Mining Education and Innovation – Page 14

[Sudbury-based Deltion Innovations] Canadians to develop space mining tool – by Cecilia Jamasmie (Mining.com – April 6, 2016)

April 6, 2016

http://www.mining.com/

The device would prospect for water, ice and resources on the moon and beyond. A Canadian company has inked a $700,000 contract with the country’s Space Agency (CSA) contract to develop a multi-purpose device designed for space mining.

Northern Ontario-based Deltion Innovations Ltd will work on the combination drill and rotary multi-use tool, or what the firm describes as a “space-age Swiss Army knife”.

The project, part of the CSA’s space technology development program, has been given the acronym “PROMPT” (Percussive and Rotary Multi-Purpose Tool), Canadian Press reports.

Laurentian U appoints research, eco-development czar – by Staff (Northern Ontario Business – March 9, 2016)

March 18, 2016

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Sudbury’s Laurentian University has; announced Craig Fowler will assume the role of associate vice-president, research partnerships, innovation and economic development.

Fowler will be responsible for developing new large-scale research collaborations to advance the university’s objectives and foster innovation and economic development.

In its Strategic Plan, Laurentian University has set a goal of increasing total annual funded research from $21.9 million in 2010 to $30 million by 2017.

“We are thrilled by the experience and vision that Craig brings to this portfolio,” said Rui Wang, vice-president of research at Laurentian University.

Space mining ready for lift off – by David Perri (Northern Miner – March 4, 2016)

March 16, 2016

http://www.northernminer.com/

Mining and space exploration seem like two fields that couldn’t be further apart. Miners plunge deep into the earth’s crust, while space explorers seek to propel humankind in the opposite direction.

Early champions of space mining were often not taken too seriously. “There was a huge giggle factor,” said Dale Boucher, CEO of Deltion Innovations, a Sudbury-based firm that hopes to supply equipment for space miners.

Boucher spoke with The Northern Miner after meeting with Canadian ministers in Ottawa, where his pitch was simple: Canada, as a world leader in mining capability, should be involved in space mining.

Australia Will Lead The Way In Space Mining Because We’re Used To Operating In Isolated, Extreme Environments – by Cayla Dengate (Huffington Post Australia – February 22, 2016)

February 22, 2016

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/

It’s hard to talk about space mining without thinking of Bruce Willis striding across an asteroid in Armageddon, and the scientists, engineers and lawyers at the forefront of space exploration know it.

University of NSW School of Mining Engineering research director Serkan Saydam said off-earth mining preparations were underway but Bruce and his hunky team of riggers were misleading.

“It’s definitely not going to happen like in the movie Armageddon and I can guarantee it’s not going to be done by the humans, it’s going to be done by the robots,” Saydam said.

Laurentian creates Sudbury mining research hub – by Ben Leeson, (Sudbury Star – February 20, 2016)

September 5, 2016February 22, 2016

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Vic Pakalnis doesn’t want to sugarcoat it. The mining industry is going through “some very tough times right now,” said Pakalnis, newly appointed associate vice-president of Laurentian Mining Innovation and Technology.

And there’s no better time, he believes, to prepare for the next upswing and develop the “Sudbury Advantage,” as Laurentian University plans to do with through LMIT, a new mining innovation and technology research initiative to co-ordinate and promote all mining-related research at the university.

“I’m a mining engineer and I have been in the mining industry since my birth,” Pakalnis said, during a press conference held at Laurentian on Friday to officially announce the establishment of Laurentian Mining Innovation and Technology. “My father was a mining engineer, my mother was a mining engineer, and I have survived five of these cycles.

We need disruptive innovation in the mining sector, as well – by Rick Howes (Globe and Mail – February 20, 2016)

February 22, 2016

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Rick Howes is chief executive officer of Dundee Precious Metals.

While declining metal prices have cast a negative light on the status of the mining industry, the facts still speak to the tremendous role mining plays in the Canadian economy. More than 380,000 Canadians work directly in the industry, and in Ontario alone, another 68,000 work for mining industry suppliers.

The dynamics of the global economy are forcing adjustment on many, but our country’s historical strengths and continued expertise in mining positions us to lead globally moving forward.

To do so, however, requires us to apply the same innovative principles to our business as seen in software, financial services and retail. How will we adapt to disruption and the growing distribution of mining expertise around the world? The answer means focusing on how we can build the mines of the future that use technology and data to operate more efficiently and effectively.

Six yard battery-powered scoops head for Russia Batteries and lithium are King – by Norm Tollinsky (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 17, 2015)

February 22, 2016

http://www.sudburyminingsolutions.com/

RDH Mining Equipment builds on track record for innovation

RDH Mining Equipment, a manufacturer of underground mining equipment in Alban, Ontario, 50 kilometres south of Sudbury, has sold three battery-powered, six-yard load-haul-dump machines to a mine in Russia.

A global leader in the development of battery-powered underground mining equipment, RDH began manufacturing electric scoops in 2011 for Kirkland Lake Gold. Since then, it has sold the Ontario gold miner 12 battery-powered three-yard loaders and three haul trucks.

The three drivers for the mining industry’s interest in battery power are rising ventilation costs, heat issues and exposure to diesel particulate, which is now classified as a carcinogen, said RDH president Kevin Fitzsimmons.

Battery power exec predicts diesel’s demise – by Walter Franczyk (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – November 17, 2015)

February 22, 2016

http://www.sudburyminingsolutions.com/

Mike Kasaba foresees the day when diesel no longer fuels underground mining. The chief executive officer of Artisan Vehicle Systems, a company that supplies battery-powered, electric powertrains for mining equipment, Kasaba predicts that within five years all new equipment purchases for underground mines will be zero emission and diesel equipment will be progressively phased out.

He delivered his forecast during a recent Toronto conference of the Mining Diesel Emissions Council. To prepare for diesel’s demise, his company recently opened a 60,000-square-foot battery development centre and production facility designed to boost production levels by 10 times, in Camarillo, California.

“The driving force behind the expansion is this opportunity and urgency in underground mining,” said Mark Dunseith, general manager of Artisan’s Canadian operations.

TRAINING: Partnership creates northern Ontario school of hard rock mining (Canadian Mining Journal – February 18, 2016)

February 19, 2016

http://www.canadianminingjournal.com/

TIMMINS, Ontario – Northern College, Haileybury School of Mines has a new initiative underway; the creation of a Northern School of Hard Rock Mining, offered in partnership with Glencore’s Kidd Operations. One of the first programs offered through the partnership will include a modular training program to individuals wanting to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to be an underground hard rock miner.

The underground hard rock miner Common Core program will be delivered at the 2400 training level at the Kidd mine site in Timmins and will cover the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) Underground Hard Rock Miner Program #770010. Training will consist of four mandatory Common Core modules, along with up to nine other modules.

“Our partnership with Kidd Operations allows us to provide, where applicable, both trainer and employer modular sign-offs in order for the participants to receive their Common Core modules as registered with MTCU Apprenticeship Branch Modular Training Division” says Christine Heavens, executive director, community, business development and employment services at Northern College.

Developing the ‘Sudbury [Mining] Advantage’ – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 19, 2016)

February 19, 2016

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

Training, Colleges and Universities Minister Reza Moridi will attend an announcement Friday about the launch of a Laurentian University initiative to capitalize on what organizers are calling “the Sudbury Advantage.”

Laurentian Mining, Innovation and Technology is a single-access pathway to tap into the expertise in mining that abounds in Sudbury.

The umbrella organization will co-ordinate and promote research being done at MERC (Mining Exploration Research Centre), Vale Living with Lakes, CROSH (Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health) and MIRARCO Mining Innovation.

The initiative will advance Laurentian’s desire to become a global leader in mineral exploration, education, and mining research and education.

Suppliers news: $2.6M research cluster to tackle corrosion in Saskatchewan (Northern Miner – February 17, 2016)

February 18, 2016

http://www.northernminer.com/

The Saskatoon-based non-profit International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII) has announced a research initiative that could benefit miners in the province.

The Mining Materials Research Cluster “will examine the corrosion of materials used in mineral processing and mining equipment and its supporting infrastructure, used in Saskatchewan’s potash industry,” IMII stated in a press release.

“The high chloride conditions that exist in the industry can cause corrosion and wear to production and related equipment and infrastructure, and lead to hazards to personnel and reduced asset life.”

Sudbury’s CEMI digging deep for data – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – February 18, 2016)

February 18, 2016

http://www.thesudburystar.com/

If you’ve been itching to test a good idea for a data analytics business that could benefit the mining and exploration industry, the Centre for Excellence in Mining and SNOLAB want to hear from you.

Its officials have issued a worldwide request for proposals for business start-ups interested in using the Mining Observatory Data Control Centre (MODCC) to incubate their ideas.

The MODCC is a four-year, $2.4-million partnership among CEMI, SNOLAB, the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. and the Canada Mining Innovation Council.

Slumping commodity prices drive groundbreaking approaches to mining – by Ella Myers (Northern Ontario Business – February 12, 2016)

February 12, 2016

http://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

Economic blasts are rumbling the ground on which the mining industry stands these days.

As nickel prices drop alongside copper and other local commodities, Vale’s general manager of mines and mill, Robert Assabgui, estimates that more than half of producers are losing money at the current prices, and these companies are forced to make major changes to their operations.

For students advancing onto the employment field in the next few years, the current bust in the cycle could be unnerving. “You can tell we’re in a bust because usually there’s pyro and a live band when I come on,” joked Jeff Fuller, owner of Fuller Industrial to a crowd of gathered students, Feb. 11.

Extracting rare-earth elements from coal could soon be economical in U.S. – by Liam Jackson (Penn State News – February 2, 2016)

February 4, 2016

http://news.psu.edu/

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The U.S. could soon decrease its dependence on importing valuable rare-earth elements that are widely used in many industries, according to a team of Penn State and U.S. Department of Energy researchers who found a cost-effective and environmentally friendly way to extract these metals from coal byproducts.

Rare-earth elements are a set of seventeen metals — such as scandium, yttrium, lanthanum and cerium — necessary to produce high-tech equipment used in health care, transportation, electronics and numerous other industries.

They support more than $329 billion of economic output in North America, according to the American Chemistry Council, and the United States Geological Survey expects worldwide demand for REEs to grow more than 5 percent annually through 2020. China produces more than 85 percent of the world’s rare-earth elements, and the U.S. produces the second most at just over 6 percent, according to the USGS.

NEWS RELEASE: THE IVORY COAST CALLS UPON LAURENTIAN UNIVERSITY TO DEVELOP ITS MINING SECTOR

February 4, 2016

SUDBURY, ON (February 4, 2016) – Laurentian University has signed an agreement to leverage its expertise in an effort to help evaluate mining training needs in Ivory Coast, implement relevant and viable training programs, and offer tailored French-language programs to Ivorian people.

At the Mine and Agriculture Symposium organized jointly by the Canadian Embassy in Ivory Coast and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), Laurentian University’s Goodman School of Mines signed a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Groupement des professionnels des mines de Côte d’Ivoire (GPMCI) and Institut National Polytechnique Félix HOUPHOUÊT-BOIGNY (INP-HB). The memorandum aims to develop a qualified local workforce able to respond to the growing needs of the mining industry on the Ivory Coast.

On the heels of the unveiling of three new bilingual engineering programs in November 2015, Laurentian University illustrates, through this new collaboration, the strong added value of its Francophone component and the significant impact of mining training in both English and French, which is already becoming evident on a global scale.