Critical Discoveries

What Critical Discoveries does

Critical Discoveries is a privately held geological consulting and mineral exploration services company headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and founded in 2022. The firm provides an integrated suite of services to mining and exploration clients across Canada, with team members holding project experience that extends into the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, Argentina, and Ecuador. Its primary customer segments are junior exploration companies seeking early-stage project support and operating mining companies needing exploration extension and resource evaluation, with an explicit strategic focus on critical minerals (lithium, copper, uranium) alongside gold and base metals.

The company's core offering is organized into three service lines: Mineral Exploration Project Management (target generation, geological mapping, remote sensing, geophysics, geochemistry, drone surveys, and field program oversight); Mineral Exploration Drilling (surface and underground core drilling using BQ, BTW, NQ, NQ2, and HQ coring systems with both wireline and conventional techniques, plus remote camp setup, ice road construction, and aviation support); and Office Services (project design and budgeting, custom database solutions, tenure and permitting management, cartography, 3D geological and resource modeling in Leapfrog Geo/Edge, community and Indigenous engagement, and NI 43-101 technical report writing). The technology stack combines industry-standard GIS and geological modeling platforms (QGIS, ArcGIS, Leapfrog Geo/Edge) with what the company describes as a "mineral systems approach" that incorporates remote sensing, hyperspectral logging, data management, and machine learning for concealed orebody assessment.

The business model is project-based professional services revenue, with pricing provided via quote per engagement and scope dependent on project location, duration, and technical complexity. Go-to-market is direct B2B field and enterprise sales, with proposal preparation, contract negotiation, and on-site execution; marketing relies on the company website, industry events (CCMEC, MPDA, Women in Mining Manitoba), and professional community engagement. Co-founders Aaryn Hutchins (President, P.Geo., ex-Tanco Lithium Mine) and Kevin Norberg (Vice President, ~20 years in drilling with concurrent leadership of Rodren Drilling and 518 Drilling) anchor the firm, supported by a team of Professional Geoscientists, senior and junior geologists, an Operations Manager, a GIS Technician, and an Assistant Manager of Financial Operations. No external funding rounds, institutional investors, named customers, or financial disclosures are present in the source data.

Name

Critical Discoveries

Legal name

Critical Discoveries

Website

https://criticaldiscoveries.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Critical Discoveries is a Winnipeg-based geological consulting and exploration services firm founded in 2022 that delivers integrated project management, drilling, and NI 43-101 reporting to junior exploration companies and mining operators across Canada, with a focus on critical minerals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mineral Exploration Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Mining (213), Support Activities for Metal Mining (213114), Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (541360)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Mineral Exploration & Geoscience Services (Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry, Resource Modeling) (IMAKAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Exploration & Resource Development (Critical Minerals) (IMAKAFAL), Mine Surveying & Geospatial Services (Survey, Drone/LiDAR, GIS, Grade Control) (IMAKAKAK)

Keywords

• Mineral exploration services
• Geological consulting
• Core drilling services
• Critical minerals exploration
• Exploration project management

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Andrews

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Mineral Exploration Project Management: Professional services revenue from project management, geological consulting, field services, and technical oversight for mineral exploration projects. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts involving target generation, on-site mapping, geophysics, geochemistry, and exploration program management.
2. Mineral Exploration Drilling Services: Revenue from providing comprehensive drilling solutions including drill programs, directional drilling, camp management, and ice road building. Services include equipment rental and aviation support for exploration activities.
3. Office Services: Revenue from supporting services including project design and budgeting, custom database solutions, tenure management, cartography, permitting research, geologic modeling, resource calculation, community engagement, and NI 43-101 technical report writing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Critical Discoveries provides comprehensive geological consulting and mineral exploration services to mining and junior exploration companies. Its core offerings include Mineral Exploration Project Management (target generation, on-site mapping, remote sensing, geophysics, geochemistry, data management, and drone surveys), Mineral Exploration Drilling (BQ/BTW/NQ/NQ2/HQ core drilling, camp construction, mobilization, and aviation support for remote locations), and Office Services (project design and budgeting, custom databases, permitting, geologic modeling, resource calculation, community engagement, and NI 43-101 technical reporting).

Product overview

Critical Discoveries is a geological consulting and exploration services company that provides a unified suite of services to clients across Canada and internationally. The core offerings include Mineral Exploration Project Management (encompassing target generation, field mapping, remote sensing, geophysics, geochemistry, and data management), Mineral Exploration Drilling (using BQ, BTW, NQ, NQ2, HQ coring systems with wireline and conventional techniques, plus camp management and logistics), and Office Services (supporting project design, database solutions, permitting, geologic modeling, resource calculation, and regulatory reporting including NI 43-101 technical reports). The three service lines are designed to be delivered under a single management team, providing end-to-end exploration support from target generation through to technical reporting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mineral Exploration Project Management Comprehensive project management for mineral exploration programs, covering target generation, on-site mapping, remote sensing, geophysics, geochemistry, mineral system modeling, and health and safety protocol implementation. Includes prospecting, equipment rental, drone surveys, trenching, geochemical/geophysical surveys, digital geologic mapping, data capture, and aviation support. Targeted at mining and junior exploration companies needing coordinated end-to-end exploration program management.
• Mineral Exploration Drilling Surface and underground core drilling using BQ, BTW, NQ, NQ2, and HQ coring systems with both wireline and conventional drilling techniques. Includes turnkey camp construction, mobilization, site preparation, ice road building, site reclamation, and aviation support for remote locations. Targeted at mining and exploration clients needing drilling capability in remote Canadian terrain.
• Office Services Back-office support including project design and budgeting, custom database solutions, tenure management, cartography, permitting research, data compilation, geologic modeling, resource calculation, community engagement, and NI 43-101 technical report writing. Targeted at mining and exploration clients needing technical documentation, regulatory, and administrative support alongside field programs.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful exploration programs across diverse geological and tectonic environments
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Boart Longyear: Boart Longyear is the world's largest integrated drilling services and equipment provider for minerals exploration. It offers overlapping surface and underground drilling capabilities to a broader global customer base and competes with Critical Discoveries in the drilling segment while also operating its own drilling products division.
• Klohn Crippen Berger: Klohn Crippen Berger is an engineering and geoscience consultancy with a long-standing mining practice providing exploration support, geotechnical, and environmental services. It is a larger, broader incumbent that competes with Critical Discoveries on integrated mining consulting mandates across Canada and internationally.
• Viridien (formerly CGG): Viridien is a global geoscience technology and consulting firm historically focused on oil and gas but with growing mining and critical minerals capabilities. It represents a much larger incumbent competitor for advanced geophysical data acquisition and interpretation services that overlap with Critical Discoveries' remote sensing and data management offerings.
• SLR Consulting (now part of WSP): SLR/now WSP is a global environmental and advisory consultancy with a substantial mining services practice covering geological consulting, resource estimation, and NI 43-101 reporting. It competes with Critical Discoveries for larger mining consulting mandates while serving a much broader industrial client base.

Direct peers

• Forage Val d'Or (FVD): Forage Val d'Or is a Canadian drilling services company offering surface and underground core drilling to mining clients across Canada and internationally. It directly competes with Critical Discoveries' drilling service line for the same junior explorer and producing miner contracts.
• DGI Geoscience: DGI Geoscience is a Canadian geophysical services firm offering ground and borehole geophysical surveys to mining and exploration clients. Its geophysics capabilities directly overlap with the geological/geophysical service component of Critical Discoveries' offerings.
• Major Drilling Group International: Major Drilling is one of the largest drilling services contractors globally and a direct competitor in surface and underground core drilling, with strong presence in Canada and Latin America. Kevin Norberg, co-founder of Critical Discoveries, previously held a senior role overseeing Western Canadian operations at Major Drilling, highlighting the direct overlap in offerings and customer base.
• APEX Geoscience Ltd. APEX Geoscience is a Canadian geological consulting firm providing target generation, project management, and NI 43-101 technical reporting to junior explorers—essentially the same service mix as Critical Discoveries. Both firms compete for the same junior exploration and mine-site support contracts in the Canadian critical minerals and gold markets.
• Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd. Equity Exploration is a Vancouver-based geological consulting firm providing project management, target generation, and NI 43-101 reporting for junior explorers across Canada and Latin America. It competes head-to-head with Critical Discoveries for grassroots and advanced-stage exploration contracts.
• Sander Geophysics Limited: Sander Geophysics is an Ottawa-based airborne geophysical survey company serving mineral exploration clients globally. While more specialized in airborne survey acquisition, it represents a comparable technical services peer for the geophysics portion of Critical Discoveries' value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CriticalDi2023
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/critical-discoveries

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Critical Discoveries