Meet Piero Amodeo, GHD’s new Mining Sector Leader

My 18 years with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change taught me a lot about how to navigate through the environmental review and permitting process successfully. I learned the value of relationships – and I can’t stress enough the importance to mining company’s leaders in keeping their relationships with regulators healthy. In 2010, I was approached with the idea of going into consulting, and that move was the best decision I ever made. These past 13 years, I have dealt with many aspects of the business, but mining has been my passion. Through the knowledge gained and connections made in the mining sector, I can elevate GHD and continue my passion in helping mining companies reach their goals. 

Canadians put a high value on the environment, and so Canada is one of the most challenging countries in the world to get your permits and approvals in place. That makes environmental compliance key to success in mining in Canada. There are so many interactions between the different aspects of mining – you are impacting water, aquatic environments, terrestrial environments, wildlife, air emissions and much more. It is imperative to build genuine relations with Indigenous communities as your trusted partner before, during and after any environmental permitting and approval activities.

Environmental regulations even influence the size of a mine and mining companies are considering these regulations carefully in making strategic decisions for their project. There are thresholds under both federal and provincial impact assessment processes, so that if the mine produces more than a certain number of tonnes of ore per day, it requires significantly more environmental review and scrutiny, and that can stretch the review process by five or six years. So, mining companies are starting to look at things differently in order to reduce their overall permitting process by half if they can stay under those production levels. Closure planning is another key element to permitting. That’s the first big permit and our clients need these closure plans established before the shovels hit the ground. The government wants to know what it could look like in 20 to 50 years and how you can rehabilitate the site and mitigate impacts before and after closure. This is one of the many permitting areas our team is passionate about helping our clients with. 

One of the biggest issues is finding the right employees. There’s so much demand for skilled staff within the major engineering firms, as well as the mining companies themselves not to mention our federal and provincial regulators. We’re all looking for the same people. Having said that, in my short time here at GHD so far, I’ve been thrilled at the depth of expertise we have on our team, coast to coast, and throughout North America.  

I’m starting with the people. I will be travelling across the country to meet the experts in the various offices who make it happen on the ground and below the ground. It will give me a better understanding to see what we have in terms of capabilities, and what we need to continue to grow. GHD is a great place to be, and I’m really excited about our future with GHD being a leader in this market.

GHD in the Americas

GHD has long-standing client relationships, a significant project and economic footprint in the Americas and represents 40 percent of GHD’s global workforce with nearly 4,000 professionals in over 130 offices in the US, Canada, and Chile. In 2023, our Canadian business was named one of Canada’s Top 100 employers and ranks #6 in international design firms operating in Canada according to Engineering News-Record’s 2023 annual survey of key market segments. GHD’s US operations were named as a 2023 Best Places to Work for disability inclusion by Disability:IN. To find a local office, click here.