Diamond drillers association hopes 2014 will sparkle

The Canadian Diamond Drilling Association (CDDA) is working to unite the industry. The association, with over 100 members, deals with government agencies and lobbies for mineral producers in Canada.

The CDDA's established committees are mandated to investigate specific needs for the industry. Through its committees, the CDDA scans the world for information on technical matters and health and safety issues, to keep the Canadian drilling industry a leader in the world.

Robert Fleming, president of the CDDA, said he's hoping for a bright future in 2014.

"As you can see, the Canadian diamond drilling industry is in a dreadful state," said Fleming. "A large number of Canadian companies are reporting a 60 per cent—in some cases higher—drop in rig utilization over the past year. It wasn't that many months ago the same companies were reporting record profits. As we know, the drilling industry can be very cyclical. We are all hoping that 2013 will be the bottom."

A global issue

Ryan Samis, on the board of directors for CDDA and head of the technical committee, said the reason for such a major drop in utilization is the global markets.

"Overall the demand for commodities and minerals is dictated by the demand of emerging markets," he said. "Canada is affected by this and in turn junior players. China is on a slowdown and has dropped its GDP growth by three or four per cent. Then you have emerging markets like India and Brazil.

"Because these bigger players have massive populations and are developing their economies, they need these minerals to grow their infrastructure. When it slows down, the demand goes down. Also when the demand isn't there, the prices drop."

According to Samis, analysts had predicted this would be a slow time for the industry and by 2013 it should recovering.

"There will be another emerging market in the world that will need these minerals and commodities," he said. "We will fit that demand and come out of this cycle."

Losing valuable employees

According to Fleming, the biggest concern during these downturns is the loss of skilled and trained labour moving to other industries as work in the drilling industry dries up. Many companies have invested a lot of time and money in safety and environmental training for their employees.

"Losing skilled and trained labour is devastating to the industry," he said. "Once it rebounds, companies once again have to invest into training of new workers unfamiliar to the industry. Hoping not to be overly optimistic, we are seeing a few signs that we are at the bottom of this downturn and seeing a slow but gradual increase in drilling budgets and projects in early 2014."

Raising standards

One initiative the CDDA is proud to be launching is Drillers Excellence Certification (DEC). The goal of the program is to establish a new, higher standard of quality in the diamond drilling industry. DEC will support drill contractors in improving health and safety, environmental and quality performance.  

"The CDDA's DEC will help companies demonstrate to clients and regulators that they have a health and safety, environmental and quality management system in place," said Fleming. "Only members of the CDDA are eligible to register for the DEC program. As well there are 16 components that drilling companies must successfully meet before they can be certified."

Samis said the DEC brings more accountability to the industry. With DEC you can track workers and see their certification. It enables the diamond drilling industry to have accountability, sustainability and responsibility. Contractors will be able to present to their clients they are morally and socially responsible while working in the industry. The CDDA currently has 10 CDDA contractors in the process of becoming certified for DEC and four certified contractors. There are also 21 contractors on the waiting list or in various stages of getting started in certification

Samis believes even though there is competition within the industry, operators need to band together.

"The CDDA provides good exposure for our industry," said Samis. "It is all about professionalism and accountability for everyone. The CDDA is like the industry's spokesperson. We want to provide a great forum to bounce ideas off each other and to promote sustainability and health and safety. No matter what, the diamond drilling industry is a great industry and the CDDA is doing a great job of representing it."