Rock On Ground

What Rock On Ground does

Rock On Ground Pty Ltd is a privately-owned Australian drilling and blasting contractor providing production drilling, controlled blasting, bulk explosives supply and reverse circulation (RC) grade control drilling for open pit mining operations and resource-based civil infrastructure projects in Western Australia. Founded in 2005 by Alan Vickery (Managing Director), the firm began with close-to-infrastructure blasting for Rio Tinto's Hope Downs project and grew alongside the major iron ore expansions led by Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG and Roy Hill before pivoting in 2010 into full drill-and-blast mining services, anchored by a multi-year relationship with Saracen Gold Mines (now Northern Star) at Carosue Dam and Thunderbox.

The company operates a mixed fleet of 24 drill rigs spanning top hammer (Sandvik DP1500i with GPS), down-the-hole hammer (Epiroc D65) and RC grade control (Atlas Copco L8-30, Epiroc D65) configurations, and is vertically integrated into explosives supply via an owned fleet of IEE Bulk Explosive trucks (MPU/MMU) with on-site bulk storage facilities. Core products — Drilling Services, Blasting Services (including presplit and contour/pioneering work), RC Grade Control Drilling and Explosives Supply — are delivered under multi-year contracts directly to mining customers and civil contractors across the Pilbara, Goldfields and Kimberley regions.

Rock On Ground generates revenue through contract-based service pricing for open pit mining and civil projects, with multi-year terms negotiated on drilling volumes, blast frequency, rig count, personnel and explosives volumes; a disclosed Thunderbox contract was valued at approximately A$48 million over a 51-month term. Distribution is direct via field service delivery — no resellers or intermediaries — supported by an enterprise sales motion targeting tier-1 miners and tier-1 civil contractors. The firm is ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 certified through Ashburton Assurance Australasia, maintains a proprietary BSAFE2ZERO safety program, and operates from headquarters in Malaga, WA with an operational workshop in Kalgoorlie. Customer concentration spans iron ore (Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG, Roy Hill, Citic Pacific), gold (Saracen Metals, Doray Minerals, Silver Lake, Pantoro's Halls Creek, SMS Innovative), lithium (Pilbara Minerals) and civil contractors (NRW, Macmahon, Thiess, Watpac, Laing O'Rourke, CMC).

Name

Rock On Ground

Legal name

Rock on Ground Pty Ltd

Website

https://rockonground.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Rock On Ground is a privately-owned Australian drilling and blasting contractor delivering production drilling, controlled blasting, bulk explosives supply, and RC grade control drilling for open pit mining and civil infrastructure projects across Western Australia, serving tier-1 miners and major civil contractors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Mining Services (Drill and Blast)

NAICS

Support Activities for Metal Mining (213114), Support Activities for Nonmetallic Minerals (except Fuels) Mining (213115), Support Activities for Mining (2131)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000), Mining & Quarrying Of Nonmetallic Minerals (No Fuels) (1400)

akta.pro primary industry

Blasting & Explosives Services (Drill-and-Blast, Explosives Supply, Shot Services) (IMAKAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mine Operations Contracting (Open-Pit & Underground Development, Production, Load/Haul) (IMAKAKAD), Mine Construction & Development Contracting (Shaft Sinking, Tunneling, Pre-Strip, Civil Works) (IMAKAKAG)

Keywords

• Drill and blast services
• Production drilling
• Open pit mining services
• RC grade control drilling
• Bulk explosives supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Perth

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Drilling and Blasting Services: Contract-based services for open pit mining operations including production drilling, presplit, contour/pioneering drilling, and blasting. Revenue is generated through long-term service contracts with mining companies, typically spanning multiple years with fixed and variable components based on drilling volumes and blast frequency.
2. RC Grade Control Drilling: Reverse circulation drilling services for ore body definition and grade confirmation prior to and during mining operations.
3. Explosives Supply: Supply of bulk and initiating explosives, ANFO manufacturing and delivery using company-owned MPU trucks and bulk storage facilities on-site.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Rock on Ground provides production drilling, controlled blasting, bulk explosives supply, and reverse circulation (RC) grade control drilling services for open pit mining operations and civil infrastructure projects in Western Australia. The company operates a 24-rig mixed fleet of top hammer, DTH, and RC drill rigs, alongside its own fleet of IEE bulk explosive trucks with on-site bulk storage, delivering contract-based services to iron ore, gold, and lithium miners and civil contractors.

Product overview

Rock on Ground is a privately-owned drilling and blasting contractor providing a comprehensive suite of services for open pit mining operations and civil infrastructure projects in Australia. The company operates a mixed fleet of 24 drill rigs (top hammer, DTH hammer, and RC grade control) and maintains its own fleet of IEE Bulk Explosive trucks with dedicated on-site bulk explosive storage facilities. The core service portfolio comprises four integrated offerings: Drilling Services (production drilling using Sandvik DP1500i and Epiroc D65 rigs), Blasting Services (controlled blasting including presplit and contour work), RC Grade Control Drilling (using Atlas Copco L8-30 and D65 rigs for ore body definition), and Explosives Supply (bulk ANFO and emulsion delivery via company-owned MPU trucks). Services are provided to mining clients across gold, iron ore, and lithium operations, as well as civil infrastructure projects requiring blasting near existing structures.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drilling Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Thunderbox project valued at approximately $48 million over 51 months
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Dawsons Blasting Services: Australian drill-and-blast contractor providing production drilling, presplit and blasting services to open pit mining operations—a direct peer in the mid-market WA contract blasting segment.
• National Group: Western Australia-based drill and blast contractor providing production drilling, blasting, and explosives services to the Pilbara iron ore and Goldfields mining sectors—a near-direct competitor to Rock on Ground in both geography and service mix.
• Jet Demolition: Australian specialist contractor with strong capabilities in controlled blasting near sensitive infrastructure (refineries, pipelines, structures)—directly comparable to Rock on Ground's close-to-infrastructure blasting niche across industrial and mining sites.
• BGC Contracting: Diversified WA-based mining and civil contractor offering drill-and-blast services to iron ore and gold miners; competes with Rock on Ground for Pilbara production drilling and civil blasting work.
• Macmahon: ASX-listed mining contractor providing drill-and-blast as part of broader surface mining services across Australia. Both a Rock on Ground customer (rail duplication) and a competitor on integrated mining contracts.

Broad incumbents

• Perenti (formerly Ausdrill): Large ASX-listed mining services group offering drilling, blasting, and production mining across multiple commodities and geographies; competes with Rock on Ground on Tier 1 miner contracts with broader portfolio capabilities.
• Orica: Global leader in commercial explosives and blasting systems; competes with Rock on Ground's in-house explosives supply and provides bulk emulsion products to the WA mining sector.
• Dyno Nobel: Major global explosives supplier with strong Australian mining sector presence; competes with Rock on Ground's owned MPU truck fleet and on-site bulk explosives supply operations.
• Downer EDI Mining: ASX-listed diversified mining services contractor with drilling, blasting and full mining services capabilities; competes with Rock on Ground on integrated mining contracts in Australia.
• NRW Holdings: Diversified WA civil and mining contractor offering drill-and-blast as part of broader surface mining and civil infrastructure work; both a Rock on Ground customer and competitor on integrated Pilbara contracts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rock On Ground