What developments would you highlight in recent years?

SA: Over the past five years, we have made significant progress, particularly in the areas of water treatment and technology, as well as our ability to deliver projects of up to US$100 million in capital expenditure. Our strength lies in delivering turnkey projects and leveraging our fabrication capabilities to pre-fabricate and modularize as much as possible. We recently completed a $40 million water treatment plant project for a major mining company in Ontario, which has led to follow-up work – a strong indicator of success.

MR: ASDR has almost tripled its revenues in recent years and our ambition for growth is yet to be quenched. Our geographic footprint has also expanded. Five years ago, around 90% of our revenue came from Québec. Now, 60% comes from outside the province, across Canada and internationally, including Europe, Morocco and other parts of Africa. We were also proud to be awarded Business of the Year and Best Employer of the Year by the Val d’Or Chamber of Commerce in 2024, reflecting both our innovative approach and the great support we have received from Québec’s mining industry.

How has ASDR’s ECO Technologies subsidiary grown since its acquisition in 2022?

SA: The integration of ECO Technologies, a New Brunswick-based company, into ASDR was very strategic as it allowed us to expand our range of water treatment solutions. We now carry out projects within the government, mining and industrial sectors across Canada. This acquisition was also very tactical as it allowed us to acquire ECO Technologies’ fleet of very specialized Amphibex dredges, which are ideal for tailings ponds given their ability to operate in as little as 1 meter of water. We since acquired larger sized Amphibex units and now have the largest fleet of Amphibex dredges in Canada.

MR: We are helping clients by providing end-to-end solutions to optimize their water treatment and management needs. With many mine closures and reclamation projects in the pipeline in the coming years, we foresee continued growth in this area.

How is ASDR helping clients achieve net-zero emissions?

MR: We are currently working with two clients – one in Europe, one in the Ring of Fire – who are seeking cutting-edge solutions for net-zero mining. These are both underground projects, so a key goal is to ensure as much water stays underground as possible, thus reducing energy consumption and environmental impact. Among the innovative solutions proposed, we adapted our ECOMUD LITE technology, originally developed to recycle water and cuttings during drilling campaigns, to underground operations. In doing so, we have enabled up to 80% water recovery underground and simplified sludge management, while also reducing the amount of water sent to the surface and wear and corrosion on pumps.

What about digital transformation projects?

SA: We are currently investigating various ways to integrate AI into our operations, our Health & Safety team has deployed a Digital Confined Space Monitoring (DCSM). This technology improves health & safety conditions and improves productivity during shutdown maintenance work. It also addresses the challenge of manpower availability by reducing the need for on-site personnel by about 75%. In addition, it drastically cuts down on environmental impact caused by travel and logistics.

How do partnerships drive innovation in ASDR’s technologies?

MR: Our ECOMUD technology originated as an environmental demonstration project with Eldorado Gold, who were seeking solutions to optimize their sustainability in all aspects of operations. They approached ASDR for a system aimed at maximizing water recirculation, facilitating sludge management and reducing power consumption during drilling operations.

This was a great strategic partnership as Eldorado allowed ASDR to keep and commercialize the ECOMUD intellectual property. This type of innovation and development is something we have worked on with other clients too, including Agnico Eagle and Rio Tinto. We see it as a win-win: the client optimizes their operations, and ASDR gets to test and design new technologies.

What are ASDR’s priorities for the rest of 2025?

MR: We have a number of products which we hope to launch by the end of 2025, some of which will be game changers for ASDR. As is the case across the industry, strategic recruitment in a stretched labour market is another priority. We may also look at some more acquisitions, and further expand across Canada.