Hodge Drilling

What Hodge Drilling does

Hodge Drilling is a privately held Australian drilling services contractor founded in December 2005 by Tony Hodgkisson and Deborah Schuster, headquartered in Hidden Valley, Queensland. The company provides geotechnical and exploration drilling services exclusively to the coal mining industry, with operations concentrated in the Bowen Basin. Its service line covers HQ, PQ, 4C, 8C, and diamond coring across a 400m to 1200m depth range, supported by ancillary offerings including SPT testing, grouting, water truck services, tilt tray services, and vehicle hire.

The technical asset base is a fleet of five multipurpose drilling rigs: the UDR 1000, DE810 UDR650, GD1400 Rotary, and two DR950 McCulloch rigs. The company has invested in fleet renewal and on-site capability, notably rebuilding the UDR 1000 (2016) and GD1400 (2009), acquiring two DR950 McCulloch rigs (2010 and 2012), and constructing a fully equipped workshop with training room (2018). These moves indicate a strategy of internalising maintenance and crew development rather than scaling via external capital.

The business operates on a contract drilling model with project-based pricing tied to drilling footage and depth. Customer acquisition is relationship-driven, leveraging the founder's 30+ years of industry contacts with mine managers and geologists across Bowen Basin coal producers. Revenue concentration is high, with no named client logos disclosed and the entire service line exposed to a single vertical (coal) and a single region (Queensland). No external funding rounds, public valuation signals, or disclosed revenue figures are referenced in the available information.

Name

Hodge Drilling

Legal name

Hodge Drilling

Website

https://hodgedrilling.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hodge Drilling is a privately held Australian drilling services contractor founded in 2005, providing geotechnical and exploration drilling exclusively to coal mining clients across a five-rig multipurpose fleet in Queensland's Bowen Basin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mining Drilling Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Mining (21311)

SIC

Mining Machinery & Equip (No Oil & Gas Field Mach & Equip) (3532)

akta.pro primary industry

Exploration & Production Drilling Services (RC, Core, Directional, Sonic, Auger) (IMAKAKAB)

Keywords

• Coal drilling services
• Exploration drilling
• Core drilling
• Mining contractor
• Geotechnical drilling

Headquarters

HQ city

Hidden Valley

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Drilling Services: Hodge Drilling generates revenue through providing contract drilling services to coal mines. Services include coring (HQ, PQ, 4C & 8C Conventional, Diamond), SPT Testing, grouting, and water truck services. Revenue is likely project-based, tied to drilling footage/depth achieved and contracted service agreements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Hodge Drilling provides contract drilling services to coal mining companies in the Bowen Basin, Queensland. Their core services include HQ, PQ, 4C and 8C conventional coring, diamond coring, SPT testing, grouting, water bore drilling, and site support services (tilt tray, water truck, vehicle hire), delivered through a fleet of five multipurpose drilling rigs.

Product overview

Hodge Drilling operates as a drilling services provider for the coal industry with five multipurpose drilling rigs in their fleet. The core offering consists of drilling services including coring (HQ, PQ, 4C and 8C conventional, and diamond coring), SPT testing, grouting, and related support services. The fleet includes the UDR 1000 Multipurpose Rig (capable to 1000 meters), DE810 UDR650 (capable to 550 meters), GD1400 Rotary Drill Rig (capable to 400 meters), and two DR950 McCulloch Multipurpose Rigs (capable to 1200 meters NQ depth). These rigs are supported by a fleet of tilt trays, grouting units, and water trucks. All vehicles and machinery are equipped with comprehensive safety accessories. The company was founded in December 2005 and has been providing services to the Bowen Basin coal mines for over 16 years.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Contract Drilling Services Professional contract drilling services for the coal mining industry including HQ, PQ, 4C and 8C conventional coring, diamond coring, SPT testing, grouting, tilt tray services, piezo services, cattle gates, water truck services, and vehicle hire. Provided to coal mining operators in the Bowen Basin, Queensland.
• UDR 1000 Multipurpose Rig Multipurpose drilling rig rebuilt in 2016, capable of open chip holes to 1000 meters, 4C coring to 600 meters, HMLC coring to 1000 meters, 6C and 8C coring, rotary mud drilling, and water bores.
• DE810 (UDR650) Multipurpose Rig Multipurpose drilling rig designed for lox holes, seismic holes, open chip holes to 550 meters, 4C coring to 500 meters, HQ3 drilling to 570 meters, and PQ3 drilling to 250 meters.
• GD1400 Rotary Drill Rig Rotary drill rig capable of open chip holes to 400 meters, 4C coring to 400 meters, and HMLC coring to 400 meters.
• DR950 McCulloch Multipurpose Rig (2010) Multipurpose drilling rig with capabilities including open chip holes, 4C and 8C coring, depth capacity of 600 meters for 6.5 inch hole chip, NQ capacity 1200 meters, HQ3 capacity 950 meters, and PQ3 capacity 600 meters.
• DR950 McCulloch Multipurpose Rig (2012) Multipurpose drilling rig with same capabilities as the 2010 model including depth capacity of 600 meters for 6.5 inch hole chip, NQ capacity 1200 meters, HQ3 capacity 950 meters, and PQ3 capacity 600 meters.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Broad incumbents

• Major Drilling Group International: Major Drilling is a global drilling services contractor with established Australian operations serving the mining industry. It provides exploration, production, and geotechnical drilling at much greater scale than Hodge, with a similar service catalogue around coring and RC drilling.
• Perenti (formerly Ausdrill): Perenti is a large ASX-listed mining services group offering surface and underground drilling, contract mining, and equipment maintenance across Australia. Its Ausdrill division directly overlaps with Hodge's exploration and production drilling services, but at much larger scale and broader commodity exposure.
• Boart Longyear: Boart Longyear is one of the world's largest mineral drilling services and equipment providers, with established operations across Australia including coal basins. It offers the same core drilling services as Hodge (core, RC, exploration) but at global scale and with integrated equipment manufacturing.

Direct peers

• Mitchell Drilling: Mitchell Drilling is an Australian drilling contractor providing exploration, geotechnical, and water bore drilling services with a comparable fleet profile to Hodge. It targets similar coal and minerals customers and competes on similar contract scopes in eastern Australia.
• DDH1 Drilling: DDH1 Drilling is an Australian-based drilling services contractor that provides exploration, production, and geotechnical drilling to the mining industry, including significant coal exposure. It competes directly with Hodge for exploration drilling contracts in Australian coal basins, with a larger fleet scale.
• Strike Drilling: Strike Drilling is an Australian drilling contractor offering RC, diamond core, and geotechnical drilling services across multiple commodities including coal. It operates a similar fleet size and target customer profile, making it a direct competitor for the same exploration contracts Hodge pursues.
• Capricorn Weston Drilling: Capricorn Weston Drilling is the Australian drilling contractor where Hodge founder Tony Hodgkisson spent his early career before founding Hodge. It is a direct historical competitor and continues to operate in the same Bowen Basin and broader Queensland coal market.

Emerging players

• Foraco International: Foraco is an international drilling services company that operates in Australia providing exploration and geotechnical drilling across multiple commodities. It competes with Hodge on cross-region mining tenders and brings a similar multi-rig multipurpose rig profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hodge-drilling

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 Hodge Drilling