Gilbert + Tobin has advised the voluntary administrators of the Adaman Group on a major mining restructure. Firm: Gilbert + Tobin (Adaman Group). Deal: Barry Wight and Jeremy Nipps of Cor Cordis ha
Driller takes $5m haircut to end gold spat with Rowsthorn contractor
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Drilling outfit Mitchell Services has agreed to an almost 50 per cent haircut on an outstanding $10 million gold bill it says was owed by a Mark Rowsthorn-backed mining contractor.
The 96-rig drilling outfit said on Tuesday it had reached a settlement with SMS Innovative Mining after a dispute erupted this year. Mitchell had claimed it was owed money; SMS had argued that the drilling work on a gold mine had been problematic.
Nathan Mitchell of Mitchell Services was also a director of Adaman until February this year.
Glenn Hunt
Governance questions gush from drilling bill spat
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Disaster can strike in many ways when drilling hundreds of metres down for minerals and metals such as gold or coal.
A man can suffer serious spinal injuries when a 270-kilogram drill rod falls on him, oil can spray over hot exhaust when a rig hydraulic line ruptures, a worker can lose his arm when his jacket entangles in rotating rods.
Nathan Mitchell with a rig during the boom times in 2009.
Glenn Hunt
There is even a 68-page code of practice published by Western Australia’s Department of Mines and Petroleum outlining ways to prevent such historical horrors.