Golden Hill builds highways, bridges, airports and dams, as well as performs site work and contract mining.

Premier Business Partners:

Kal Tire

Two of Golden Hill Ventures LP's greatest assets are its employees and long history of working in northern Canada, President Jon Rudolph says. Most of its employees are from the north and are used to the harsh weather, he explains. “They've got the can-do attitude to get it done no matter what,” he says. “We are very good at what we do.”

The company, based in Whitehorse, Yukon, builds highways and the infrastructure for bridges, airports and dams, as well as performs site work and contract mining.  It was founded in 1980, and mainly performs projects in the Yukon Territories and British Columbia.

Employees must be able to handle the seasonal cold weather of the region. The freezing temperatures make it difficult to perform work outdoors, Rudolph acknowledges. “Our employees are very dedicated to us,” he adds. “They have a real team spirit to get in there and get the job done.

“We have southern [Canadian] contractors who come here and try working, but they don't have the local knowledge we have gained over 27 years,” he adds.

Alaska Highway
Golden Hill is working on a $14 million project to rebuild seven kilometers of the Alaska Highway, between Haines Junction and Beaver Creek, Yukon. The project is a large rock job, Rudolph notes, and requires 350,000 cubic meters of drilling and blasting. The project began in May and will be completed September 2008.

The project has been challenging because it is located in the Kluane National Park, between Sheep Mountain and Kluane Lake. Aspects of construction were scheduled around the time the sheep would migrate down the mountain to the lake, which occurs from June 15 to Sept. 15. “They come with their young and go to the lake to get water,” Rudolph says. “We had to design the work schedule around the sheep so we would not disturb them.”

It is also an environmentally sensitive project, he adds, because it is located near Kluane Lake. The company had to move drilled materials away from the lake.

Traffic Challenges
Because the Alaska Highway is the only major highway with access to the state from Canada, the roads had to be kept open during the project, Rudolph says. “Dealing with traffic was very challenging,” he says. “We had to have a safe, passable highway that could accommodate cars and motor homes.”

At the height of the tourist season, traffic would be delayed up to 15 minutes, he says. The maximum delay, according to Yukon law, is two hours. At times, there were 150 cars lined up on a single lane. “We do the best we can to make sure traffic flows smoothly,” he says.

The road was originally built during the 1940s and had deteriorated through the years. “It was in desperate need of reconstruction,” he says. “It is a very old, very narrow road and this was the last section to be constructed.” Over the years, the company had reconstructed other sections of the road, he notes.

Although the project is located in Canada, it is fully funded by the U.S. government under the Shakwak Highway Agreement. “Because the Alaska Highway is the main road to Alaska, it doesn't have a lot of benefit to Canada,” he says. “It is a much greater benefit to the U.S. because it is a good supply link. They agreed to fund it.”

'Extreme' Shortage of Labor
Rudolph, along with three former partners, founded Golden Hill Ventures because they saw a need for a road construction and mining company in Yukon. “We started with one Caterpillar dozer and we basically built it from there,” he says. Within five years, Rudolph became the sole owner of the company.

Rudolph has been in the construction industry since he was 14 years old. His first job was salvaging logs on the coast of British Columbia. “I have no formal education, just a strong work ethic,” he says.

The company's greatest challenge is the shortage of skilled labor, he says, which is a problem all over the country. “The extreme shortage of experienced workers is the biggest deterrent to the business,” he says. “Even maintaining skilled employees is difficult.”

He says the company has had to turn down work because the labor pool is so drained. “We are training younger people where we can,” he says. “We're constantly looking for good people and finding ways to get them to work for us.”

Ross Mining
Ross Mining, Golden Hill's sister company, handles the gold mining division of the company, Rudolph says. Gold mining is about 10 to 15 percent of the company's business, he estimates.
Ross Mining is performing mine development for Adanac Molybdenum Corp. in the Ruby Creek Mine in British Columbia. “There is plenty of room to grow,” he says. “There are lots of challenges in mine development, but there is lots of potential for growth.”