Conventions

This years’ AGM and Convention took place in St.John’s Newfoundland June 2nd – June 4th. St.John’s is known for its warm, welcoming and storytelling culture. This years convention not only took place in St.Johns’ but also included events and activities that shared in the spirit of Newfoundlands’ fun and unique atmosphere.

“I was very impressed with this years AGM. Everything was well organized, the timing of the events, mealtimes, and the venue was perfect. You really outdid your self this year! I really hope to make it to next years event in Niagara, I’m sure it will be awesome as well!”

Brent KubishFordia Group powered by Epiroc

Keynote Speaker

Our keynote speaker this year was Candace Carnahan, Candace was involved in a devastating workplace incident in which she lost her lower left leg at only 21.

“It was an incident that might also have taken her life, but most important to Carnahan – it was preventable. As she grew aware that ‘tomorrow’ is a guarantee for no one, she adapted quickly – mentally and physically – to mobilize herself from a potentially paralyzing situation. ”

Candace encouraged all of our members to speak out when they see something, encouraging everyone to rise and put safety first. She encouraged all of our members to stand on their feet and cheer, “If You See Something. Say Something.”

This cheer quickly became a theme of the convention, with members constantly quoting it during their talks, together with our members made the commitment to not only bring this message to their workplace but also to their families and friends as well. We thank Candace for her bravery and strength in sharing her story.

Women in Mining Presentation by Bonnie Matthews

At this year’s convention, Bonnie Matthews HR Manager for Rambler Metals and Mining on the Baie Verte Peninsula Newfoundland gave an insightful talk on the benefits of hiring women in the mining experience. Bonnie presented to our members’ video testimonies of women working in her site, highlighting the positive impact women have in the mining industry.

Bonnie has 20 years of experience in Business/Business Management. She is an advocate for women in the workplace, especially in Mining.

Critical Risk Management by Jimmy Barrieau

Jimmy Barrieau, EHS & Training Regional Manager at Boart Longyear, spoke to our members about the importance of having a reliable management system. He highlighted that Boart Longyear currently has zero lost-time due to their implementation of an EHS system.

Jimmy has 17 years of experience working as an EHST and Managerial professional, managing teams, KPIs, and directing organizations on continuous improvement initiatives. With over 13 years of hands-on experience in drilling, mining, and all aspects of remote exploration. Jimmy is a proven professional with experience in coordinating events, acting as liaison to clients, managing large numbers of staff, training new and experienced employees

New DiscovOre Head Assembly by Brent Kubish

Brent Kubish, Account Manager Midwest Epiroc Customer Center, introduced to our members Epiroc’s New DiscovOre Head Assembly.

Brent has worked for Atlas Copco/Epiroc for 14 years and is now part of the Fordia powered by Epiroc group. He has held a number of positions within the group ranging from Customer Service rep, inside sales, to technical representative.

His primary goal is to bring new and innovative products and solutions to clients to help them achieve success in the diamond drilling market.
Responsibilities include Inventory management, trade show representation, building and maintaining trusted relationships amongst clients.

Training Standards by Dana Imbeault and Louise Lowe

Dana is the Senior Director, Operations & Canadian Mining Certification Program at MIHR. Dana is responsible for ensuring the effective and efficient operation of MiHR’s programs and activities. Dana also leads a team in the development of a suite of National Occupational Standards to be used by industry to help develop the required skills and competencies of its workforce, and leads the implementation of MiHR’s Canadian Mining Certification Program – a national program that recognizes the expertise of the industry workforce.

Louise is the Executive Director for the CDDA. She has worked for the CDDA for over 19 years and is responsible for the leadership and management of the association in accordance with the yearly strategic plan set in partnership with the CDDA Board of Directors. Louise has an influential voice within the diamond drilling industry and sits on various committees including the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME), Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) and Mining Industry Human Resources Council (MIHR).

Download Presentation: CDDA and Mihr AGM presentation

Drill Rods and Deviated Holes by Chris Drenth

Chris has spent most of his career with Boart Longyear in a variety of progressive positions. With a record of accomplishments in innovative product development and engineering leadership, he has successfully developed and led a global engineering team across offices in Canada, USA, Australia, and China, focused on Boart Longyear’s ‘Performance Tooling’ offering for production drilling and exploration drilling. Inventor of the RQ and XQ rod joints, and the Roller Latch head assembly, he has held the role of Engineering Director for Performance Tooling since 2008. Chris has been interviewed regarding performance tooling on the Boart Longyear YouTube channel. Chris received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with Honours from Queen’s University, and a Utah ‘Genius Award’ as a top-ten patent nominee in 2011.

Mining in Newfoundland by Ed Moriarity

Over the past 25 years Ed has served in the private and not-for-profit sectors, and the public service of both the Government of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 2013, Ed has served in a leadership role as Executive Director of Mining Industry NL, a business association dedicated to advancing exploration, mining and supply and service opportunities for member firms operating throughout the province. Ed holds a BA in Political Science and History from Memorial University, has completed graduate work in International Relations, and is finishing an MBA this year from Roehampton University, London. He is happily married to Christine and a proud father to Haley and Gavin.

Drilling from Ice Covers during Spring Melt by Volker Neth

Volker Neth, Ph.D., P. Eng. is by training a structural engineer and has worked increasingly in the field of ice engineering for the past 25+ years. Volker worked for Tetra Tech from 2007 to 2018 as a Structural/Ice Specialist. In 2018, Volker formed VWN Ice Engineering, providing specialized ice engineering services for the planning and construction supervision of ice drill pads, ice bridges and ice runways in Canada, Alaska and NE Russia. Volker has given seminars related to on-ice safety to industry, Department of National Defense and Government agencies.

Traditional Marketing is Dead- Getting to the Core of Digital Advertising by Mike Dupelle

Mike Dupelle is the Digital Marketer at Clark Communications. In his short 7 years of marketing experience, Mike has shifted through the times of traditional and digital marketing. Since his time working in Toronto for brands such as Molson, Rogers and Pepsi, Mike has begun working at Clark Communications out of North Bay to help build out their digital marketing services and how they can be applied to their customers.

The new fit for work by Kory Hnidan

Kory has worked for Team Drilling since 2012, in safety. He assisted Team Drilling in getting DEC certified with the CDDA and has assisted with the annual DEC certification reviews. Kory is currently the Chair of the CDDA Western Safety Group, he has been in the position since 2014. From 2004 to 2012, Kory worked for Boart Longyear Rotary/ Sonic in both safety, HR, and Training. Kory received his CRSP designation in 2015, A CRSP® is an individual who has met the requirements for registration established by the Governing Board. A CRSP® applies broad-based safety knowledge to analyze and develop systems that will achieve optimum control over hazards and exposures detrimental to people, equipment, material and the environment. A CRSP® is dedicated to the principles of loss control, incident prevention and environmental protection as demonstrated by their daily activities.

The Changing Face of Incentives in Canada by Craig Mulcahy

Craig Mulcahy is BDO’s Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Leader for Eastern Canada. Craig has over fifteen years of experience in IT consulting, aerospace, operations management, and financial consulting. He has acquired international project and operations management experience in Canada and the United States. Craig has extensive knowledge of the Canadian SR&ED environment. Craig is a frequent speaker and writer on the SR&ED program.

Cost Saving: Using Driller Gyro System for Directional Control by Don Dupuis and Glen Sigstad

Don Dupuis is the owner operator of SurveyTECH Instruments & Services. He has 22+ years of industry experience as a gyro surveyor/directional drilling consultant. When he is not working, he enjoys spending time with his wife and 2 daughters at their lake house west of Timmins, ON.

Glen Sigstad is the Assistant Operations manager at Team Drilling. He has worked in the drilling industry for over 20 years, Glen’s career started with Boart Longyear where he drilled on projects all over the world, including Africa, Peru, Switzerland, and Kyrgyzstan. Experienced in both underground and surface drilling, Glen has acquired valuable drilling knowledge utilizing BOP systems, directional drilling methods, Devico, Mud Motoring and wedging, as well as experience with helicopter and barge supported projects.

Directional Drilling by Andrew Raftis

Andrew Raftis has worked for IDS Canada in various roles over the last 10 years. He has successfully contributed his expertise to many directional drilling programs all over North America, and has an extensive background in borehole logging and downhole directional tooling.