Contract extension to see Wallis Drilling pass 25-year mark of operations at Murrin Murrin mine near Leonora

A just-signed three-year contract extension will take Perth-based Wallis Drilling past the quarter-century mark of operations at the Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt mine east of Leonora. Wallis Drilling said it had provided services to the Glencore-owned operation for 24 years and the contract extension, running through to September 2025, would see it continue to provide reverse circulation grade control and blast hole drilling at Murrin Murrin. The business, founded in 1965 by Marty and Jamie Wallis, has grown to more than 300 employees, but remained family run. Wallis Drilling chief operating officer Grant Wallis said the business’ work at Murrin Murrin “has helped us grow from a small family business to one of Australia’s largest privately owned minerals drilling companies, while still remaining true to our local WA roots”. Drilling manager Wayne Waters, who oversees the Murrin Murrin contract, said the contract extension provided business certainty to Wallis, giving the company the capacity to plan for the long-term on site and deliver the best operational outcomes. Murrin Murrin is a major nickel-cobalt mining and processing operation 45km east of Leonora and currently provides work for more than 1000 employees and contractors. Head of mining technical services at Murrin Murrin, Nic Fenner, said the strong relationship with Wallis Drilling had been underpinned by the companies’ shared values and culture. “Murrin Murrin and Wallis both have many long-serving employees, with some even being the second generation in their family to work at Murrin Murrin,” he said. In Australia, Glencore produces coal, copper, cobalt, nickel, zinc, lead, silver and gold from 25 mining operations. The company also operate metals processing assets in Queensland, New South Wales, WA and the Northern Territory, including smelters, concentrators and refineries. They employ 17,350 people in Australia and in 2021 contributed $14 billion to the regional, State and national economies.