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  • 1980

    Formed with the acquisition of Ideal Drilling (1980) Ltd., based in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

  • 1981

    Acquired Dominik Drilling (1981) Inc., based in Val d’Or, Québec.

  • 1984

    Acquired Hosking Diamond Drilling Ltd., located in Rouyn, Québec. In the same year Kennebec Drilling Ltd. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Maine Diamond Drilling, Inc., became affiliates of the Company.

  • 1990

    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

    Incorporated Majortec Perforaciones S.A. in Venezuela.

  • 1993

    Established Major Drilling de Mexico S.A. de C.V.

  • 1995

    Incorporated in the Guyana Shield Region of South America.

  • 1996

    Incorporated in Argentina.

  • 1997

    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. Acquired the J.T. Thomas group of companies, which operated primarily in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Acquired the Australian-based mineral exploration drilling company Pontil Pty. Limited. This company, through a subsidiary, also carried on business in Indonesia. Lastly, entered the manufacturing and distribution business after acquiring control of UDR Group Limited.

  • 1998

    Commenced drilling operations in Chile and completed the acquisition of the Midwest group of companies in Canada.

  • 1999

    Acquired a Tanzanian company.

  • 2000

    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, from Ausdrill Limited, certain drilling assets and contracts located in Eastern Australia and New Zealand.

  • 2002

    Incorporated a subsidiary in Mongolia, Major Drilling Mongolia XXK.

  • 2004

    Acquired the drill rigs, related equipment, inventory and drilling contracts of Raematt Drilling Pty. Ltd. in Australia.

  • 2005

    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

    Expanded its presence in Southern Africa by acquiring the Longstaff group in Southern Africa, Botswana and Namibia.

  • 2007

    Standard & Poor’s Canadian Index Operation added Major Drilling to the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Company’s Chilean subsidiary purchased an exploration drilling company, Harris y Cia Ltda., and acquired the assets of Paragon del Ecuador S.A.

  • 2008

    Acquired Forage à Diamant Benoit Ltée based in Val d’Or, Québec.

  • 2010

    Acquired North Star Drilling LLC. and also entered the environmental drilling services sector by acquiring SMD services of Huntsville, Alabama.

  • 2011

    Acquired Bradley Group Limited based in Rouyn Noranda, Quebec.

  • 2014

    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 located in Timmins, Ontario.

  • 2021

    Acquired McKay Drilling located in Perth, Australia.