Exploration activity at the McFauld's Lake 'Ring of Fire' in the James Bay Lowlands has lured a national logistics management company to northwestern Ontario.
Matrix Helicopter Solutions and Exploration Logistics has followed its stable of mineral exploration clients into the region where they've set up a Thunder Bay office last August.
The company specializes in managing and supplying remote bush camps for the mining industry, particularly in the Canadian Arctic where they have worked in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. They have since expanded into Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec.
After handling helicopter support for clients in northwestern Ontario for a few years, they decided to open a more permanent Thunder Bay presence to serve its clients in the McFauld's Lake exploration camp. Their two-person staff occupies space inside the Matawa First Nations' office on Court Street.
They rent warehouse hangar space at Thunder Bay International Airport from Wisk Air Helicopters which they have contracted to serve their clients. Matrix has four clients in three field camps in McFauld's Lake.
"The demand is there," said Matrix principal Martin Knutson, in a phone interview from his Yellowknife office, on expanding to the city.
Knutson, who has 30 years experience working in managing, sales and aviation expertise in the high Arctic, bills Matrix as the only logistics management firm of its type in Canada. "We're the largest purchaser of helicopters outside the government."
Months of upheaval in the world economy and mining industry, has forced exploration companies to find ways to preserve cash. It's meant putting some unproven properties on hold to concentrate on more definable reserves. It's also meant revising project costs and looking for shortcuts.
That's where Matrix has positioned itself to find cost-effective ways to move fuel, equipment, groceries and other consumables to remote exploration field camps.
Their full range of camp services almost duplicate what an army quartermaster would perform, and indeed, Knutson said, they do employ some ex-military types in their Canadian workforce of 30 full-timers and 60 seasonal.
Matrix is really two companies. The Vancouver-based Matrix Helicopters Solutions, despite its name, doesn't own one aircraft, but contracts others to serve their clients.
Matrix Aviation Solutions, headquartered in Yellowknife, is a "turnkey" logistics outfit specializing in supplying and managing all the big and small details of a field camp.
Knutson, a former president of Inuit-owned Nunasi Helicopters, saw an opportunity more than a decade ago to provide junior miners in the Far North with a more reliable service than what was available.
"We found out the end user didn't really care about what colour the helicopter was, they wanted to make sure there was someone on the other end of the phone making sure it got done right," said Knutson. He fulfilled eight contracts that first summer for Nunasi and went on to found Matrix with business partner Dan Tuepah.
They rely heavily on Aboriginal people for their workforce. In Northern Ontario, they employ between 25 and 30 people, including many from Webequie, Marten Falls, Longlac and Thunder Bay.
Spring break-up is traditionally the slowest time of the year but there's always work to be done in line-cutting, core-cutting, general camp labour and handling fuel hauls for aircraft. Matrix places a premium on sourcing safe and reliable operators and suppliers, locally if possible, to mitigate risks for mining companies.
They have had a solid business relationship with Wisk Air president Mark Wiskemann for many years.
"He's one of our top helicopter suppliers," said Knutson. "Mark has worked for us along the Arctic coast with his (Bell) 407 and done an excellent job."
They've also contracted Nakina Air and buy grocery and lumber supplies from many area merchants.
"Camp supplies are sourced in Ontario and Thunder Bay, unless it's a specialty item," said operations manager Mike Kenney." Ninety-nine per cent of the sourcing for all operations of the camp site is done in the Thunder Bay area. The closer we can get the product to camp that's what we usually do."
One of their more challenging jobs last fall was flying two D-4 Caterpillar bulldozers into a McFauld's field camp. The original plan was to helicopter in the dozers in pieces. Matrix chose a cheaper way by chartering a SC-7 Skyvan twin turboprop, a sort of mini-Hercules aircraft, with a rear cargo door, to land on an ice strip. It saved the client money and had the equipment at the camp within two days.
Though the company initially cut its teeth in the high Arctic, they also are very active in Saskatchewan, B.C. and Quebec, with a new office opening in Montreal soon.
Knutson said mineral exploration support is their bread and butter, but occasionally they'll take on oil and gas projects, plus some salvage work.
Matrix is in definite hiring mode. They need camp managers and multi-skilled individuals who can do some wiring, plumbing, maintain a diesel generator and also manage people.
"We're looking at the downturn in the economy as an opportunity to bring on new people and increase the skill sets of our workforce," said Knutson.
At McFauld's Lake, Knutsen expects this upcoming field season to offer steady, if not booming, work.
Companies that have been active for a number of years and produced some good mineral intersects and have discovered good ore discoveries have been able to maintain their funding and are working through their programs, he said.
Juniors working at a more grass roots level doing staking and airborne surveys without an ore zone to drill off are struggling.
While always examining future growth opportunities in Northern Ontario, Canada and the U.S., they're not ambitious to seek work offshore.
"We'll only go and work for people where we can bring real value to the table."
www.matrixhelicopters.com
