The verdict in three sentences
For a 420-person drilling contractor headquartered in Toronto, the website is read first by procurement and HSE teams at mining companies, then by job candidates. A serious build costs, as a 2026 ballpark, CAD 25,000 to 45,000, including a live HSE dashboard, a detailed rig fleet list, references by mine and a careers portal. Plan 8 weeks, provided safety data is consolidated before kick-off.
What a mining company buyer checks
Before shortlisting a contractor for production drilling or exploration in Ontario, Quebec, Nevada or West Africa, the procurement team spends under ten minutes on your site. They look for four proofs: three years of safety performance, real and available rig capacity, references on comparable sites, and compliance (ISO 45001 and ISO 14001, COR certification where relevant, Indigenous and local hiring commitments). A site that answers these four questions clearly cuts weeks off prequalification.
The HSE dashboard is the most visited page. It shows the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR), the total recordable injury frequency rate (TRIFR), hours worked without a lost time injury and safety training hours per employee. The HSE manager updates figures each quarter from the CMS, with the update date displayed.
| Site component | Commercial role | 2026 ballpark (CAD) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial design and field photography | Instant credibility | 4,500 to 8,000 | Photo shoot on 2 active sites |
| Editable HSE dashboard | Prequalification | 3,500 to 6,500 | LTIFR, TRIFR, hours without LTI |
| Rig fleet list | Capacity proof | 3,000 to 5,500 | One page per rig, availability status |
| References by mine | Experience proof | 3,000 to 5,500 | Written client approval needed |
| Careers portal | Recruitment | 5,000 to 9,500 | Filter by trade and location |
| French version, SEO, launch | Quebec and West African clients | 6,000 to 10,000 | Languages are set in the quote |
| Total | CAD 25,000 to 45,000 |
Rig fleet and references: proof in numbers
Miners want to know how many rigs you can mobilise in four weeks. A page per rig with make, model, maximum depth, year in service and status (on contract, available, in maintenance) beats a photo gallery. For references, each mine gets its own page: service type, metres drilled, contract length, crew size and site safety result.
| Published metric | 2026 example | Update frequency | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours worked without lost time injury | 2,100,000 hours | Monthly | HSE manager |
| LTIFR, rolling 12 months | 0.4 | Quarterly | HSE manager |
| TRIFR, rolling 12 months | 1.8 | Quarterly | HSE manager |
| Rigs in fleet | 14 (9 RC, 5 diamond core) | On each move | Fleet manager |
| Metres drilled in 2025 | 310,000 metres | Yearly | Operations director |
| Local and Indigenous hiring share | 38 % of field crews | Twice a year | HR |
The careers portal: fewer CVs lost in inboxes
A 420-person contractor hires drillers, drillers' helpers, heavy equipment mechanics and operators all year round. Without a portal, applications arrive by email, text and job boards with no way to sort them. A portal publishes roles by site, asks three or four knock-out questions (tickets, licences, years of experience, rotation availability) and exports a ranked list. Store CVs in line with PIPEDA and show a retention period.
The 8-week schedule: week 1 for scoping and HSE data, weeks 2 and 3 for design and photography, weeks 4 to 6 for build, week 7 for translation and client approvals, week 8 for testing and launch.
Mini case study
Mark, CEO of a drilling contractor in Toronto, runs the numbers for year one.
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- Investment: site at CAD 38,000 plus maintenance at CAD 400 a month, so 38,000 + 12 × 400 = CAD 42,800 in year one.
- Recruitment: the company paid agencies about CAD 6,000 per skilled hire for 30 roles a year, CAD 180,000. If the portal fills half of them directly, savings reach CAD 90,000.
- Sales: one extra six-month drilling contract worth CAD 3.5 million at a 12 % margin brings CAD 420,000.
Recruitment savings alone repay the site twice in year one; one extra contract makes the decision obvious.
FAQ
Should we publish HSE figures that are not perfect?
Yes, with the three-year trend. An LTIFR going from 1.2 to 0.4 reassures buyers more than missing data, which they read as a red flag.
Can we name client mines?
Only with written approval. Allow 2 to 4 weeks to get sign-off from mining companies, so send requests in week 1.
Do we need French content?
If you work in Quebec or francophone West Africa, yes: procurement and site teams often work in French. Reviewed technical translation costs roughly CAD 3,000 to 6,000.
What does maintenance cost?
Plan CAD 250 to 600 a month depending on monitoring and how often fleet and HSE data change, so CAD 3,000 to 7,200 a year.
Will the site work on weak camp connections?
It should be built for it: compressed images, pages under 1.5 MB and an application form that works on a slow mobile signal. A candidate in a remote camp should apply in under 5 minutes.
Let's scope your project. We map the HSE dashboard, fleet list, references and careers portal with you for launch in 8 weeks. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
