PORTUGAL - Vancouver-based EUROZINC MINING CORP. (www.eurozinc.com) and its wholly owned subsidiary Sociedade Mineira de Neves-Corvo SA have signed a 10,000-metre diamond drill contract with MAJOR DRILLING GROUP INTERNATIONAL INC. The Canadian contractor is currently mobilizing a new track-mounted UDR 200D drill rig, capable of drilling to more than 1,000 metres in depth. EuroZinc plans to start drilling targets on its Neves-Corvo mining lease no later than the second half of October.
The program will focus on delineating the open, western edge of the Neves orebody, which has a strike length of 1 kilometre, an average thickness of 16 metres and is located about 350 metres below surface. Neves is one of five orebodies that make up the Neves-Corvo underground copper mine, one of the largest and highest-grade massive sulphide deposits in the world.
This contract is just icing on the cake for Moncton, N.B.-based Major Drilling, which has reported record results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2006, ended July 31, 2005. The company posted the highest quarterly revenues and earnings in its history with revenues of $92.6 million, up 11.8% from the previous record high of $82.8 million, recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, and 39.9% above the $66.2 million recorded for the same quarter last year. Net earnings for the quarter more than doubled to a record $8.4 million or $0.37 per share, from $3.8 million or $0.18 per share for the prior year quarter. Cash flow from operating activities was $11.1 million for the quarter compared with $1.7 million for the same period last year.
The drilling contractor attributes its good fortunes to "continuing strong structural and cyclical growth in demand [overwhelming] the typical seasonal patterns that would normally have seen a pullback in revenues." Growth occurred in all regions, led by North America. The company has a very positive outlook for both the near-term and the more distant future. "The fundamental drivers of our business and the demand for drilling services continue strong, with gold and base metal prices at historically high levels," says the quarterly report. Find out more about the busy driller at www.MajorDrilling.com.
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