The company currently has 37 drill rigs at work, compared with a low of just 22 in January and a peak of 40 rigs in September 2008.“The return of 15 rigs back to work this calendar year is an excellent achievement, at a time when competition for work has been extremely fierce,” Swick managing director Kent Swick said.The company will return to a peak of 40 rigs in action shortly, following the award of three new underground drilling contracts for the Renison tin mine, operated by Metals X, Ramelius Resources’ Wattle Dam gold mine and a reverse circulation contract for Cudeco’s Rocklands project.The company said it had submitted a number of tenders and was confident fleet utilisation would continue to strengthen.Swick has a total of 52 drill rigs, including underground production, underground diamond, surface multi-purpose and surface RC, not including 10 rigs in North America.Full utilisation of the company’s fleet would result in potential revenue of around $12.5 million per month.The Perth-based company posted revenue of $48.1 million for the first half of the 2009 financial year.Swick will limit capital expenditure for the 2010 financial year, as it focuses on utilising its existing fleet.Shares in Swick continued thier rise this week, trading 2.2% higher today at 46c.
