Apitipi Resources LP and Hancon Mining Division have joined forces to offer surface and underground mine development services in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt.
The two partners launched their 51/49 joint venture, Apitipi Hancon LP, on June 19.
“No other contractor provides both surface and underground mine development,” said Sean McEachern, director of mining at Apitipi Resources, in a news release.
“With this partnership, we’re giving junior mining companies a one-stop shop.”
Billed as the only contractor of its kind in the area, Apitipi Hancon LP will pull from the two parties’ combined expertise in exploration drilling and mine development.
Among the benefits, the company said, junior mining companies will be able to make the transition to underground mining more easily and cost-effectively by using one contractor.
The company offers a "deep pool of expertise normally only found in larger corporate firms,” the release noted.
The two companies said they found commonalities in their similar approach to work, which puts safety first.
That and their shared values made the two partners a natural fit, said Matt Kernick, president at Hancon Mining Division.
“It’s about the people,” Kernick said in the release. “When we met with everyone at Apitipi, they welcomed us and showed they really wanted to work with us.”
Apitipi Resources is owned and operated by the Apitipi Anicinapek Nation (formerly Wahgoshig First Nation) located about 50 kilometres east of Matheson. It comprises three divisions — Black Diamond Drilling, Black Diamond Forestry, and Apitipi Anicinapek Trucking — creating employment and generating revenue for the community.
Based in Porcupine, Ont., east of Timmins, Hancon Mining Division is a family-oriented company founded in 2021. Its range of services includes drilling and bolting, construction, raise mining, and more.
