Getting it done - Jeff Stibbard of JDS Energy and Mining

October 08, 2010

When Jeff Stibbard, president of JDS Energy & Mining Inc., declares, “We’re rat killers!” I’m a bit taken aback, since our focus for this issue of Mineral Exploration is the environment. I quickly ask him to clarify. Rats, says Stibbard, are missed deadlines, budget overruns, bureaucracy, overpriced equipment and unnecessary team interdependencies. JDS provides design, construction and management services to energy and mining companies around the world. One of Stibbard’s former clients, Stephen Quin of Sherwood Copper Corp. (now Capstone Mining Corp.) described the
outcome of JDS’s “rat-killing” policy in a speech at the opening of Minto Mine on October 11, 2007:
“So, we were off and running … building a mine in perhaps the most challenging times the industry has faced in its history; with every commodity out there booming, there are shortages of people, equipment, manufacturers – everything you can think of. But, despite everything, build the mine we
did, as you can see around you. A $98-million mine built for $100 million (just two per cent over budget) and first concentrates made more than a month ahead of schedule. The credit for that success belongs to our construction managers, JDS Energy & Mining Inc., led by Jeff Stibbard….”
JDS has extensive experience with Canada’s most successful large-scale resource developments, including a diamond mine in the Arctic, major oil sands projects in Alberta and a copper mine in Yukon, among many other projects throughout the world. The company recently opened an office in Vancouver, because according to Stibbard, “As we work internationally, Vancouver was the best meeting point for both our customers and our employees.” The team consists of about 25 full-time
specialists and four industry associates who work together on a project-specific basis.
In his confident and forthright manner, Stibbard says, “We extract maximum value from projects to give our clients the best possible return on their investment. Faster, cheaper, safer.” That said, it’s clear JDS’s guiding business principles also incorporate sustainability in a major way:

• Cause no harm to people, the environment, assets or the
company’s reputation
• Deliver the highest standard of leadership, teamwork and
accomplishment
• Conduct business professionally, ethically and practically
• Maintain open and honest communication, internally and
with customers
• Accept no mediocrity, be true to our word and get it done

JDS is very focused on maintaining its leadership in Aboriginal partnerships and business development, creating opportunities and successful business ventures for Canada’s First
Nations. Best practices in environmental stewardship within the project development process have been refined by Stibbard and his team over many years on a multitude of projects. Stibbard started out as a welder, later working as a driller and underground miner, obtaining a diploma oftechnology at BCIT. He did an engineering degree at the Montana School of Mines and became a shift boss, then a superintendent. An article in the spring 2001 issue of Energy, Shell Canada’s quarterly employee magazine, quotes a younger Stibbard (although sporting the same hairstyle) as saying, “The bestpart of mining for me right now is the opportunity to influence leadership. Leadership is a great leveller because the challenges are mostly the same, whether those challenges are above or below ground – ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results with effective leadership.” When asked to name two of his most challenging projects with successful outcomes, Stibbard chooses BHP’s Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories and the Albian Sands project. At Ekati, a highly lucrative diamond mining operation in Canada’s Arctic, he was involved in design, permitting, construction and initial production. At Albian Sands Energy Inc., he served as general manager of mining. His main role was to lead the mine’s development in both the construction and operations phases. In describing the Herculean task of readying the massive operation for production by the proposed deadline, Stibbard says, “You don’t get that magnitude of work done by just wishing.” In the 2001 Energy interview, he calls his boss at Albian, a VP with Shell Canada, “a crusty old miner who truly kicks my ass and keeps us focused on practical mine operation issues. This is so necessary in our culture.” At Albian, environmental stewardship and health and safety were top priorities for Stibbard. The on-site operations team created a program called ASESS (Albian Sands Environmental and Safety System), which was applied daily as part of a simple accountability compliance tool to makecost, schedule and quality checks on all project employees and contractors. While at Albian, Shell Canada picked up on Stibbard’s unique flair and incorporated him – and Dave Boucher, an Aboriginal leader from Fort McKay – into a global education campaign on Shell’s efforts to maintain high sustainability standards.
Stibbard says he feels lucky to have worked for and with industry leaders, many of whom he considers mentors. From a list too long to include here, he cites the legendary McLeod mining
family of Vancouver, Neil Camarta of Petro-Canada and John Zigarlick of Nuna Logistics. Unsolicited, they took the time to show me a better way, [to] trust me to get it done,” he says. “And now, in everything I do, I am always in fear of letting them down.” It’s certainly exciting to talk with
Stibbard, and I’m lucky to get a few minutes of his time. He’s always moving fast and seems to blow through any obstacle in his way. He’s very focused on work – problem-solving and achieving
success on JDS’s current projects – but he’s also a family man and a longdistance cyclist. While on the call to set up our first interview, Stibbard emails through a picture taken two minutes before from his “relaxing” family vacation in Maui. There he is, leaning on his road bike atop Haleakala
volcano’s 10,023-foot summit. “It might be tough to meet you today,” he laughs. “But we’ll get right on it as soon as I get back to Vancouver… because I leave two days later for a project in Peru.”

To View Original Article: http://www.jdsmining.ca/files/u1/getting_it_done.pdf