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Biomining and Bioremediation

Sudbury’s mine tailings worth billions – by Staff (Sudbury Star – August 1, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

There is money to be made – and saved – by finding new, environmentally friendly ways to deal with mine tailings in Sudbury and across Ontario. With this in mind, the Vale Living with the Lakes Centre in Sudbury on Wednesday will welcome its academic and industry partners for a two-day Elements of Biomining (EBM) research symposium.

The national network has received $4 million in funding from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation to develop biotechnologies for mine waste stabilization, and the recovery of valuable metals like nickel, copper and zinc.

To achieve this goal, Elements of Biomining will harness the capabilities of naturally occurring microbial communities. Researchers form the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia and Laurentian University make up Elements of Biomining.

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Sudbury Laurentian researcher gets key grant for work in biomining – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – May 29, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Laurentian University researcher Nadia Mykytczuk’s recent Early Researcher Award served as affirmation of the value of her work, as well as assurance that work will continue uninterrupted.

Mykytczuk, who works out of the Vale Living With Lakes Centre as Laurentian’s NOHFC Industrial Research Chair, received $140,000 from the provincial government to fund her project aimed at developing cost-effective, energy-efficient ways to recover metals and reduce environmental impacts from mine wastes using microbes.

“It’s excellent support, to apply for these very competitive grants and then to be a recipient means that I’m not only doing a good job at being a researcher, but that I’m actually standing out there and being able to get a competitive grant like this to support my early research,” Mykytczuk said.

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Sudbury’s Bio-Mine impresses mining convention (Sudbury Star – March 10, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

The Canadian Press – TORONTO — Programmable bacteria, a gold-sniffing camera and a virtual reality tool for taking investors underground were among the innovations on display at the world’s biggest annual mining convention in Toronto this week.

Their makers say these and other technologies have the potential to reshape the mining industry at every stage — from financing and exploration to extraction and cleaning up sites once the metal is gone.

Some veterans of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention say such innovation is badly needed in an industry traditionally resistant to change.“There’s a lot of inertia in our business,” said George Salamis, chairman of Vancouver-based Integra Gold Corp. (TSXV:ICG).

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Sudbury’s Bio-Mine up for $1-million prize – by Ben Leeson (Sudbury Star – March 1, 2017)

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Yet another right-here-in-Sudbury story is unfolding before our eyes, and on March 5, in front of some 400 mining company executives, government officials and other heavy hitters at the finale of #DisruptMining, a high-stakes mining innovation contest, in Toronto.

Bio-Mine Ltd., a Sudbury-based company, is one of five finalists getting reading to pitch their “game-changing environmental technology” at the Shark Tank-style event, with $1 million on the line.

“You couldn’t ask for that kind of earshot marketing,” said Bio-Mine CEO Kurtis Vanwallegham, who founded the company along with Dr. Vasu Appanna. “It would have taken us a year, two years, to do that, so just the fact that many decision-makers in the recovery and remediation sector are sitting in that room is key. Obviously, we’re there to win, and a million-dollar injection would be a springboard for us, but the most important part for us is actually the crowd itself in one room, getting that many people.”

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Province sinks funding into bio-mining research – by Jonathan Migneault (Northern Ontario Business – July 8, 2016)

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

A new Laurentian University industrial research chair position in bio-mining, bio-remediation and science communication has the potential to kickstart a new industry in Sudbury that could create hundreds or even thousands of jobs, said the director of the Vale Living with Lakes Centre.

“It’s not an exaggeration to say there will be an entire industry built around this,” said Laurentian professor John Gunn, who is also the Canada research chair for stressed aquatic systems. “The demands are so big.”

The province is investing more than $630,000 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation to create the five-year research chair position at the university. The announcement was made at a press conference in Sudbury on May 9.

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