By Lindsay Kelly
When Geotech Aviation moves into its new 20,000-square-foot hangar at the Greater Sudbury Airport this summer, they’ll be bringing a new toy with them.
The Sudbury-based company, which performs airborne geophysical surveys for mining companies searching for new mineral deposits, is adding to its fleet of 16 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Geotech will take possession of an Augusta AW119Ke helicopter this summer. David Lauzon, Geotech’s general manager, said the machine is powerful enough to negotiate the surveys in rough terrain and high elevations that are increasingly in demand.
“It’s a bigger helicopter with better performance,” said Lauzon, who has been flying since the age of 16.
Searching for minerals through airborne geophysical surveying is “a bit like mowing the lawn,” Lauzon explained.
A helicopter makes a series of passes over a designated area, using spiderweb-like equipment suspended by an 180-foot cable. Data collected by these types of surveys helps mining companies determine if drilling should begin. Supplied photo
The helicopter makes a series of passes over a designated area, with the spiderweb-like equipment suspended by an 180-foot cable below the helicopter.
Data gleaned from the survey is analyzed and interpreted, and a report is presented to the mining company that commissioned the survey. If the company likes what it sees, it sends in a drill team to start mineral exploration.
The arrival of the eight-seat, single-engine helicopter in June will bring to 17 the total number of aircraft Geotech dispatches to locations around the world. The Sudbury-based fleet services Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, but Geotech Aviation and its sister company, Geotech Ltd., has conducted surveys on nearly every continent; recent and future assignments include Brazil and Saudi Arabia.
“Currently we have helicopters spread out across Canada, with one in Nevada, and often we’ll have one or two in Alaska,” Lauzon said. “Often a lot of our work seems to be in the northern regions—Canada’s high Arctic, the northern provinces, some of the territories—but the work can be anywhere in North America.”
Since its inception in 2009, the company has expanded from three employees to 35, and Lauzon anticipates additional growth within the next two years. That includes recruiting six more pilots and a half-dozen aircraft mechanics to join the team.
The company is extending its work to the oil and gas industry, and customers have also sought out its services to search for potable water. “The instrument can be used not just for minerals, but a variety of other things,” Lauzon said.
Ultimately, the company will evolve to become a full-service aviation company, offering flights for hire to combat forest fires, shuttle geologists to exploration sites or relocate drill rigs between mines.
The expansion is illustrative of the technology’s global appeal, which has so far brought Geotech success.
“In the near future, I see us moving into our new facilities, and then with the new helicopter coming in this summer, that’s going to make for a very busy next 12 months,” Lauzon said. “There’s going to be a lot of positive growth here in the next year or two.”
Lindsay Kelly writes for Northern Ontario Business, a sister publication of Northern Life. www.nob.on.ca
