Managing Director at Topdrill
Tim Topham moved to Australia from New Zealand with a degree in agricultural science and the dream of owning a farm. Eventually, he found himself at a drill rig, and just a couple of years later, in 2006, he started Todrill.
The 2008 financial crisis decimated the Australian market. Work dried up, and Tim had to figure out how to make ends meet.
The same year, he bought his first brand-new rig, and in the following, as the industry was grappling with the effects of the crisis, Topdrill was only growing.
Tim admits that success wasn’t a smooth ride, but today, he is the Managing Director of the company in charge of 425 people, a fleet of 32 rigs, and projects across Western Australia and the Northern Territories.
Over the years, Tim has also won numerous awards, became part of the coveted cohort of 40 Under 40 for 2019, joined the board of ADIA in 2022, and developed the Toplytics software before AI was the talk of town.
Grigor Topev: Hi Tim! It’s an honor to have you as Coring’s interviewee! First, tell us as much as you can about your early years and how did you get involved in the drilling industry?
Tim Topham: I moved to Kalgoorlie, Western Australia from New Zealand straight after I graduated university, with a dream of making enough money one day to be able to buy a farm. The Goldfields was booming at the time, and I had heard that drilling was a great career pathway to earning a great income, and there was plenty of drilling, jobs and mining activity around Kalgoorlie.
GT: How did you decide to start Topdrill?
TT: If you ask my parents, I have always had an entrepreneurial streak with many business ideas in my high school days. Then in 2006, I saw an opportunity in the market to get closer to my dream farm and purchased my first drill rig. The demand for mining services was huge at the time in the Goldfields.
GT: What were the toughest moments for you, trying to establish a brand-new company on the Australian drilling market?
TT: Starting any business comes with immense challenges, and most of your learnings happen from failing first. Resilience is a must!
Two years into founding Topdrill, the Great Financial Crysis hit. Work dried up overnight and my brother also exited the business at the same time, returning to New Zealand. I was on my own to run the business and had to quickly figure out how to make ends meet. These moments taught me so many lessons about determination, innovation and my ability to pivot.
GT: Please tell us about the most important milestones in the company’s development throughout the years.
TT: Purchasing my first brand new drill rig in 2008 was definitely a milestone. Bringing hands free rod handling to diamond rigs in WA, winning the 40 under 40 Awards, Best Large Business sticks in my mind, and developing a product before AI was a word on everyone’s mind – Toplytics.
We developed Toplytics three years ago – this software has transformed our performance and safety compliance.
This year, Topdrill achieved the goal of raising AUD 1 million for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and Full Circle Therapies which was an absolute milestone and achievement by the team.
Today, we are a well-oiled high-performing team focused on quality drilling, backed up by the best gear and people in the drilling industry.
GT: Please tell our readers about Topdrill today.
TT: Today, Topdrill is one of the largest private founder-led drilling companies in Australia. We offer RC, DD and water well drilling services. We currently have 32 drill rigs in our fleet (19 Schramm 685 rigs, 13 Sandvik D880 rigs and one T130 rig). Our team is 425 members strong with rigs drilling across both Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Projects primarily include gold, lithium and iron ore markets.
Below are the drilling statistics for FY24.
RC DRILLING:
Total meters drilled: 642 198 m (2 106 949 ft);
Number of holes drilled: 3733;
Deepest hole: 648.2 m (2126.64 ft).
DD DRILLING:
Total meters drilled: 215 156 m (to be exact: 215 155.5 m/ 705 890.75 ft);
Number of holes drilled: 906;
Deepest hole: 1170 m (3839 ft).
GT: Which are the company’s most remarkable projects?
TT: The most remarkable projects include:
Sandfire Resources DeGrussa Copper find
De Grey Mining Hemi Gold discovery (13 m ounce deposit)
Spartan Resources Gold discovery
Capricorn Metals Gold discovery
Northern Star Resources Gold discovery
GT: Many of our readers are not Australian, how would you describe the Australian drilling market to them? In your view, what makes it different compared to other regions like Canada, Latin America, or Africa?
TT: Ground water in the Goldfields region is eight times saltier than the ocean. We also operate in temperatures above 45°C (113°F). And some of our projects are 4300 km (2672 mi) away from home base!
GT: Which are the ‘hottest’ drilling spots in Australia right now?
TT: The Goldfields region in Western Australia continues to be a hot drilling spot with some of the largest gold deposits in the world. We also have a new discovery of gold in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Lithium is a focus currently and is a mineral that has not been prospected in Western Australia. Western Australia is lucky enough to be endowed with some of the best spodumene deposits in the world!
GT: What’s the competition like and is there anything on the Australian market that should change?
TT: We are currently experiencing a downturn in rig utilization in the Australian market. That means Topdrill has to continuously strive to enhance our efficiency and competitiveness to maintain our strong position as market leaders. That brings its own set of challenges, particularly with the added pressure of inflation.
Our team at Topdrill remains committed and focused on overcoming these obstacles by our focus on innovation, drilling quality and continued excellence in customer satisfaction.
GT: What do you think gives Topdrill an edge over the competition?
TT: Topdrill has a reputation of a performance culture, underpinned by safety and integrity, we are driven and focused on our vision to be market leaders.
Topdrill is unique from competitors as for the past four years we have invested heavily into our in-house data and analytics, developing Toplytics for our clients to view key drilling performance, safety and compliance data in real time – no matter their location.
GT: Personally, what would you like to see change or evolve within Topdrill in the next 10 years?
TT: In ten years, our Topdrill Drill School will continue to produce the best graduates in the country, and our teams will be renowned for their performance and capability.
As AI and technology develops, Topdrill will take advantage of autonomous methodologies to achieve safer operations and even more drilling productivity.
Topdrill is also investigating electrification and alternate fuels such as hydrogen to power drill rigs. We also continue to focus on ESG initiatives throughout the business.
GT: Have you worked in other countries, and do you have any future plans in that regard?
TT: Topdrill has plans to further expand its global footprint and is currently in talks with stakeholders to investigate opportunities to take our expertise and service offering into jurisdictions where we see we can add value.
GT: What is the most effective and practical tool for good drill site safety?
TT: Good quality equipment, training and awareness and a robust, ongoing Verification of Competencies process for our team.
GT: What qualities do you look for in a new employee?
TT: Qualities include:
- Technical expertise;
- A team player with good communication skills;
- Growth mindset and a clear willingness to learn;
- Can-do attitude;
- Demonstrates practical and adaptable attributes.
GT: Finally, what do you like to do in your free time? Any hobbies outside the drilling world?
TT: I enjoy off-roading with my family in and around the Goldfields region. We also spend some time on the white sandy beaches of Esperance, located on the south-west coast of Western Australia.
