New ownership is at the helm of Legend Mining.
Z’gamok Enterprises Inc. (ZEI) has acquired a 51-49 per cent controlling interest in the Sudbury mining contractor. The deal, a year in the making, was finalized Sept. 4.
Diving into underground mining services had been something the organization has been thinking and strategizing about for a decade.
ZEI, an economic development organization owned and operated by Sagamok Anishnawbek is located south of Massey on the north shore of Lake Huron. It runs three businesses that collectively employ 130.
One company, Z’gamok Construction LP, performs ore and waste rock hauling at Vale’s Totten Mine in Sudbury, as well as handling surface work site services at the mine, its road maintenance, even the janitorial cleaning.
That sprang from Sagamok Anishnawbek’s impact benefit agreement with Vale Canada.
“It allows us to participate as an Indigenous-owned company and gives us more control over the work that we perform,” said ZEI CEO Will Sayers, when asked of the big-picture outlook of the Legend acquisition.
“That’s always been our goal. We don’t just rely on partners. We want to have actual ownership and perform the work.”
Mainly, the organization views the Legend acquisition as creating more training and job opportunities for members in the community and surrounding area to get directly involved in the industry and participate in mining activity on their traditional lands.
“We’ve gone through a pretty extensive growth curve over the last few years,” said Sayers.
ZEI acquired OCL Custom Crushing and Quarrying in 2023, started Z’Gamok Construction LP in 2019, and operates Z’gamok Stuart Olson LP, a construction management vendor of record in pursuing Ontario Power Generation contracts.
“All our work has been above surface,” said Sayers.
Moving into the underground business was a natural progression.
ZEI huddled with a consultant on a detailed feasibility study that proposed some options, such as starting a mining contracting outfit from scratch or making a “tactical acquisition” of an already-established firm that would fast-track their entry into the market and provide some instant credibility.
Last year, Sayers said, they began scoping out potential partners and struck up a dialogue with Legend where they found a philosophical fit.
“I thought, why not make the acquisition with them?” said Sayers. “I just threw it out there and immediately they said they were interested.”
It was serendipitous timing for Legend Mining, according to general manager Scott Rienguette.
One of the firm’s original partners, Doug Patrick, was leaning toward retirement and Legend, established in 2016, was “kind of in a rebuilding stage.”
The company’s bread and butter work is primarily rehabilitation work of old mines, dewatering old mine works, underground development and installation of ground support infrastructure.
Legend employs about a dozen people in its Kelly Lake Road offices in the city's west end, ramping up and down its contractor workforce as needed. But the company wanted to achieve a more consistent staffing level.
With ZEI and its connections, it presented an avenue to recruit Indigenous people and safety train them the right away.
“We thought this could be a win-win,” said Rienguette, who worked as a health and safety trainer with Vale for 20 years.
“It was right up our alley, so we were intrigued right from day one.
“We’re looking for long-term people that want to get into the mines. With the other companies that Will’s been involved with we thought this is a great segue into continuing into mining,” said Rienguette.
“We saw it as the perfect partnership and joining forces we thought a good thing for both of us.”
The due diligence process took a year, along with a business plan that was crafted.
Rienguette said mining is the type of trade that can be best learned in the field with hands-on experiential training.
“We figured being a junior company we can bring these guys and girls in, hire them and teach them the right way and get them into the workforce.”
While Legend works primarily in the Sudbury basin, they’re considering opportunities further afield. The basin always offers low-hanging-fruit opportunities at Vale and Glencore, but there are emerging new players like Magna Mining and its Crean Hill mine project.
With a feasibility study currently underway, Rienguette said, “we definitely plan on expanding beyond the Sudbury basin.”
ZEI views Legend as being a cornerstone contributor to their organizational growth, offering long-term, multi-generational opportunities for Sagamok and the surrounding communities where it operates.
Rienguette said having a First Nation partner-owner only stands to benefit everyone involved.
Legend employed some Indigenous contractors during a previous job at Musselwhite Mine in northwestern Ontario but currently have none on board.
"That’s going to change,” Sayers said, chuckling.
