“It’s no secret that there’s lots
of controversy [within the
mining industry]. Commodity
prices go up and down which
is all tied to the market. Some
people say the big players in
the industry do that for a rea-
son to keep control of junior
miners coming in and control
the prices of precious metals...
Whether it’s true or not,” says
Dave. To battle the industries
harsh downfalls, Walker Drill-
ing follows a strategic busi-
ness model by diversifying
its business. “If the mining
is down we do soil testing,
hydro G studies [and] moni-
toring wells so if one thing is
down maybe something else
is booming. We drill holes for
a lot of reasons.”
Optimistic business measures
become a sort of mantra for
the Ontario-native company.
When asked about the re-
structuring of the company,
Dave replied that he was “con-
fident [the operation] will be
going ahead as usual. I can’t
foresee letting people go or
downsizing.”
The drilling firm has a certain
niche and is diverse in their
drill rig types; whether it’s
working on the water or fly
in, heli-portable work Unlike
many drilling companies, they
work on very remote loca-
tions to cater to the industry’s
needs.
Celebrating its 10th anniversa-
ry last year, the company has
dived into some significant
projects in its time, specifi-
cally the Iron Ore project in
Baffin Island, which was dif-
ferent because of the remote-
ness of the environment. They
struggled with the unsympa-
thetic climate and had to fly
everything up to the location.
They have also succeeded in
many hydro-electric projects,
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