Surface Mining

Sub-contractor Since 1982

From first cut to final closure

We work on mines from the first development cut to closure: open pit production, road excavation, site preparation, drop-raising, shaft collaring, long-hole drilling, and quarrying for backfill and tailings dams.

We have done this work since 1982, most of it in the hard rock of the Canadian Shield.

Surface Development

What surface work looks like

Pre-stripping & site preparation

Overburden and rock removal to open a deposit, on jobs as large as an estimated 8 million cubic metres of rock drilled and blasted.

Open pit mining

Production drill and blast in open pit operations, with fragmentation and dilution control tuned to the mill downstream.

Shaft collaring & drop-raising

Collar excavation and drop-raise work to establish access, including shaft portions at 7 metres in diameter.

Road & access excavation

Haul road and access construction across rough northern terrain.

Quarrying

Backfill and tailings dam quarrying, plus limestone and granite production.

Long-hole drilling

Surface long-hole programs, including more than 4,000 m of 4.5″ to 8″ holes on a recent Ontario job.

Scale

Large volumes

Surface production is a logistics problem as much as a drilling one. Bulk emulsion manufactured at or near the project cuts haul distances, reduces the number of times finished explosive is transferred, and keeps crews loading in cold weather and rough terrain.

Recent pre-strip: 8M m³
Long-hole drilled: 4,000 m+
Hole sizes: 2″–15″

Discuss a project

Projects

Open pit and site preparation

Surface drilling and blasting at mines in Ontario.

Surface mining
Côté Gold
Ontario · Surface drill & blast
Surface drill and blast on the Côté Gold mine development — one of the largest open-pit gold projects built in Canada in recent years.
Surface mining
Lac des Îles Mine
Thunder Bay, Ontario · Surface drill & blast · 6 years
Surface drill and blast at the Lac des Îles mine, north-west of Thunder Bay — continuous work on site for the past six years.
Surface mining
Macassa Mine
Kirkland Lake, Ontario · Surface drill & blast · ongoing
Surface drill and blast at the Macassa mine in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
Surface mining
Mine Site Preparation
Ontario · 2020–Present
An estimated 8 million cubic metres of rock to be drilled and blasted for pre-stripping and miscellaneous civil work.

Specialty Blasting

Tailings, dams & spillways

Spillways and dam raises are cut into rock right beside the structures they serve. We design to the vibration limit at the dam from measured data, monitor every blast, and report every result against the limit.