RIMCO awards technical services contract to NV5

Resource Improvement and Manufacturing Company Limited (RIMCO), under the umbrella of Nigerian-based Chicason Group, awarded Florida-based NV5 Global Inc. a contract to handle its technical services.

The contract signed by the two companies was worth more than $3 million. NV5 was paid in advance for all sub-phases, along with a 30 percent pre-payment for program initiation.

"Our talented technical professionals are constantly approached with lucrative international opportunities and we have developed a rigorous vetting process that allows us to engage in a small number of opportunities that meet our strict financial and health and safety criteria," Dickerson Wright, professional engineer, chairman and CEO of NV5, said.

To fund its West African projects, Chicason has secured an $80 million line of credit from Afriexim Bank.

The services will be provided in multiple phases and will commence after a reconnaissance survey and bankable feasibility study are completed. During the first phase, an integrated geological-geochemical-geophysical and geomorphological survey focused on airborne magnetic and radiometric work. In addition, geological mapping will be conducted.

The focus of the second phase will be identification of potential drill targets on gold and diamond mines.

"We are excited about the opportunity to provide higher-end mining services for a major international resource development conglomerate such as RIMCO/Chicason Group," Paul Fensterer, NV5 COO of Nuclear and Environmental Services, said. "Due to our long-standing client relationship through NV5's international mining expert Dr. Andy Chakrabarti, combined with the experienced leadership provided by our Mining Services Group manager Mike Hulst, who has managed professional services on complex mining projects, NV5 is uniquely positioned for a very successful and potentially long term engagement on this significant project with our client."

Dr. Andy Chakrabarti, NV5's senior consultant, said the partnership would be mutually beneficial for NV5v and RIMCO.

"I have known and worked closely with the Chicason Group for several years, in their mining as well as in the oil and gas sectors," Chakrabarti said. "The company's resources portfolio, through RIMCO, is very substantial and it is a privilege to work with Chicason via NV5, an engineering group of international repute. Proximity of RIMCO's concessions to known gold, diamond and iron ore areas is of particular interest, and within the broad regional framework, conducive to such mineralization, of economic interest."