Actions and Commitments

Call to Action # 92 : Business and Reconciliation (92)

Rouillier Drilling is Strengthening Its Commitment to Indigenous Communities with the Creation of a New Company: Forage Anicinape

March 4, 2024

NationTalk: AMOS, QC – Rouillier Drilling is proud to announce the creation of a new exploration drilling company, Forage Anicinape, in collaboration with the Coopérative de solidarité de Pikogan.

Acting with respect for Indigenous communities

The partnership between Rouillier Drilling and the Coopérative de solidarité de Pikogan, which was formed a few years ago, has been a great success. This new joint venture will enable Forage Anicinape to benefit from the cooperative’s labour pool. To date, more than twenty workers from the cooperative are already working on surface and underground projects with Rouillier Drilling.

Drawing on its many years of experience and extensive business network in the region, Rouillier Drilling will share its equipment and training opportunities with the Anishnaabe community, fostering the growth of this new company.

“The joint venture with Rouillier Drilling will allow the Coopérative de solidarité de Pikogan to expand and create quality jobs for its members,” says Kenny Ruperthouse, General Manager of the Coopérative de solidarité de Pikogan.

The cooperative’s development promises to involve hiring Indigenous workers from a number of nations in the province. These qualified jobs will grow the membership of the association, which generates significant economic benefits for the Pikogan community.

Rouillier Drilling is also involved with First Nations through a research project in collaboration with the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) that aims to establish best practices for developing business partnerships with the Anishnaabeg communities of Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Through its initiatives, Rouillier Drilling is reinforcing its commitment to First Nations.

Committed to sustainable development

Following in the footsteps of the Groupe Rouillier’s other Indigenous companies, Youdin Rouillier Drilling and Avataa Rouillier Drilling, Forage Anicinape will be audited in the hopes of obtaining ECOLOGO® certification. This approach shows the group’s commitment to rigorous environmental practices in all its mining exploration activities.

For Rouillier Drilling, the creation of Forage Anicinape will confirm its commitment to Indigenous communities through sustainable partnerships and a respectful approach.

About Rouillier Drilling

Founded in 1977, Rouillier Drilling, a division of the Groupe Rouillier, is a family-owned company with a reputation as a specialist in surface and underground drilling in Eastern Canada. It was the first company to obtain the UL 2724 ECOLOGO® Certification for Suppliers of the Mineral Exploration Industry.

About the Coopérative de solidarité de Pikogan

Founded in 2009, the Coopérative de solidarité de Pikogan strives to create sustainable, high-quality jobs for its members through forestry contracts while respecting the environment and Indigenous values.

For further information: Mario Rouillier, President and CEO, Rouillier Drilling, mario.rouillier@foragesrouillier.com, 819-442-1873