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IMDEX reported a strong start to its financial year in September-quarter earnings, with CEO Paul House crediting revenue growth in all key regions to real-time orebody expertise and strong industry fundamentals.
IMDEX’s technologies enable resource companies and drilling contractors to locate, identify and discover mineral compounds – accurately, confidently and quickly.
Revenue of $105.9 million ($69.2 million) for the unaudited first quarter of 2023 was up 22 percent from the same period last year, IMDEX said.
Meanwhile, sensors in employment increased 13% from a year ago and 9% last quarter.
Speaking at the company’s AGM today, supply chain pressures continued to ease in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Revenue growth was up 17 percent year over year in the Americas, 29 percent in Africa and Europe, and 27 percent in Australia and Asia.
Exploration budgets remain strong in Australia, with clients reporting books of three to four months versus nine to 10 months.
Major and midstream mining clients were reporting continued or expanded exploration budgets, and deeper orebodies resulted in larger and more complex drilling programs, he added.
Efforts to expand existing projects or acquire additional orebodies to maintain current production levels, continued steel demand across sectors and increased demand for essential metals contributed to the strong outlook.
“In this current cycle, unlike any previous cycle, it’s worth noting that the industry hasn’t made any major breakthroughs,” House said. “We believe this supports the continued demand for exploration drilling and the need for precision mining technologies that can improve the economics of small deposits or extend the mining life of existing operations.”
House said at the start of the first quarter of FY23 IMDEX that it has signed its first significant commercial contract with a Tier One resource company in South Africa for BORE HOLE STABILISER ™ (BHS) as part of its drilling enhancement products.
BHS is a versatile product designed specifically for air drilling applications, particularly drilling and blasting applications.
Trials of underground commercial models are underway in Africa, Asia and Australia, and there are further opportunities for surface applications, the company said.
House provided an update on the development of BLAST DOG™, a multi-sensor probe to measure the geophysical properties of an orebode and measure the properties of the material rock.
The data collected by BLAST DOG has the potential to be used by mining companies to develop mine planning, blast design, cutting and material movement monitoring, and post-blast improvement programs.
IMDEX has secured its first commercial contract with BLAST DOG at Steel Bridge in the Pilbara in August 2022. The agreement initially provides for the use of up to three BLAST DOG sensors, along with associated products, software and support. This results in an estimated contract value of $13 million.
“Our MINPORTAL™ 3D visualization software, available from DataCloud in September 2021, has been instrumental in demonstrating the value of BLAST DOG to customers,” added House.
The initial focus for BLAST DOG development was copper and bulk metals in Australia and the US, he said.
A rigorous assessment by a global miner with a capacity of more than three drilling rigs has identified a potential market of nearly 400 sites over five years, IMDEX says.
Focusing on the 25 percent that IMDEX can support the introduction of disruptive technologies to existing mining operations, the market identified in the assessment determined that approximately 100 mining sites are concurrent to support this initial phase. Development for BLAST Dog.
In the first phase of BLAST DOG development, six commercial prototype trials are planned for the 2023 financial year, the company said.
“The next generation BLAST DOG will include additional sensors, software and data response products, and we will expand its application to other commodities and geographies and eventually to stealth applications,” said House.
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