Steenhof Mining Services, a new engineering, procurement, construction, and management (EPCM) company opening in Dryden, aims to fill a gap in mining services in northwestern Ontario through in-house expertise and a network of partnerships.
Steenhof Mining's president, Steven Tremblay, stated in a press release that the region is “poised for significant growth” with a number of mines and related operations underway such as NexGold, Critical Resources, Dryden Gold Corp., Kinross, and the recently announced Nuclear Waste Management Organization site near Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation and Ignace.
“It’s a very boots-on-the-ground-type of engineering firm,” said Tremblay, who has decades of mine management and leadership experience. “That’s what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years — EPCM.”
Most recently, Tremblay and Steenhof Mining's vice-president of project management, Mathieu Aubin, worked with Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. in Nunavut. There, they met Jack Steenhof several years ago through one of his companies, Steenhof Building Services Group (SBSG). Tremblay, Aubin, and Steenhof partnered together to form Steenhof Mining, with each bringing expertise to the company.
“We have civil, architectural, electrical, industrial, mechanical (expertise) — basically we can offer all engineering services through the firm,” Tremblay said.
Steenhof, the firm's CEO, is no stranger to the region. He lived and worked in Sioux Lookout for 18 years after graduating from the University of Toronto’s engineering program. Steenhof said that Dryden was an obvious location for the new company.
“You have to be where the action is,” Steenhof said. “We feel Dryden is where the action is going to be in the coming years.”
Although the new company is separate from SBSG, there will be interaction. However, Steenhof Mining will provide services that SBSG does not.
“We can rely on SBSG for (engineering), but the company is led by a mining services group that has project management and logistics experience.”
That logistics experience is critical when accessing remote mines in northwestern Ontario, Tremblay said. Steenhof Mining also plans to operate in Nunavut, which presents its own logistical challenges and shares similar climate challenges as well. Tremblay said that projects in these environments rely on logistics as much as engineering.
“One of the questions I ask is, ‘What do you have on site? What do we have access to?’ That way, we can design with what they have rather than impose what they need to order and ship up (based on engineering plans),” Tremblay said. “We’re using local as much as possible, which reduces the cost.”
It also feeds into their philosophy of building communities as much as servicing mines. That’s why it was important to locate in Dryden with local staff, Tremblay and Steenhof said.
“What ends up happening is that the flights fly in, the workers go in for 10 days or whatever it is, and they don’t even see the town,” Steenhof said. “We don’t want to see that happen in Dryden.”
He added that it’s an opportunity for the company to offer local residents high-tier jobs including engineering positions.
“You see that in Val-d’Or and Rouyn-Noranda (in Quebec) — a lot of people stay in the communities because there are job opportunities. We want to see that happen as well in Dryden.”
A base in Dryden rather than, say, Thunder Bay four hours’ drive east also keeps the company closer to its potential clients in that area.
Steenhof Mining technically will not start operations until the first days of January 2025, but already the company is making contacts and sending proposals, Tremblay said.
“One of the things we see from the get-go is the accommodation piece,” Steenhof said. “We have a housing project (in Dryden) that we’ll be initiating in the new year.”
That includes 21 residential units in Dryden, Steenhof said, as well as worker accommodations — a project that is still in the planning stages. The company is also in conversations to provide some resources to build a community hospice.
Steenhof added that the city has been very easy to work with; particularly economic development manager Tyler Peacock, Mayor Jack Harrison, and chief administrative officer Roger Nesbitt.
“The support they’ve shown has been just amazing,” Steenhof said. “They’ve been really helpful and welcoming.”
What will ultimately set Steenhof Mining apart, Tremblay said, is the company’s ability to offer a wide range of specialized services to meet specific needs large and small within their two areas of operations: northwestern Ontario and Nunavut.
“We have a big network of contractors that we can bring in for very specialized requirements,” Tremblay said. He added that that includes the specialized services and connections that Steenhof brings through SBSG. “That’s a nice value-add.”
“We’re a common-sense, no-fluff type of engineering firm,” Tremblay said. “We want to understand their realities and meet their expectations.”
