Ironbridge picked up specialist contract drillers, Colby Drilling and Peak Drilling through the company’s recently formed mining services group Australian Drill Solutions (ADS).Colby Drilling is a Western Australia-based drilling contractor with extensive expertise in waterwell drilling and dual-rotary drilling. Colby’s customer base includes both established and emerging resource plays.Peak Drilling is a specialised reverse-circulation driller, working almost exclusively in iron ore in the Pilbara region of WA. Key customers include Hancock Prospecting and Atlas Iron. Ironbridge said the double drill deal was in line with the group’s growth strategy. “Both these businesses are high quality, established operators operating in specialist niches and will enable ADS to continue to scale up and increase overall market share,” Ironbridge director portfolio development Gary Berger said.Despite the impact of the much touted Chinese slowdown on the Australian resources sector, Ironbridge said its two new acquisitions had shown resilience in the market.
