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Geodrill:
Africa’s preferred
drilling partner
by Dave Harper, CEO at Geodrill

12 Coring Magazine #18

 GEODRILL

Geodrill is a well-established drilling

contractor and a preferred partner in
West Africa. The company prides itself on
investing in modern equipment and world-
class operations to supply its clients with a
‘one-stop’ drilling solution. As a purpose-
led company, their expertise, experience
in the field, highest maintenance,
Health, safety, environment and quality
(HSEQ) standards, and Environmental,
social and governance (ESG) vision and
values, have earned Geodrill a reputation
for delivering results. This is best
demonstrated by an impressive rig growth
profile – attributable to the company’s
strong culture of professionalism,
customer satisfaction and caring for the
communities in which they operate.

Company history and development

Geodrill was founded in Ghana in 1998 by the current CEO Dave Harper
with one rig and one contract. The company soon began adding rigs in
response to growing demand and has continued to expand from coun-
try to country.
For the following decade, 2000 to 2010, Geodrill focused on expand-
ing its operations into neighboring countries such as Burkina Faso and
Côte d’Ivoire where the company established a number of operational
and support bases to service its growing rig fleet. The company also op-
erated in Niger, Guinea and Togo.
In 2010, the company listed on the Toronto stock market, under tick-
er GEO.T. In 2017, Geodrill commenced operations underground and
currently operates a fleet of six Boart Longyear LM™90 underground
drill rigs.
Three years later, the company expanded its geographic presence
into South America through its wholly owned subsidiary Recon Drilling.
Their maiden project in the Santander mine, Peru, has broken the re-
cord for the deepest hole in the country at 1990.3 m (≈ 6530 ft). Drilling
was conducted at altitudes ranging from 4500 m (14 800 ft) to 5000 m
(16 400 ft). Recon has since continued expanding in the Latin American
region (read more in Issue 17 of Coring Magazine).
In 2021, Geodrill also added mine blast hole drilling to its business,
providing the full gamut of explorations services. The company was
honored with an award for its excellent operational record in mining and
exploration by The Millennium Excellence Foundation (MEF). The cere-
mony was held in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region in Ghana, in
the presence of the country’s president. Among the previous recipients
is Kofi Annan – former Secretary-General of the United Nations and No-
bel Peace Prize winner.
Today, Geodrill has a fleet of 71 drill rigs and is one of the leading ex-
ploration companies operating primarily in Ghana, Burkina-Faso, Côte
d’Ivoire and Mali in West Africa; Egypt in North Africa, and Peru in
South America. The company revenue in Q3 of 2021 has increased by
44% in comparison to Q3 2020, while maintaining strong profitability.

Drillers’ trusted publication 13

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↑ Geodrill’s Anwiankwanta Operations Base, located near Kumasi in Ghana
One of the key aspects behind these excellent results is that Geodrill
has extended its core multi-rig operations. Furthermore, the company
managed to maintain a high utilization rate of 65% even during the wet
season (April–October).
In 2021, Geodrill was simultaneously utilizing rigs for drilling projects
with the following clients:
• 12 rigs with Endeavour Mining between their sites in Côte d’Ivoire
and Burkina Faso;
• 12 rigs with Perseus Mining on sites in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana;
• 8 rigs with Roxgold in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso;
• 8 rigs working in Ghana for Asanko Gold;
• 6 rigs with Atlantic Lithium (formerly Iron Ridge Resources) on
projects in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.
The projects with Endeavour Mining and Perseus Mining alone are ex-
pected to generate 500 000 m (1 640 420 ft) of drilling in 2022 and 2023.
‘With these significant industry tailwinds and favorable macroeco-
nomic conditions, Geodrill remains focused on continuing to drive
growth in revenue, earnings per share and return on equity,’ said CEO
Dave Harper. ‘It is this type of organic growth, underpinned by our po-
sition as a driller of choice in West Africa, paired with long-term growth
initiatives to expand globally, that continue to make Geodrill a compel-
ling growth opportunity’.
Services
Geodrill provides a broad selection of diverse drilling services (both ex-
ploration and delineation) to meet the specific needs of its clients. The
company has drilled a total of 1.4 million meters (4 593 175 ft) in 2020
with hole depths ranging from 20 m (65.62 ft) all the way to 1950 m
(6398 ft). These results are achieved through their complete range of
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services including Reverse circulation (RC), Diamond core, Air-core,
Grade control, Geo-tech, underground and water bore drilling. Offering
both surface and underground drilling as well as specialized and more
routine drilling services, has helped Geodrill establish itself as a uni-
versal drilling services provider. The company continually evaluates its
suite of offered services with a view to maintaining a leadership position
in the industry.
The most preferred and popular service among Geodrill’s clients is
RC drilling, typically to depths of up to 400 m (1312 ft). Geodrill often
provides this method with the help of its multi-purpose rigs, which can
switch between RC and diamond core drilling mid-way through a hole
with minimal effort or down-time. This gives clients flexibility and re-
duces stand-by time and preparation and mobilization charges. Thus,
the company’s efficiency is improved, lowering their ‘average cost per
meter’.
Team
Highly dedicated experts from around the world form the globally mo-
bile Geodrill team that is able to teach best in class drillers and help
them become qualified industry professionals. Geodrill has a strong
emphasis on local employment and training from within. This is a major
reason for the creation of a technical training center; a comprehensive
state-of-the-art support base located near Kumasi, Ghana that is unique
for Africa.
The company has more than 1000 employees across its operations
and administration teams. Geodrill hires locally as much as possible
and provides extensive training and leadership opportunities to pro-
mote staff from within. As a result, the company has few expatriates
Coring Magazine #18

‘With these significant industry
tailwinds and favorable
macroeconomic conditions, Geodrill
remains focused on continuing to
drive growth in revenue, earnings
per share and return on equity,’ said
CEO Dave Harper. ‘It is this type of
organic growth, underpinned by
our position as a driller of choice
in West Africa, paired with long-
term growth initiatives to expand
globally, that continue to make
Geodrill a compelling growth
opportunity. We expect conditions
to remain strong into the beginning
of 2022 and beyond, as gold prices
continue to surge, attracting
investment attention and driving
exploration budgets and growth.’
↑ Operating to the highest international HSEQ standards
Drillers’ trusted publication
GEODRILL
in employment and relies almost entirely on the extensive expertise of
their local staff.
Geodrill is an equal opportunity employer proudly advocating for gen-
der and diversity inclusion in recruitment and talent management. The
company puts a large emphasis on the fair and equal treatment of ev-
eryone – from the directors to the candidates – regardless of their gen-
der, age, culture and ethnicity, religious beliefs or disabilities.
The hub and spoke model
With a geographic footprint spread across two continents, the company
has established a ‘hub and spoke’ model with Ghana as the hub, and
Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Mali; Egypt in North Africa; and Peru in
South America as the spokes.
The facility in Ghana has a specialized CNC machining center for man-
ufacturing drill rods and consumables, thus reducing the need to ship
parts from out-of-country minimizing downtime and increasing ef-
ficiency. The facility is also home to the Drill Academy where Geodrill
training and development programs aim to provide personnel with the
required skills and knowledge to perform drilling and maintenance to
the highest international levels.
Safety
The Geodrill safety procedures have been developed to meet and ex-
ceed all applicable government and client standards. By partnering
with industry leaders in behavioral safety, incident investigation, work-
ers’ compensation and Occupational safety and health administration
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↑ Geodrill’s Anwiankwanta Operations Base
(OSHA) standards, the company has built a comprehensive integrated
Health Safety and Environmental Management System. The core val-
ues of safety and productivity are a testament to Geordill’s commitment
that all projects should be completed with Zero Harm to employees,
contractors and the environment.
ESG focus
Recently, Geodrill has been contributing a significant 2% of its total rev-
enue to its ESG program. Over the past 24 months, Geodrill has hon-
ored its Corporate social responsibility (CSR) ongoing recipients while
developing a strategy to create a legacy for future generations and to
respond to urgent appeals such as:
Immediate initiatives, concerned with COVID-19 - a community-based
campaign to address urgent hygiene needs in Burkina Faso, were carried
out in conjunction with Rox Gold.
A little girl’s emergency lifesaving surgery overseas for a rare and dis-
turbing eye cancer.
Geodrill contributed for the construction of a purified water system
for Pearl Safe Haven, the first safe house with a rehabilitation program
for women and children survivors of gender-based violence in West
Africa. Geodrill first undertook to drill the water hole and provided a
sizeable donation for the construction works along with the Australian
High Commission to Ghana. The company also stepped up to fund the
amount needed to complete the works, including the roof, the furniture
and the fittings. Without Geodrill filling the gap to finish the building, it
would not have been completed, and thanks to the contributions it was
able to open in early 2021.
In line with the Sustainable development goals of the United Nations,
education has been a key receiver of funds, as well as employee and
management time and efforts. Significant sums of 150 000 cedi (ap-
prox. AUD 35 000) per institution have been awarded to improve the
technical competence of a science laboratory, sporting and boarding
facilities of three significant high schools in Ghana: Achimota in the cap-
ital, Tamale in the northern part, and Mfantsipim in the Cape Coast area.
16
While a lot of schools are in need, these donations will take competitive
entry schools to the next level which also means a greater opportunity
to continue to hire locally and to have home-grown technical expertise.
Furthermore, education access for the handicapped remains an issue
in Ghana and an important step is providing prosthetic limbs and spe-
cialized physiotherapy for children in need. Geodrill has been a long-
term donor of Orthopedic Training Center in Nsawam. In June 2020,
the company donated an emergency roof for the Cerebral Palsy therapy
building, which had been ruined in a storm. Every year Geodrill contrib-
utes specialty-built wheelchairs for those in need at the center as well
as general funding to continue giving movement back to children and
youth (as well as adults) so that they can go on to participate in school
and gain meaningful employment later on in life.
An innovative collaboration with Children of the Light Ghana, a holis-
tic education center, was formed in November 2020 with an environ-
mental creative - McKingtorch Creatives. Children of the Light students
were visiting the streets of Accra to read and share stories with children
living on the street and became aware that many were not sleeping on
any kind of mats. Geodrill funded 120 mats that were entirely made in
Ghana, using recycled materials. The mats were distributed by the chil-
dren to other children sharing the gift of giving. These unique mats led
to a further collaboration with McKingtorch and bus shelters have been
commissioned out of 100% recycled plastic waste. The collection site
for plastic waste is hosted at the Geodrill Accra office.
Promoting environmental education in Ghana, Geodrill has funded
several initiatives over the past 24 months: Let’s Go Farming: a chil-
dren’s farming and livelihood educational TV Show in Ghana, most re-
cent episodes sponsored by Geodrill were August 7, 14 and 21, 2021.
While these are just a sample of 2020-2021 projects Geodrill has un-
dertaken in social and environmental aspects of its ESG program, this
is an impressive range of recipients, with a firm policy of non-discrimi-
nation. As much as possible, CEO Dave Harper has been sure to play an
active part in donating not only funds but committing his own time and
that of key personnel at Geodrill to ensure that the personal connection,
value and significance of the projects are emphasized.
2022 and beyond
Geordill will continue its commitment to ESG causes and particularly to
the communities where it operates throughout 2022. One of the biggest
highlights is drilling for Ghana’s first lithium mine – Atlantic Lithium.
Furthermore, Geodrill remains bullish on its expansion on the Egyptian
market and expects to announce a significant drilling contract in the
near future and the company is also looking to expand its operations
to the Drill & Blast market. Meanwhile, Recon Drilling will increase its
presence in South America through the subsidiary’s successful projects.
‘We expect conditions to remain strong into the beginning of 2022
and beyond, as gold prices continue to surge, attracting investment
attention and driving exploration budgets and growth’, concluded
Dave Harper. C
For more information
Visit: www.geodrill-gh.com
Coring Magazine #18