Marla Tremblay is someone who isn’t afraid of challenges; in fact, she embraces them. Entering her fifth year as Executive Director of MineConnect Canada, Tremblay reflects on the association’s creation, growth, and many successes.
“Our mission is to help our members grow and be successful,” she says. “That can be through opportunities to connect with mine contractors, with mines specifically, or helping members access resources they may not know about, helping them with whatever resources and contacts they need as a business.”
Described as Ontario’s Mining Supply & Services Association, MineConnect was initially known as SAMSSA, the Sudbury Area Mining Supply & Service Association. It was rebranded to be more inclusive, reflecting all of Northern Ontario, and reintroduced to the world as MineConnect, fittingly announced at the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Conference in Toronto in March 2020.
For the newly christened Association, the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic just days later could have been catastrophic; instead, it proved to be an opportunity to build strong, successful relationships with mining suppliers.
Mines, governments, suppliers, and services—brought together
Before taking on her role as MineConnect’s Executive Director, Tremblay served on the Association’s board and was familiar with its structure and direction. Today, she is proud of her successes and those of MineConnect. In just a few years, MineConnect’s membership has tripled, and the organization has gone from 600 followers on LinkedIn to 8,000.
“To have an industry following of people seeking us out is a pretty big achievement,” she says. “I feel like we announce a new member almost every day. We’re not knocking down doors anymore, because we’ve proven what we do is worth being a part of, so people are finding us, which is fantastic.”
A stronger presence now than ever, MineConnect is experiencing a surge of members referring others and sharing the benefits of joining the Association. “That is huge,” says Tremblay. “That means we are doing what they need us to be doing. If a member refers somebody and says, ‘Hey, you need to be part of this,’ that’s gold.”
Along with members, MineConnect has a seat at government tables, including with the Ministry of Energy and Mines. These ministries actively reach out to MineConnect for input on bills and to ensure they themselves are meeting the needs of mine suppliers. It’s a message Tremblay and her team have been pushing for years, and it’s paying off.
“They want to know what suppliers need, and it’s a crucial part of the equation: you can’t have mines without suppliers. SMEs built the economy. They finally understand that and call us to check with them on their input. And that’s a huge success.”
Strong governance
MineConnect is a not-for-profit, completely self-sustainable organization. It operates with a diverse Board, including members with backgrounds in mining engineering, business development, technology, geoscience, Indigenous representation, and more. All are from the private sector, owners, directors, and other high-level people within their organizations who serve as advisors.
Working with a three-year strategic plan, the Board will soon meet to create a new plan and map out the direction of the organization. “It’s very much a governance board, not an ‘in the weeds’ or working board,” comments Tremblay. “They are there to provide advice, oversee our strategy, and ensure we are meeting strategic objectives.”
As Executive Director, Tremblay reports to the board and develops an annual work plan and yearly budget with the team. The work plan naturally reflects MineConnect’s current strategy and objectives. The Board also reflects the geography of Ontario, since strategies differ from one area to another, and what may work well in one market may not be as successful in another.
Diverse membership
Much like the Board, MineConnect’s membership is diverse, including suppliers who provide goods and services that mines need to operate such as automation and software; electric vehicles; communications infrastructure and services; environmental, health, and safety services; transportation; ventilation; and other areas.
MineConnect members come in all sizes, from multinationals to mom-and-pop operations. “We have some firms that are just two people,” Tremblay shares. “Those are the ones that really need the support.”
Some members get their start working for larger mines and decide to branch out on their own, creating a product or service; they understand the industry but don’t have enough people. As MineConnect members, they can share information about their companies which is then communicated to a broader base, helping build their brand.
By improving MineConnect’s recognition as an organization, Tremblay and her team also establish credibility, which is valuable to up-and-coming SMEs building their own brands and presence in the mining market. “If we work with them, you know they are vetted. If they are a member, they are a credible company,” she says. “That also gives comfort to procurement people at mines, especially if they are looking for something new, different, or local, because of geopolitics. Now they know if they can find it on our site, it’s a credible company.”
With current tensions around tariffs and other global issues, some mines are now considering regional Canadian suppliers.
MineConnect has also been working on building relationships domestically with British Columbia, Quebec, and other provinces. “I’m glad we did that, because this has demonstrated how important it is to work domestically,” says Tremblay. “And having the government looking to change some laws concerning inter-provincial work will be helpful. We’ve gone from being a Sudbury organization to being a complete provincial organization. It’s just under a year since we announced we would go province-wide.”
While welcoming new members across Ontario, Tremblay emphasizes the importance of partnering with others but not duplicating efforts. “We are here to work with people and benefit our members and partners,” she says. “If there are organizations across the country that have something of value for our members, we want to work with them. To us, that’s the whole point.”
One of the organization’s greatest successes has been MineConnect USA in Elko, Nevada. Launched in 2021, this was a three-year partnership between the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Northeastern Nevada Regional Development Authority (NNRDA), and MineConnect. Conceived as a business incubator for Nevada’s legendary mining industry, the project helped form many new, fruitful business relationships.
“The best thing that came out of that is our partnership is very strong, and we have a brand in Nevada,” says Tremblay. “When people show up, they’ve heard of us, and that adds to our credibility.” There is still a presence in Elko, including resources, contacts, and access to meeting space. “It’s still benefiting our members, and that’s the whole objective.”
Membership advantages
In MineConnect’s experience, the benefits of building relationships cannot be overstated. From generating opportunities to market intel, trade programs, e-news and social media promotion, networking events, and more, the benefits of membership are many.
Recently, MineConnect hosted its first golf tournament in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which was a huge success. When the day’s play was through, Tremblay was surprised at how many participants she saw enthusiastically introducing themselves to one another, when she had believed that everybody there already knew everybody else. This underscores the value of creating partnerships. On occasion, when she is in a meeting or talking to a supplier, someone mentions another company. “The next moment, they have a partnership going gangbusters,” she says. “It’s that introduction piece [that is our point of difference]—being involved in many things, talking to other people and seeing the big picture, where those connections are,” she explains. “It is extremely valuable, and sometimes it’s the person right next door. They don’t know they could be getting one of their parts from someone just down the street.”
As Tremblay approaches her fifth anniversary with MineConnect Canada, she sees the organization continuing to support its growing membership base and build valuable relationships.
A wider membership
“I would like more people from outside of the North to be part of the organization and become members, because it gives us more strength on a global level,” she says. Some of the groups she works with educate young people, parents, and schools about well-paying industry careers, helping to shift the perception of mining in the public’s mind. “Our job is to help our members, and we’re looking everywhere in the world for them,” she says.
Indeed, MineConnect regularly works with provincial and federal trade commissioners, investigating markets and gleaning information on current opportunities to share with members.
“We need to provide that information to them so they can make intelligent decisions that are valuable to their companies,” says Tremblay. “That’s why we’re so keen to provide ongoing discussion with our partners. We have those relationships and work with the provinces, the feds, and all our partners across the country. By talking to them all the time, we bring that intelligence back to our membership, because they look to us for that market intel. And that’s really important to us.”
