Aquirian has begun mobilising at Brightstar Resources’ Lord Byron site and started a $200,000 grade control drilling program. The work is the first operational step under a broader three-year contract valued at approximately $48 million.
- Lord Byron site mobilisation has commenced
- Initial grade control drilling program valued at approximately $200,000
- Work forms part of an approximately $48 million, three-year Brightstar contract
- Aquirian says further scope may create additional revenue under the agreement
Aquirian begins work under Brightstar contract
Aquirian Limited (ASX:AQN) has moved its Lord Byron agreement with Brightstar Resources Limited (ASX:BTR) from mobilisation plans to on-site activity, commencing work at the project and starting an initial grade control drilling program.
The drilling package is valued at approximately $200,000 and sits within a wider Strategic Framework Agreement covering Brightstar’s Goldfields Hub. That broader Lord Byron contract is valued at approximately $48 million over three years.
Initial drilling adds a modest first work package
The immediate award is small beside the headline contract, but it gives Aquirian an operating foothold at the site while personnel and equipment support Brightstar’s resource definition activities. The company said the grade control work adds incremental revenue under the agreement and may be followed by further scope.
The announcement follows Lord Byron mobilisation plans, when Aquirian said Drillforce was preparing to begin work at the project in October. Earlier, the company had also disclosed the three-year Brightstar contract as a major growth opportunity for its drilling services business.
Execution now matters more than contract headline
Managing Director Greg Patching described the initial program as “relatively modest”, while saying it underscored Aquirian’s strategic partnership model. He said the company expected to ramp up its drill and blast operations in the coming weeks and would focus on executing the program safely.
Aquirian has not disclosed revenue timing, margins, production volumes or the detailed allocation of work across the three-year arrangement. The next meaningful markers are therefore operational: the pace of mobilisation, the start of broader drill and blast activity, and whether additional awards emerge under the Strategic Framework Agreement.
Bottom Line?
The $48 million contract is now generating activity, but its value to Aquirian will depend on how quickly the initial work expands into sustained drill and blast operations.
Questions in the middle?
- How quickly will Aquirian move from grade control drilling into the broader Lord Byron drill and blast scope?
- What proportion of the approximately $48 million contract will be converted into revenue in the first year?
- Will further work packages under the Strategic Framework Agreement materially exceed the initial $200,000 program?