How has Cementation Americas performed in 2024?

In 2024, Cementation Americas had an excellent year, maintaining a strong safety record and exceeding revenue and profitability targets. Ontario continues to be a robust market, and we have held solid projects there, with several exciting developments in the pipeline. Despite the positive trajectory, we are still not seeing the expected volume of greenfield project offerings. While commodity prices are favorable, which typically drives mining investments, market uncertainty remains. We are hopeful that the market will stabilize post-election, allowing companies to plan their capital expenditure more confidently.

We recently completed a major shaft project in Ontario, which was the deepest ever in the Sudbury Basin. This project was technically challenging and required extensive engineering. Additionally, we wrapped up a major development project in the Western US, which we were involved in for over 11 years. Developing an increasingly skilled local workforce remains a priority for us, benefiting both the client and the community even after our work concludes. We are also excited to be back in Nevada after about five years, working on a new project for a large client, and we are optimistic about future opportunities in that region.

What challenges are contractors facing in 2024, and how does Cementation Americas manage risk?

At Cementation, we prioritize building meaningful and lasting partnerships rather than transactional relationships with clients. This approach allows us to adopt a truly collaborative approach to project planning, inevitable challenge mitigation, and proactive risk management. Together, we develop a comprehensive risk budget that covers both time and money to prepare for contingencies, particularly in complex projects such as underground excavation.

What are some of the key factors driving the rising cost of mining?

Inflation has undoubtedly impacted mining costs across North America, especially in terms of labor and materials. Skilled employees are crucial to nearly everything we offer clients, so we prioritize paying competitive wages and benefits while being mindful of project budgets. We aim to be an employer of choice and maintain a progressive outlook on the employee experience and strive to support with competitive pay structures, including project retention payouts, a unique benefit that rewards employees for their commitment to long-term projects, and leading-edge benefits packages.

On the materials side, it is challenging since we have less control over these costs. We attempt to mitigate these pressures by ordering materials in bulk whenever it’s feasible. 

How is Cementation Americas implementing data and digitization to improve project efficiency?

We have partnered with a software provider in California to develop customized reporting and data-tracking solutions central to our short-interval control system. We estimate labor, materials, equipment needs and expected productivity when budgeting. As work progresses, we track performance against these estimates, allowing us to pinpoint areas for improvement quickly. This data-driven insight helps us address potential issues before they impact the entire project schedule. Tablets are available on every piece of equipment, and employees use them to log activities, downtime, and task durations and more. This data is uploaded in real time, enabling us to take swift action. Happily, underground internet connectivity, once rare, is becoming increasingly common, facilitating data flow and timely responses.

We have also started using autonomous equipment. While the machines make more autonomous decisions, each one still operates under human supervision for accountability and safety. This setup eliminates exposure to dangerous energy and significantly reduces downtime, leading to increased utilization and productivity rates. 

How do you intend to grow in Ontario and Western US markets?

This year will likely be more challenging than the last in terms of keeping our project pipeline full and securing revenue. However, we are optimistic about long-term opportunities in both Ontario and the Western US. Our strategy centers around developing and maintaining capacity and preparing for when these projects start flowing in. While it is tempting in lean times to cut costs or accept lower-margin projects, we will remain focused on sustainable pricing to avoid long-term issues. We are also working diligently to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness while taking this time to further develop our employees—something difficult to focus on during nonstop projects.