http://www.smh.com.au/business/more-tears-ahead-or-a-round-of-dri...

http://www.smh.com.au/business/more-tears-ahead-or-a-round-of-drinks-20110411-1db3g.html

Interesting how this article released yesterday doesn't talk about the capital raising and says the contract is less than a month away but that could also mean upto a month away.

ON TRACK

Matt Birney of Coretrack is hoping that his company's prospects are brighter than his political career.

The mining services company's chairman lasted about 12 months as opposition leader for the Liberal Party in Western Australia, only to see Colin Barnett grab the limelight, a few years later.

The Coretrack chief executive, Nanne van 't Riet, thinks his fortunes will improve with a company that he says is finally making the transition from research and development into the commercial world.

It is less than a month away from securing its first "big contract" in drilling services, he says.

The contract would be for its GT3000 drill rig, which combines the attributes of the big-platform petroleum rigs and reverse circulation mineral rigs. Coretrack has built one of these so far, but intends to roll out six a year to account for the "massive shortage of rigs".

Its other division provides technology that allows oil companies to determine whether a core sample has been broken or snapped. Every time a drill rig puts a hole down to depths that exceed 3500 metres it costs big money, in some cases up to $1 million.

Van 't Riet says that Coretrack is in talks with all the oil majors, having successfully tested the product with Woodside Petroleum.

At 20?, CoreTrack's market cap is only $30 million, but it is making all the right noises to give its chairman a life beyond politics.