One of the key factors that creates success in the mining industry is adjusting to change. From technology to processes, mining professionals have to quickly learn to handle many shifting aspects of the job.
Handling this change doesn’t mean that people have to figure it out on their own. As Aaron and Layne can attest, having the right training and a supportive work environment can ensure that people have the skills and opportunity to complete projects successfully and grow quickly in their careers.
Working for Ledcor US Heavy Civil and Mining, both Aaron and Layne are part of a business approach that offers multiple services to mining companies across North America. After joining Ledcor in 2020, both have been key to the expansion of the company’s heavy civil division that has become one of its distinctive turnkey service offerings for clients.
Aaron started as a project coordinator and has worked his way up to project manager for projects in Nevada and Arizona. “Ledcor puts safety first in everything it does,” Aaron said.
“Having proper training, both in safety and project controls, allows us to maintain schedules and complete our work as safely and efficiently as possible. Teams really buy into this process when they see the ongoing success and happy clients.”
“It’s all about giving people the right skills and combining that with planning and effective scheduling to reach our goals safely and efficiently.”
Looking back on 2024, a success story Aaron is proud of comes from a copper mine in Tucson, Arizona, where he helped complete 15 drill pads in extremely rocky conditions using a 336 excavator and a D8 dozer. There’s more to come in 2025, including the construction of two diversion ditches along with 50,000 cubic yards of drilling and blasting for rip rap placement.
Setting people up for success is a sentiment echoed by Layne, a Superintendent who recently finished a large reclamation project covering 4,000,000 square feet of an abandoned leach pad with 1 foot of topsoil using a 992K loader and 777 CAT trucks.
“It’s all about giving people the right skills and combining that with planning and effective scheduling to reach our goals safely and efficiently,” Layne said. “This plays such a key role in building strong relationships with our clients,” he continued. “More often than not, it also leads to extended contracts and potential for more work.”
In his four years with Ledcor, Aaron has seen rapid growth in the heavy civil services that the company provides. “Heavy civil has developed extensively over the past two years in work areas that were challenging previously,” he said.
“It has allowed us to handle more types of jobs, but came with a number of changes that we had to plan to support internally. Now we’re seeing these efforts paying off as the combination of our reputation for on time and on budget with both heavy civil and mining service offerings has really contributed positively to our long term client partnerships.”
These partnerships and growth in heavy civil have meant that Ledcor is always looking for people to join its growing team. From preparing mine sites, building facilities, and reclamation activities, to manage mine operations and extracting minerals, Ledcor has a wide scope of operations with many opportunities for people just getting into the industry to those who already have valuable experience.
Reflecting on their own starts in the industry, Aaron and Layne shared a few insights.
“Heavy civil and mining work is both challenging but extremely rewarding when projects are completed,” said Aaron. “Being able to adapt and having patience is a must because of how large and diverse the industry is.”
“Be open to change,” said Layne. “Change will be constant in any mining career, and being able to handle changing schedules, locations, people, and work scopes will really help both you and your clients have success.”
Ledcor US Heavy Civil and Mining, based in Reno, Nevada, provides services in mine construction, contract mining, engineering, and mine reclamation.
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