In the business of mineral exploration drilling, sonic drill rig manufacturers agree in saying that the right equipment for the job and proper drill rigs are of paramount importance if you want to ace the bidding process, complete project contracts and eventually earn a good amount of profits. Acquiring a new drill rig is a qualified major decision, and there are a lot of factors and variables that can impact this.
The million-dollar question we have here regarding this matter is, will your newly acquired drill rig help you make more money? Or will it eventually cost you more owning one?
According to the top sonic drill rig manufacturers, in the recent economic slowdown, there are a handful of drill rigs that have remained inactive. This explains the reason why it is a lot easier to cannibalize parts and components so that active drilling rigs will keep on running.
Operations managers have a good hunch as to which of the components (valves, engines, assemblies, etc.) are in immediate need of replacement. It is not surprising to know that they can accurately make a good guess on how much it will cost them to rebuild an oil drill rig in their fleet.
Should they determine that the rebuilding costs are in close range to how much it would cost them to buy a brand new rig, they are likely to take on a full-blast audit. This may necessitate them to make an inspection of the drill rigs, check maintenance records, or evaluate spare parts in stock. All these measures allow for a more accurate cost comparison analysis so that the drill rig will soon be up and running again.
- Resources
Other than costs, there are many other things that you need to factor in including talent or if the company can carry out an overhaul on a drill rig which has remained idle for a long time now and will need to get back to work. There is so much drudgery in the overhaul process and thus may take 3-4 months. You need to have the right kind of facilities, knowledge, and skills on how to get your drill rigs ready for drilling contracts
2. Availability
With the market getting better each time, it makes it safe to anticipate longer lead times ahead, regardless if your buying something new or rebuilding your old one. If the market is on the low, the natural tendency of inventory is to go higher. Plants are not so very preoccupied with the building of brand new rigs, as for the lead times, there are also lesser lead times.
If the market tends to go up and rise, contracts would increase while the inventory is low. Plants would be much more preoccupied with building more rigs. The lead time would be rising and increase. With respect to the manufacturer, lead times would ultimately vary.
3. New Technology
Acquiring a new drill rig, even if you still have your older drill rig fleet gives you a good chance to productively drill more meters. It is fairly easy to understand that newer rigs makes you more productive and give you a much more reliable uptime. In addition to that, compared to older rigs, they come with more safety features.
With increased safety requirements for a mine site, a new rig can have better chances of meeting those safety measures which an older rig might fail at.
A market downturn can easily cause the springing of a lot of great buys. While there is a looming further improvement for the market, price points are more likely to go up as the availability decreases.