Our Story
In March of 1995, Major Drilling Group International Inc. undertook its initial public offering, listing shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange. However, our story begins 15 years before that…
The Early Years
In the first twenty years of its history, Major Drilling pursued a strategy of expanding geographically as a conventional drilling company. We acquired several mineral exploration drilling companies in Eastern Canada between 1980 and 1985. Our strategy in these acquisitions was to buy equipment at a reasonable price, strengthen the Company by adding talented and experienced personnel and increase the geographic reach and client diversity of the business.
1980 Company Founded
Formed with the acquisition of Ideal Drilling (1980) Ltd., based in Bathurst, New Brunswick.
1981 Acquired Dominik Drilling
Acquired Dominik Drilling (1981) Inc., based in Val d’Or, Québec.
1984 Hosking Diamond Drilling
Acquired Hosking Diamond Drilling Ltd., located in Rouyn, Québec.
1984 New Affiliates Joined
Kennebec Drilling Ltd. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Maine Diamond Drilling, Inc., became affiliates of the Company.
The 90s - International Expansion
In the early 90s, we expanded into Mexico and South America. Moving into these markets required us to reconsider our expansion through acquisition strategy because there were few local drilling companies that met our standards. Instead of purchasing local drilling companies as we had done in the United States and Canada, we incorporated foreign subsidiaries and grew them organically.
1992 Venezuela
Incorporated Majortec Perforaciones S.A. in Venezuela.
1993 Mexico
Established Major Drilling de Mexico S.A. de C.V.
1995 South America
Incorporated in the Guyana Shield Region of South America.
1996 Argentina
Incorporated in Argentina.
Expanding Canadian Operations
Beginning in 1997, our focus turned to expanding our Canadian operations beyond Eastern Canada and also looked to Australia, with its strong tradition in the mining sector.
1997 Acquired J.T. Thomas
Acquired the J.T. Thomas group of companies, which operated primarily in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
1997 Acquired Pontil Pty. Limited
Acquired the Australian-based mineral exploration drilling company Pontil Pty. Limited. This company, through a subsidiary, also carried on business in Indonesia.
1997 Acquired UDR Group Limited
Entered the manufacturing and distribution business after acquiring control of UDR Group Limited.
1998 Drilling in Chile
Commenced drilling operations in Chile.
1998 Acquired Midwest
Completed the acquisition of the Midwest group of companies in Canada.
1999 Opened Operations in Tanzania
Acquired a Tanzanian company.
Moving into the 21st Century
In 2000, we shifted our focus from geographical expansion to a strategy of dominating specialized drilling. The shift in strategy was based on the realization that most of the ore bodies that will be discovered and explored in the coming years will be difficult to access.
We then began a substantial build up of our specialized capabilities and our specialized fleet, complimented with strategic acquisitions of specialized drilling firms.
2001 Acquired Ausdrill Limited’s Eastern Australian Drilling Division
Acquired, from Ausdrill Limited, certain drilling assets and contracts located in Eastern Australia and New Zealand.
2002 Opened Operations in Mongolia
Incorporated a subsidiary in Mongolia, Major Drilling Mongolia XXK.
2004 Acquired Raematt Drilling
Acquired the drill rigs, related equipment, inventory and drilling contracts of Raematt Drilling Pty. Ltd. in Australia.
2005 Acquired Dynatec Corporation’s Western US Drilling Division
Acquired the drill rigs, related equipment, inventory and drilling contracts of Dynatec Corporation Drilling Service, in the Western United States. This acquisition has allowed the Company to establish a presence in a large and important North American mining region.
2006 Acquired Longstaff in Southern Africa
Expanded its presence in Southern Africa by acquiring the Longstaff group in Southern Africa, Botswana and Namibia.
2007 Added to the S&P/TSX Composite Index
Standard & Poor’s Canadian Index Operation added Major Drilling to the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
2007 Expanded Chilean Operations
Company’s Chilean subsidiary purchased an exploration drilling company, Harris y Cia Ltda.
2007 Expanded Ecuador Operations
Acquired the assets of Paragon del Ecuador S.A.
2008 Acquired Forage à Diamant Benoit Ltée
Acquired Forage à Diamant Benoit Ltée based in Val d’Or, Québec.
2010 Began Environmental Drilling Services
Entered the environmental drilling services sector by acquiring SMD services of Huntsville, Alabama.
2010 Acquired North Star Drilling LLC
Acquired North Star Drilling LLC.
2011 Acquired Bradley Group
Acquired Bradley Group Limited based in Rouyn Noranda, Quebec.
2014 Acquired Assets of Taurus Drilling
Acquired the assets of Taurus Drilling located in Canada and the USA, representing the company’s entry into the underground percussive market.
2019 Acquired Norex Drilling Limited
Acquired Norex Drilling Limited located in Timmins, Ontario.
2021 Acquired McKay Drilling
Acquired McKay Drilling located in Perth, Australia.
Looking Ahead
Major Drilling has worked hard to expand and develop our global presence over the years. We have heavily invested in people and training, growing us into a strong and competent workforce in every one of our drilling locations around the world. We look forward to growing with our customers into the future.
