) drilling being the most in demand in Arizona and Nevada. The company also does a significant amount of sonic work, as well as water work. Boart Longyear has offices in Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Elko, Nevada. The company has a large fleet of LF 160 Surface Coring Drill Rigs, which have all the safety features customers are looking for and are in high demand.

What were the reasons behind Boart Longyear’s 18% revenue increase in the first half of 2022?

Boart Longyear’s customers, particularly explorers, are in a good place. Most mining companies have been de-levered over the last few years and do not carry a lot of debt. However, in the lean years, they used some of their reserves to save money and now need to replace those reserves. Commodity prices are currently strong, particularly copper and gold, and companies are again out drilling as demand continues to increase. The company anticipates that this increased drilling activity will continue into 2023, resulting in strong business for the foreseeable future.

How is Boart Longyear mitigating current inflationary pressures?

Boart Longyear’s products are significantly made from steel, and although inflation appears to be a longer-term situation, supply chain issues are starting to alleviate. The company believes this trend will continue. Drilling services have cost pressure in terms of higher consumable costs, and labor inflation is a big cost pressure. Energy is also a significant part of the company’s cost base. Boart Longyear is using technology to mitigate inflation to some degree. For example, its TruScan technology has demonstrated that mining companies can significantly save money by changing their exploration processes and improving the effectiveness of the information that they gather using those technologies. The company is also introducing its downhole survey product, TruGyro, into the market this year.

To what extent is ESG a key business driver for Boart Longyear?

Boart Longyear is committed to having strong ESG practices and being a leader in this space. In 2022, the company published its first ESG report and has strong ambitions to continue down this pathway. Boart Longyear is increasing diversity in the sector through new technologies that give women access to do jobs previously seen as inaccessible. Today, women are present in all parts of the company’s operations, including leading some drill crews, doing heavy equipment maintenance, and working as welders. The company’s new technologies and the way it is educating people about the possibilities of working for them are opening a whole new part of the workforce, which is a great benefit in a period where access to workers is limited.

How does Boart Longyear incorporate safety and training measures into its day-to-day work?

Boart Longyear has the strongest safety track record in the drilling industry. Drilling has many risks, and the company spends a significant amount of effort on its safety processes and systems. Additionally, new technologies can engineer out safety risks that were not possible before. For example, rod handling applications that allow for lower lifting demands, and automation technologies that allow drill rig operators to be further away from the rig.