Omega Environmental gives their take on the AME Roundup, 2017 edition.

2017 started off with a bang for Omega Environmental Drilling, as we attended our first ever AME Roundup trade show at the Vancouver Convention Center. This was a great opportunity for us as we got to showcase our sonic drilling, auger/rotary drilling and daylighting capabilities to a vast crowd of potential clients who otherwise have not heard of Omega and the service we provide. We have a fleet of drill rigs and other equipment to service the mining industry and while we have only been around since 2009, we have over 100 years of combined drilling experience and will strive to be the #1 drilling contractor in BC through experience, safety and customer service.

Omega’s 8140 Sonic rig set in a beautiful BC background

Day 1 started out at a fast and furious pace as the obvious excitement from engineers, consultants, land owners and miners spilled onto the exhibition floor. I had attended this show in the past as a vendor and also on my own just to walk the floor and the atmosphere in 2017 certainly surpassed the “doom and gloom” of the previous few years. The once again rising cost of gold, the recovery of the price of copper over the past year and anticipation of other commodities trending in the right direction were certainly drivers of this optimistic attitude and it was great to see. British Columbia is a vast source of natural resources and one that certainly should not go to waste. Omega is proud to service British Columbia and surrounding areas!

Omega Drilling is proud to service BC and surrounding areas!

Day 2 brought out a new generation of miners, geologists and drillers as a group of students from a nearby Vancouver school dropped by to see what their future in BC will bring in regards to our natural resources. And if you think they were just going through the motions for extra credit in school, you didn’t hear the educated and well thought out questions they asked and you didn’t see the excitement in their eyes when we showed them some different types of rock we had previously drilled with our sonic drill…(although, it was quite possible they were eyeing the assortment of chocolates and candies on our display table!)

Omega Drilling’s Scott Pretty educating the newest generation of miners in BC!

As day 3 came and went, we saw a noticeable reduction in regards to attendees walking the trade show floor but even a sparse crowd generated many great discussions with potential clients, new suppliers and people from other industries looking to put their mark on the BC mining sector. Although helicopters and silo manufacturing are not really our “thing”, getting to know the people behind the scenes of the unknown (to us) and to hear some stories of good fortune (and bad) gave us a whole new appreciation of how many people, and how much work it takes to run a successful program from start to finish, not just the drilling portion. To all of those from administration, to planning and coordinating, to safety officers, to construction and truck drivers and ALL people in between, we would like to take a short moment to recognize the efforts of each and every one of you for keeping mining active in BC!

BC Mining…it takes a village…

Day 4 of the show came with mixed emotions for the group at Omega Drilling. Our feet hurt from standing for 4 straight days at our booth but this also meant the last day of meeting with people we haven’t seen in a while or people we had just met. We really do enjoy what we do at Omega and our passion for drilling shows through in everyone we employ. Our drillers all have a minimum of 15 years experience in the industry and there is no way they would survive such a demanding profession if they didn’t love what they do.

As we packed up our booth and reflected on the show that was, we took a moment to consider the value of our involvement in a trade show such as this one and in turn, how important it is to continue promoting mining in British Columbia, we came up with one phrase that suited it best…

…that’s gold Jerry…GOLD!