Crew on site Monday. Tier-1 invoice cycle starts in 120 days. A mining services contractor had won a new drilling contract and needed $500K to mobilise crew, fund consumables and meet bond requirements before drilling could begin. They owned a Sandvik DD420 surface drill rig and four modular accommodation units outright. ABL released the equity, fitted GPS tracking, and the rig was on the remote site drilling. The rig was the security. The drilling started on schedule.
The situation
Mobilisation capital for a new tier-1 mining contract. A short-term gap between the upfront cost of getting crew and gear to a remote site and the tier-1 client’s 120-day payment terms.
The contractor owned a Sandvik DD420 surface drill rig and four modular accommodation units outright. All of it ready to deploy. None of it deployable without crew and consumables already paid for.
This is what asset-based lending looks like at its simplest. A business owns an asset with equity in it. They need short-term cash. ABL releases the equity for the loan term, and the asset comes home on repayment. Same shape as a home equity loan, just with a different asset class.
The asset
A Sandvik DD420 surface drill rig and four modular accommodation units. All owned outright by the contractor. All ready for mobilisation to a remote tier-1 mining site.
For an asset-based lender, that’s enough to underwrite. The asset is the security, the business is the borrower, the deal doesn’t need a polished P&L to make sense.
The need
$500K for crew mobilisation, fuel, consumables and bond requirements. The kind of cash that has to land before the rig leaves the depot, not after the bank has spent two months understanding tier-1 mining payment terms.
The structure
The deal went through as a Track It facility. $500K disbursed. Total loan amount was $540,000 with fees built in. A GPS tracking unit fitted to the drill rig for the loan term.
Rig mobilised to site. Accommodation occupied. Drilling started on schedule. ABL had visibility on the asset, the contractor had mobilisation cash, the tier-1 contract delivered against milestones.
That’s the Track It structure. The rig stays in service across the loan term and the tracker comes off on repayment.
- Product: Track It
- Asset: Sandvik DD420 surface drill rig + four modular accommodation units, owned outright
- Disbursement: $500K
- Loan amount: $540,000 (includes fees)
- Use of funds: Mobilisation capital / crew, consumables, bonds
- Security: GPS tracker fitted, rig remained on site
The outcome
Funds in the contractor’s account before mobilisation week. Rig drilling on the remote site, GPS confirming location, loan repaying out of the first two invoice cycles as the tier-1 client cleared them. New contract delivered on schedule.
Mining services is high-margin work with brutal payment terms. Tier-one clients pay on their own time. We can bridge the gap from mobilisation to the first invoice cycle without anyone needing to wait.
Why this deal worked
Three things had to be true for the deal to work. They’re the same three things every Track It deal needs:
- An asset with real equity, owned outright. Neither the rig nor the accommodation was financed. Both could be secured cleanly while staying on the project.
- A short-term gap, not a long-term issue. The need was for a few months, not years. That’s the kind of bridge ABL is built for.
- The right product for the asset. The rig had to be on site drilling from day one of the contract. Track It kept it earning while the mobilisation bridge ran.
If your client has won a tier-1 mining contract and needs to mobilise against long payment terms, that’s an ABL conversation. The plant they need to deliver the contract is the security that funds the mobilisation. Same shape as a home equity loan, except the security is a drill rig on a remote site.
Got a contractor mobilising on a tier-1 contract?
If your client owns the plant they need to deliver a new tier-1 contract and needs cash for mobilisation, Track It is the structure. We release the equity, fit a tracker, and the plant gets to site. Free desktop valuation and a clear borrowing figure, all inside 2 hours. Same-day settlement when the asset is secured.