The RaiseBore Story

RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd is a private company, wholly owned by its founder and Managing Director, Mr Rod Bertram.

The company was formed early in 1994 by a management buy out of the Raiseboring Division that Rod had established in 1992 for a leading Diamond Drill Contractor. This Division comprised only two raiseborers, although the concept of down-reaming was introduced into the Australian market place at Mount Isa Mines in 1992, utilising one of these machines.

Since that time RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd has enjoyed rapid growth influenced by loyal clients and a buoyant market place. We have reacted to our clients’ needs by continually updating our fleet and introducing new technology to the market place. We introduced the first, and still the only, ‘intrinsically safe’ raiseborer for use underground in coal mines in 1995 at Cordeaux Colliery in New South Wales.

The first expansion occurred in January 1996 when RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd acquired all the assets of Drillcorp Raiseboring, which allowed the company to excavate long, large diameter shafts in coal mines, the first being at BHP Tower Colliery in 1996. This acquisition also allowed RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd to introduce ‘uphole’ raiseboring to the Australian market place, again in 1996, at Peak Gold Mines. Senior personnel from Drillcorp were retained to complement our existing highly trained and experienced workforce.

Further expansion took place in March 1997, when RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd successfully acquired the raiseboring assets of Pasminco Mining. This was a significant step in the company’s development allowing raises of 4.0 metre diameter to be reamed, as it coincided with the development of new mines throughout the country requiring large diameter ventilation shafts.

Raisebore International Pty Ltd was also established and incorporated as a wholly owned subsidiary of RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd in 1997. The objective of this company was to undertake raiseboring activities in the International market place with the first project being completed that year in Hong Kong.

We further developed our capacity to service clients by accepting a 50% Joint Venture Partnership offer from JS Redpath Ltd in August 1998. This separate company traded under the name of Raise Contractors International and allowed the purchase of higher capacity equipment to ream raises up to 5.0 metres in diameter. Raise Contractors International diversified by the introduction of five Alimak systems to offer Alimak raising for use when mechanised raiseboring was either not possible, or not the preferred option of the Client for any given project.

RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd further expanded in March 2000 by the acquisition of Redpath’s 50% ownership of the Joint Venture entity, Raise Contractors International. This allowed the disposal of the Alimak systems as, from a safety perspective, we firmly believe that mechanised raiseboring is the preferred option of shaft excavation and is synonymous with our corporate goal of being a specialist raiseboring company and not diversifying into other fields.

This acquisition allowed the combination of some of the previous assets to be combined with some of the assets from the acquisition, which in turn allowed the formation of Australia’s first ‘Slot Hole Division’ of raiseborers, comprising five units specifically engineered and designed to ream raises up to and including 1.5 metre diameter, with the added capacity to either ream in up-hole mode or down-ream, depending on the project requirement.

From the year 2000, RaiseBore Australia continued to consolidate its market share and position within Australia, whilst further expanding its international operations into Europe, with the first project commencing in Portugal in August 2000.

RaiseBore Australia Pty Ltd discontinued its international operations following the terrorist attacks on New York in 2001 and resumed its international operations in 2007 with projects in New Zealand and Vietnam. The Company is currently operating in West Africa and will commence its first project in India during December 2010.

RaiseBore Australia introduced its new branding, logo and identity on the 10th November 2010, symbolising the dawn of a new era of global focus.

The company is proud of its growth and achievements, which would not have been possible without a dedicated workforce, many of whom have in excess of ten years service, and loyal clients.

RaiseBore will continue to offer unparalleled service to the mining industry in both metalliferous - hard rock and coal as well as civil construction, whilst maintaining our responsibility for the safety of our personnel, the environment and continue to act as a responsible corporate citizen.