News No sign of a slowdown in drilling, says IMDEX

Leading global mining-tech company IMDEX is achieving month-on-month revenue increases in all major mining markets globally, driven by demand for cloud-connected technology which spiked at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

IMDEX Chief Executive Paul House told participants at recent investor events that the number of instruments on rent had hit a record high and that first-quarter 2021 revenue was up 26 per cent on the fourth quarter of 2020.

He said there was increasing demand for IMDEX HUB IQ^TM cloud-based technologies and software.

“We would usually see a seasonal decline in our tool fleet, but so far that’s not the case,” Mr House said.

“We are still experiencing record high numbers on rent and record plans by our customers – drillers and resources companies – to keep drilling as much as possible.

“We took the opportunity during the COVID-19 restrictions to conduct webinars on digital workflow and training for data-related products and fast-tracked our online training platform, IMDEX Academy.

“This continues to translate into demand for and adoption of our digital technologies.

“We have the solutions to support clients to work remotely, efficiently, securely, and safely.

“New work methods adopted during COVID-19 continue to be used.”

IMDEX invests about $25 million a year on research and development and has strong pipeline of technologies.

It performs above industry growth levels, with a four-year CAGR of 13 per cent, against and S&P equivalent of 4.5 per cent.

Mr House said that strong mining industry fundamentals supported a return to pre-COVID-19 business levels during this financial year.

“The confidence for drilling and resource companies to navigate any issues around a possible second wave is increasingly clear, and we expect business to continue strongly into 2021/22,” he said.

“The speed at which we have rebounded has been excellent.

“The positive within this COVID world if there is one is that we are seeing an increased demand for innovation and technology in the mining sector.

“This is a trend that has been well underway leading up to COVID and certainly COVID has accelerated that.”