energold corp

GOING WHERE NO OTHER DRILLING COMPANY HAS GONE BEFORE

GOING WHERE NO OTHER DRILLING

COMPANY HAS GONE BEFORE

2 H Energold Drilling Corp Energold Drilling Corp H 3

Energold Drilling Corpo-

ration has definitely gone

where no other drilling

company has gone before.

Unsatisfied with the way

mining companies were ap-

proaching exploration in

third-world countries, En-

ergold became concerned

with the lack of sensitivity

to local environments and

communities. Thus began

pursuit to design a more

environmentally-friendly

rig. Since its inception as an

exploration company, Ener-

gold has grown to become

one of the most environmen-

tally and socially conscious

drilling companies world-

wide. In the past five years,

their focus has remained on

leaving the smallest possible

ecological footprint as a re-

sult of their drilling endeav-

ours and creating a sense of

sustainable community in

the places they work. This

outlook and strategy has led

to Energold winning a num-

ber of awards in its young

life, including PROFIT 100

– Canada’s Fastest Growing

Companies (2009-2011) the

TSX Top 50 and Business in

Vancouver’s Top 100 (2007-

2011 inclusive).

With the help of a talented

team of engineers, Energold

developed a unique rig de-

sign that would be less dam-

aging to local environments.

“We developed, in conjunc-

tion with others, a rig that

could be broken down into

di�erent pieces and moved

in manually, by canoe, air-

plane, pick-up truck, how-

ever you want to do it,”


Energold gives back

to local economies by

training locals to operate

the drilling equipment.


explains CEO of Energold

Drilling, Fred Davidson.

He explains the rigs them-

selves are very simple to op-

erate and they are specially

designed to be installed and

set up on site very quickly.

There’s no real secret be-

hind Energold’s success.

The unique, component-

driven, and portable nature

of their drilling rig allows

them to explore parts of the

world that were previously

inaccessible. Starting out

with one rig eight years ago,

Energold now boasts a fleet

of about 240 rigs over 95 of

which are its modular rigs .

A UNIQUE RIG DESIGN When they first started out,

Energold observed the im-

pacts of the rigs and drill-

ing practices of other com-

panies on the environment

and local communities.

“We’re working in a lot of

places where it’s impossible

to get a rig into the sites


without having to build a road. The road can be a kilome-

ter or two long and in many cases, it goes through farmers’

fields causing severe damage, not to mention the wait time

it takes companies to get road building permits” says Da-

vidson.

While some financial compensation may be provided for

the physical damage created, Davidson says the companies

never really compensated locals for the “emotional damage

created by the roads and subsequent drilling.”

“At the same time, you’ll see the locals standing there

watching the gringos driving a bulldozer and pulling a ten

ton rig across their field. Nobody from the community is

able to participate,” Davidson says.

This is where Energold is di�erent, their rigs and drilling

expeditions overseas operate primarily with local labour

forces. Davidson says they not only hire locals, but they get

them to bring in the rigs onto their traditional trails so the


fields and pastures are not

disturbed. “It’s a good way

of dealing with social alien-

ation of the community that

results from mining and ex-

ploration,” he says.

Furthermore, Energold’s

rigs take up less space. The

rig only occupies a space of

about 3.5 meters by 3.5 me-

ters as opposed to the 15

meters by 15 meters of oth-

er, bulkier traditional rigs

with their ancillary equip-

ment. Energold recently

acquired Dando Drilling

Drilling International in the

UK, a highly-regarded engi-

neering groupthat helps the

company continuously im-

prove and upgrade rig de-

sign and productivity.

“We’re always looking at

making them safer and

more convenient,” says Da-

vidson.

Energold also works with

Atlas Copco, and Core Boss

who Davidson says are

“very proactive in terms of

designing and redesigning

equipment that meets our

specifications.”

Davidson says Energold

also consults and debriefs

the drilling crews when

the come out of the

fields, taking their

ideas to engineers

in order to make

the rigs more

e�ective.


Engaging local communities

and creating industry

Currently servicing mining

and energy sectors in the

Americas, Africa, and Asia,

Energold operates 240 rigs

in 23 countries, Davidson

describes the whole indus-

try as “exciting.”

“Every country has its own

stories and adventures,” he

says.

According to Davidson, the

exploration industry has

underspent in the past 20

years and as result, Ener-

gold is venturing into re-

mote and often volatile re-

gions. “Mining companies

are realizing the low hang-

ing fruits are gone and have

to head to the frontiers to

replenish their reserves.”

What further di�erentiates

Energold is their commit-

ment to community build-

ing and local engagement.


Engaging local communities

and creating industry

Currently servicing mining

and energy sectors in the

Americas, Africa, and Asia,

Energold operates 240 rigs

in 23 countries, Davidson

describes the whole indus-

try as “exciting.”

“Every country has its own

stories and adventures,” he

says.

According to Davidson, the

exploration industry has

underspent in the past 20

years and as result, Ener-

gold is venturing into re-

mote and often volatile re-

gions. “Mining companies

are realizing the low hang-

ing fruits are gone and have

to head to the frontiers to

replenish their reserves.”

What further di�erentiates

Energold is their commit-

ment to community build-

ing and local engagement.

“What’s exciting is that

we’re able to give people

who have no hope a job and

a career and going forward,

we’re creating industry

where there never was and

that’s very satisfying,” says

Davidson.

When employing locals, En-

ergold’s policy is to “push

down” the skill set and

train them to work with

the equipment. Whereas

the employee would not ex-

perience culture shock or

a language barrier working


While Energold does

much of its work in

remote places, they

ensure they do as little

damage as possible to

local environments.


in their own backyard, Energold also receives

the benefit of this local knowledge and access.

“It works for us because they know how to

work in that culture and it works for them

because we can give them a high-skilled, good

paying job,” says Davidson.

MOVING FORWARD As the company moves forward, there are a

number of opportunities in frontier mining,

oil sands drilling,geothermal and even water

well drilling. The oil shortage has left compa-

nies searching for new ways to excavate de-

posits in various places and Energold thinks

they have just what it takes to tap into the oil

industry.

“Our fleet is designed to exploit existing de-

posits. Most people are unaware that most oil

sand deposits are going to be done from un-

derground and not from open pits. More and

more, the rigs that we’re putting into the field

are capable of drilling to those depths and

those target ranges for the oil sands,” explains

Davidson.

And of course, Energold hopes to do this by

leaving as small a footprint as possible. En-

ergold has also made its way into the water

well sector with the help of Dando,one of the

leading water well equipment providers in the

world. Dando in particular, is one of the UN


and World Bank approved

water well comtractors in

Africa. Energold operates in

many third-world countries

where clean water is an on-

going critical issue.

Part of the recent string of

acquisitions included Ber-

tram International Cor-

poration, which added sig-

nificant capabilities for

Energold into the oil sands

coring and seismic oil/gas

drilling industry in Alberta,

Canada. The niche sector

attracted Energold because

of its higher margins, syn-

ergies on equipment and

human capital, and a signif-

icantly larger overall mar-

ket. Whereas worldwide

expenditure in mineral ex-

ploration only now exceeds

$16 billion a year, The big

oil giants like Shell or Im-

perial Oil can easily spend

that a year between them.

Energold has a five-year

plan. Their objective is

to become a global drill-

ing company that is not

strictly bounded to drill-

ing for minerals, energy, or

water. Energold wants to


help drill it all, and gener-

ate a good profit at it for

their shareholders. As the

world demands more com-

modities, there is a pressure

to provide drills quickly. In

the next five years, Ener-

gold hopes to triple in size,

which will further assert

their international presence

and expertise in the ever-

growing field. Davidson be-

lieves he has just the recipe

to ensure Energold’s suc-

cess: “You have to develop

the right attitude, the right

training, and the right skill

sets. We continue to seed

new markets as natural re-

sources become more scarce

and clients need to go o� the

beaten path for the next big

discovery.. The Energold in-

vestment logic is simple, in

a gold rush, one can do very

well selling plenty of shovel

and picks.

For more info www.energold.com


For more information www.energold.com

As seen in March issue of JARKS BUSINESS CANADA magazine at www.jarks.ca

http://www.energold.com

http://www.jarks.ca

http://www.energold.com

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