In October 2024, President and CEO Denis Larocque celebrated 30 years with the company. After three decades in the mining industry, with one at the helm of Major Drilling, he knows a lot about leading a world-class specialized drilling company. His track record of successfully maneuvering the company through mining cycles while effectively managing policy issues, acquisitions, finances and more strengthens Major Drilling’s position in the market and shores up its ability to lead the sector in innovation.
“Denis continues to strategically embrace and excel at overseeing the cyclical business of drilling for the mining industry while keeping Major Drilling in a position of financial strength poised for growth and innovation,” Board Chair Kim Keating, said. “On behalf of the Board, I congratulate Denis and Major Drilling for his milestone 30th anniversary and look forward to his continued success as we seize new opportunities unlocking value in the mining industry.”
Denis Larocque
He paused to reflect on his career, sharing his admiration especially for the drilling teams and people around the globe who make Major Drilling stand apart in the industry.
Enjoy Denis Larocque’s unique perspective on Major Drilling’s history and its bright future ahead in this Q&A.
Q. You’ve been with Major Drilling for the lion’s share of its existence. What are the major changes you’ve seen in the field of drilling during your time in the industry?
A. Safety advancements, When I started 30 years ago, a typical driller would wear a ball cap, sneakers with a cigarette, and no gloves. The rigs had all kind of rotating parts, with no guarding anywhere. Nowadays, all of our rigs are well guarded and all of our employees wear all the necessary PPE, and we have seen a significant decrease in injuries, at a rate of 20 to 1 as compared to the past.
Technology advancements, I am proud to say that we were the precursors of the rod handling when we used to own Universal Drill Rigs (UDR), which designed the first automated rod handler in the last ‘90s.
ESG, also, there has been huge advancements in environmental and social responsibility by the mining industry, to the point where I feel our industry is ahead of many other industries, but that fact is not well known outside of mining. For example, I see things happening in the construction industry, either in safety or environmental in North America, that would not be accepted on any of our drilling sites around the world.
Q. Since becoming President and CEO in 2015, what are the most notable accomplishments by the company during your tenure?
A. I would say the advancements we’ve made in technology around our drill sites and the tools we give our employees. Whether it is the computerized consoles on our rigs or the mobile applications to help our drilling teams in the field manage their project and troubleshoot situations, we have made great progress over the last 10 years.
As well, improving our position in the market as a leader and solidifying our relationships with our senior customers, are two things I am proud of what our teams have been able to accomplish.
Q. What have you uniquely strived to do as a leader to support Major Drilling through the upcycles and downcycles inherent to the mining industry?
A. When I took over as CEO, I inherited a strong financial position at a point where the industry was going through tough times. This allowed us to keep many of key employees employed, and using that time to build an even stronger company with better systems, better equipment and improved training for our crews. The proof in the pudding really happened coming out of COVID in 2021 when we had to ramp up activity by 50% and we were ready to take on the challenge when customers came calling as our rigs were ready and so were our crews. This can only be accomplished by having experienced people and a quality management team around the world.
Q. Where do you see the future of mining going for Major Drilling?
A. I am really excited about the next level of technology coming to our drill sites, with the additional data we will be able to provide our customers to complement the valuable drill core we already provide. I am very proud that again, we are the leaders on that front and am convinced that in 20 years from now, we’ll look back to this day and will be able to say that Major Drilling were the precursors of the valuable exploration data collected at our rigs, helping our customers build the mines of the future.
Left: Francis McGuire, Major Drilling President & CEO (2000-2015), and Denis Larocque at Major Drilling headquarters in the early 2000’s. Right: Ron Goguen, Major Drilling President & CEO (1980-2000), and Denis at Major Drilling headquarters in late 2023.
Together with Board Chairman, David B. Tennant (right), Major Drilling President and CEO, Denis Larcoque, displays a plaque commemorating MDI’s original listing date, March 8, 1995, during the company’s 25th anniversary IPO listing celebration. A career highlight for Denis is launching Major Drilling on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the company’s growth phase of the mid 1990s.
Thirty Years at Major Drilling – Thank you Denis!
Follow Major Drilling on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram to receive the latest company news and updates. Major Drilling Group International Inc. is the world’s leading provider of specialized drilling services primarily serving the mining industry. Established in 1980, Major Drilling has over 1,000 years of combined experience and expertise within its management team. The Company maintains field operations and offices in Canada, the United States, Mexico, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Major Drilling provides a complete suite of drilling services including surface and underground coring, directional, reverse circulation, sonic, geotechnical, environmental, water-well, coal-bed methane, shallow gas, underground percussive/longhole drilling, surface drill and blast, a variety of mine services, and ongoing development of data-driven, high-tech drillside solutions.
