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Energold Announces New Record Number of
Meters Drilled on Second Quarter 2011
Energold Drilling Corp. ("Energold" or the "Company") is pleased
to announce that it has drilled another company record of 155,300 meters in
the second quarter of 2011, up from the previous record of 125,800 meters
in the first quarter of 2011. This also represents a
81% increase over the comparable period in 2010 of 86,000 meters.
Summary
of Quarterly (Q) Meters Drilled
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Q2 - 2010
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6 Months Ended
June 30, 2010
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Q2 -- 2011
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6 Months Ended
June 30, 2011
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Meters Drilled
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86,000
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140,400
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155,300
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281,100
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A substantial portion of the drilling continues to be the more
competitively bid "brownfields" exploration, typically mine sites
or near mine site drilling, however, an increasing portion of the drilling
mix over the last few quarters has been shifting towards 'frontier
drilling' in areas such as West Africa and South America. New rigs
currently being mobilized and arriving in the second half of the year will
be dedicated primarily to servicing this market. As there is a lag between
developing a new rig and transportation to the site, these new rigs should
impact on the average rate per meter during the balance of the year and
into 2012. Mexico experienced a significant increase in demand and
productivity contributing to over 40% of the total meters drilled for the 6
months ended June 30th, with numerous rigs concentrated on a few major
"brownfields" projects. Brazil, Central America and Peru continue
to remain active and most recently Argentina showed increased demand from the
prior year as more rigs are deployed to these markets. Africa's growth
continues to be very strong with approximately one third of the fleet now
located there with most programs devoted to frontier oriented projects.
At June 30, 2011, the Company had 115 mineral drilling rigs with 3 more
under construction in response to continued demand for highly mobile
drilling rigs and increased exploration expenditures in frontier drilling.
The fleet includes 89 EGD Highly Mobile Surface Rigs, 7 Underground Rigs as
well as a number of conventional rigs. Operational efficiencies and
capabilities derived from the Company's continuous investment in research
and development have been implemented through the retrofit of a number of
the rigs to enhance their performance. In addition, promising field testing
of new prototypes designed to expand the capabilities of our highly mobile
fleet should add significant value by enabling the extension of services
offered to our clients. The total rig fleet count now stands at 234 rigs,
including 119 rigs from the recent acquisition of Bertram International
Corp. ("Bertram") which comprises a mix of oil sands coring, shot
hole seismic and geothermal drilling rigs.
As reported on July 25, 2011, the Company completed the acquisition of 100%
of the outstanding shares of Bertram (Carbon, AB) on July 25, 2011. Bertram
is currently drilling on numerous geothermal projects in the U.S.A. with a
pipeline of energy projects scheduled for the fall and winter season.
The Company's manufacturing division, Dando
Drilling International Ltd. (U.K.) ("Dando"),
has experienced positive growth for the first half of the fiscal year. Dando shipped 19 drilling rig units to organizations in
the mining and water well sectors. As previously announced, Energold is exploring the potential to expand into the
water well drilling services business through the establishment of a new
division. Based on recent market intelligence and the strong demand for
water well drilling rigs recently recorded by Dando,
especially in the African markets, there is an indication of a growing
market for providing rigs and experienced crews able to efficiently and
effectively carry out the increasing number of programs.
The financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2011 will be
released in the last week of August.
Energold Drilling Corp. is an environmentally and
socially sensitive diamond drilling company, taking the lead on what is
rapidly becoming the new standard for the mining industry. Energold holds 7 million shares of IMPACT Silver Corp.,
a profitable silver producer in Mexico.
On behalf of the Directors of Energold Drilling
Corp.,
"Frederick W. Davidson"
President, CEO
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