Byrnecut Offshore
Perth-based Byrnecut Offshore is an internationally renowned specialist underground mining contractor, offering a unique range of services and expertise. The business first started exporting its services to Tanzania in 1999, and today have major customers in Mali, Burkina Faso and in Canada with its joint venture servicing the BHP Jansen project.
Need
When Byrnecut Offshore won a mining contract for the Jabal Sayid copper mine in Saudi Arabia, it needed finance to assist with purchasing mining equipment, maintenance, and workforce training to enable the business carry out its services.
Solution
Our $10m loan enabled Byrnecut Offshore to continue with its underground mining operations at Jabal Sayid.
Byrnecut Offshore needed finance to support a new market opportunity in Saudi Arabia. Export Finance was able to provide a solution when their existing financiers could not.
“As a full services underground mining contractor we will provide all of the equipment, the services to access underground mining, ground support, ventilation, power, water,all of the employees and technical expertise,” explained their Treasurer, Mark O’Sullivan. “Our job is to develop the mine, extract the ore and bring it to the surface.” Byrnecut Offshore says that it’s working relationships help drive its business.
“Underground mining contracting is a relatively small industry and it really is about relationships and people we’ve had contact within the past,” said Mark. It was exactly this kind of relationship-building that led Byrnecut Offshore to work with Export Finance Australia. It was in 2005 when our Project & Structured Finance Director, Jan Fuchter, first connected Export Finance Australia with Byrnecut Offshore.
“I’ve known Jan for many years. He had been following the Byrnecut Offshore story and we’ve had regular meetings for 15 years,” Mark said. “We’ve provided Export Finance Australia with the details of our operations and finance – you’ve seen our growth.
When the opportunity arose, Export Finance Australia was there. It was just the same as if we were approaching one of our traditional financiers. No different, it was seamless, and we were quite satisfied.
Peter Sullivan
Finance Director, Byrnecut Offshore
The opportunity for finance support
When Byrnecut Offshore won a mining contract for the Jabal Sayid copper mine in Saudi Arabia, it needed finance. This would assist with purchasing mining equipment, maintenance, and workforce training to enable the business to carry out its services.
“None of our traditional bankers were interested in lending money for us to go into Saudi Arabia. We get external financing outside of Export Finance Australia for Burkina Faso and Mali, but we couldn’t get it for Saudi Arabia,” said their Finance Director, Peter Sullivan.
“When the opportunity arose, Export Finance Australia was there. It was just the same as if we were approaching one of our traditional financiers. No different, it was seamless, and we were quite satisfied,” said Peter.
We worked closely with Byrnecut Offshore to understand its business. After completing our credit assessment, our $10m loan enabled Byrnecut Offshore to continue with its underground mining operations at Jabal Sayid.
Byrnecut Offshore said it would recommend working with us to other businesses requiring financial support. “Absolutely. We needed working capital and cash funds for equipment financing, and Export Finance Australia came onboard,” said Mark.
“Export Finance Australia assists when we were unable to access other finance markets.”