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Mining Education and Innovation

NEWS RELEASE: Canada’s mining sector unites on clean resources supercluster application

Canada (November 29, 2017) – We are pleased to announce the submission of a full application for a clean resources Supercluster as part of the Government of Canada’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative.

The CLEER (Clean, Low-energy, Effective, Engaged and Remediated) Supercluster – prepared on behalf of the mining sector by CEMI, CIMRE, CMIC, COREM, IMII, and MSTA – represents a $700 million investment ($450M in cash and $244M in-kind from 162 partners across Canada).

CLEER will build on an existing mining innovation ecosystem uniquely positioned to make Canada a global leader in clean resource development and the responsible sourcing of raw materials.

This CLEER Supercluster will transform the mining sector’s productivity, performance, and global competitiveness by harnessing innovation across the ecosystem to tackle global challenges of water, energy, and environmental footprint, with bold targets of 50% reductions in each area by 2027.

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Robots Will Run Mines Within the Next Decade, Anglo Says – by Thomas Wilson (Bloomberg News – November 29, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Some mines in the next decade will run without humans and instead rely on robots, virtual models and sensors, according to Anglo American Plc.

Anglo is betting on technology, such as computerized drills with “chiseling ability as good as a human” to increase productivity, cut costs and reduce environmental impact, Tony O’Neill, technical director at Anglo, said at the Mines and Money conference in London.

“The industry that everybody currently knows will be unrecognizable” in five to seven years, O’Neill said. With mining processes automated, Anglo’s “employee of the future” will only need to focus on managing the company’s relations with governments and communities that live near its mines, he said.

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Battery tech is the new gold for Kirkland Lake – Ian Ross (Northern Ontario Business – November 2, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

California’s Artisan Vehicle Systems chooses northeast town for Canadian assembly, R & D hub

A leading edge California manufacturer of battery-powered underground mining vehicles is putting down roots in Kirkland Lake.

Artisan Vehicle Systems announced Oct. 31 that it’s building a 60,000-square-foot Canadian headquarters featuring a service centre, vehicle assembly shop, and product research facility in the northeastern Ontario gold mining town to be closest to its biggest customer, Kirkland Lake Gold.

The company is talking about creating 60 jobs over the next two years as they put shovels in the ground within a year-and-a-half to build a state-of-the-art “Centre of Excellence” in the Archer Drive business park.

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Biggest Miner Tracking Trucker Brain Waves in Technology Race – by David Stringer (Bloomberg News – November 1, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Truck drivers employed by the world’s biggest mining company are wearing baseball caps and hard helmets with sensors mounted inside to track their brain waves so they can get early warnings of fatigue and cut accidents.

BHP Billiton Ltd. has deployed the technology for 150 trucks at the Escondida copper mine it operates in Chile as part of efforts to boost safety, Chief Technology Officer Diane Jurgens told reporters Wednesday on the sidelines of a mining forum in Melbourne.

The company intends to adopt the method at other sites globally, including its giant iron ore mines in Australia, she said.

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Barrick’s Digital Reinvention Takes Shape in a Nevada Desert – by Danielle Bochove (Bloomberg News – October 30, 2017)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

Elko, Nevada is no Silicon Valley. A recent front-page story in the local paper hailed inductees to the Buckaroo Hall of Fame, a nod to the town’s cowboy past. Inside, a full-page spread detailed the aspirations of the kids vying for homecoming king and queen.

Yet it’s here, in an unremarkable warehouse in the foothills of the Ruby Mountains, that Barrick Gold Corp. has created an in-house coding hub to design software for its nearby Cortez operation — one step in its plan to use technology to revolutionize the business.

From underground WiFi to sensors that track the output of every miner, it’s all part of what Cisco Systems Inc. Executive Chairman John Chambers calls an “audacious goal” by his Barrick counterpart John Thornton to drag gold mining into the 21st century.

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World Mining Competition testing the mettle of students in Saskatoon – by Alicia Bridges (CBC News Saskatoon – October 29, 2017)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/

Mining engineer Sydney Miller had never met the students on her four-person team before the World Mining Competition started in Saskatoon on Friday. Within 36 hours, the group had developed a complex mining strategy in response to a detailed question in a 26-page case study.

On Sunday, the multi-disciplinary teams of business, engineering and geology students from around the world each got the chance to present those strategies to a panel of judges.

Speaking shortly after her team’s presentation in the preliminary round, Miller said it had been a sleep-depriving and challenging weekend so far. “We had to learn each other’s strengths and weaknesses and set up the case accordingly to where we thrive,” she said.

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Seismic testing to uncover mineral potential in resource-rich regions – by Angela Gemmill (CBC News Sudbury – October 24, 2017)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Laurentian University conducting 7-year, $104-million study into structures in earth’s crust

The large trucks seen recently along major roadways in Sudbury are conducting seismic testing. It’s all part of a major research project by Laurentian University.

That seismic testing is not to detect natural or man-induced mining seismic activity, rather the testing is similar to sonar or ultrasound, says Harold Gibson, director of the Metal Earth Project.

The vibration trucks send out seismic waves, which reflect off features in the earth’s crust and then back to receivers or geophones that have been spread out 20 to 30 metres apart. The data is compiled into a seismograph showing 40 kilometres below the surface of the earth.

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Advice from the cutting edge: Expert panel on innovation highlight of CEMI 10th annual general meeting – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – October 16, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

The reasons for mining innovation are many, so it made sense to hear from many voices who have made a living from offering it as a service.

The Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) held its 10th annual general meeting at Dynamic Earth Sept. 27 to a packed house eager to hear what the consortium had planned for the coming months. Along with board business and updates on new projects and products, the highlight was the panel discussion at the end featuring four people who have made a living offering cutting edge products and services to the industry at home and across the world.

Christine Haas, president of Renix; Chris Novak, president and CEO of Centric Mining Systems; Walter Siggelkow, founder and president of Hard-Line Solutions; and Michael Gribbons, vice-president of sales and marketing at Maestro Digital Mine comprised the panel, offering their insight to questions from moderator Dick DeStefano, executive director of Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA), as well as from the audience.

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[Jannatec Technologies] Technology for deep underground – by Lindsay Kelly (Northern Ontario Business – October 13, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

As early as next spring, Jannatec Technologies could debut the first components of its wearable technology, which will help cool underground miners, monitor their vital signs and enhance their overall health and safety.

A contributor to the Ultra-Deep Mining Network, the Sudbury-based company has been working for three years on the technology that will allow miners to work in mines that descend to 2.5 kilometres or more.

As mines get deeper, temperatures are hotter, miners are more isolated, and it takes longer to ascend to surface. Companies like Jannatec are developing technology to combat the heat, isolation and other challenges miners may encounter.

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Future of mining in Canada on CLEER path if ‘supercluster’ approved – by Angela Gemmill (CBC News Sudbury – October 12, 2017)

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/

Project from CEMI, CMIC one of 9 vying for millions from Innovation, Science and Economic Development

A proposal with roots in Sudbury could see hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money to help improve the mining industry. Earlier this year, the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) in Sudbury and the Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) formed a partnership.

They teamed up to submit a clean resources proposal to the Federal Innovation Supercluster Initiative. A ‘supercluster’ is a consortium of stakeholders, including companies, post secondary institutions and not-for-profit organizations.

The federal government has $950-million to distribute towards the creation of five superclusters. Minister of innovation, sciences and economic development, Navdeep Bains will announced the five successful applicants next March.

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Ottawa narrows ‘superclusters’ hopefuls to nine industry groups – by Sean Silcoff (Globe and Mail – October 10, 2017)

https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/

“We’re very happy to have been successful to this stage,” said Doug Morrison,
chief executive officer of the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation, who
is spearheading a shortlisted bid backed by many of Canada’s largest mining
firms, including Barrick Gold. Corp., to turn Canada into a leading source
of cleaner mining technology and industry practices.

“The industry needs to make major changes to its technology platforms. And
Canada, more than any other country except for Australia, is best capable
of making that transition.”

Ottawa has chosen nine industry consortiums that will qualify to receive $950-million under the Liberal government’s flagship innovation initiative known as its “superclusters” program, The Globe and Mail has learned.

Groups comprising Ontario mining giants, Quebec aerospace manufacturers, Prairie agriculture companies, Atlantic Canadian fishing and energy enterprises, Alberta construction firms and dozens of other prominent Canadian corporations are among the nine bidders selected by government officials from more than 50 letter-of-intent applications submitted in July. Full applications are due from shortlisted groups by Nov. 24, and the government plans to announce up to five finalists in early 2018.

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Elements of bio-mining: Engineering collaboration aims to turn mine waste into valuable metals – by Tyler Irving (U of T Engineering News – September 13, 2017)

UofT Engineering News Home

They are invisible to the naked eye, able to withstand extreme conditions and capable of breathing rocks. They are the microbes that thrive in tailings ponds at mining sites around the world, and a team of Canadian researchers believes they are the key to transforming waste material into something much more valuable.

“There are bugs that thrive on metabolizing sulfur, others on metabolizing iron,” says Professor Vladimiros Papangelakis (ChemE). “If we can control such biochemical reactions, we could both remediate the waste and recover valuable metals that could pay for the cost of processing.”

Papangelakis, along with Professor Elizabeth Edwards (ChemE) is leading the Elements of Bio-mining project, a multidisciplinary collaboration between U of T Engineering, Laurentian University, and the University of British Columbia (UBC), as well as a number of technology, engineering and mining companies, including Glencore, Vale, Teck, Barrick and Hatch.

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Going to school…underground: NORCAT research mine and simulators give students much-needed training for all aspects of the mining industry – by Karen McKinley (Northern Ontario Business – September 7, 2017)

https://www.northernontariobusiness.com/

With the Sudbury basin being a hub for mining technology, training people underground with real equipment would seem like a given. That isn’t always the case, but there is one place in the Sudbury basin with a unique distinction of being a training and testing mine.

NORCAT’s Underground Centre gives entrepreneurs and tech companies a laboratory to test their equipment, while also giving students a place to do real-world training and test theories.

Mining simulators by ThoroughTec at NORCAT on Maley Drive are also part of the training program, giving students more experience in everything from driving machines to tackling extreme scenarios like machine fires.

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Sudbury cluster plays key role in health and safety – by David Robinson (Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal – September 2017)

http://www.sudburyminingsolutions.com/

Mining is still one of the most dangerous industries in the world. According to the International Labour Organization, while mining employs around one per cent of the global labour force, it generates eight per cent of fatal accidents. As bad as it seems, there has been an enormous improvement. Safety in mining is now an obsession.

Safety has become a key target for the mining industry in developed countries, and standards are rising around the world. Some countries have a long way to go. China, for example, accounts for 40 per cent of global coal output, but 80 per cent of the world’s mining deaths. The artisanal and small mining sector, which may have as many as 50 million people working in it, is largely unregulated and undocumented. The number of deaths and injuries in the sector are unknown.

What is known at the global level is that health and safety progress in the mining sector has been astonishing. The deadliest year in U.S. coal mining history, for example, was 1907, when an estimated 3,242 deaths occurred. The number fell to 19 in 2002. China is claiming an 80 per cent reduction in deaths in its coal industry.

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Laurentian University’s Goodman School of Mines is a Jewel – by Jenny Lamothe (SAMSSA.CA – August 30, 2017)

http://samssa.ca/

Special Legacy Series: by Jenny Lamothe on behalf of SAMSSA.CA

Having an employee, CEO or exploration specialist who has the knowledge and expertise to move through the entirety of the mining cycle is an attractive prospect. One that, thanks to Laurentian University’s Goodman School of Mines (GSM), is becoming a reality.

Dr. Bruce Jago, P.Geo, and Founding Executive Director of the school, describes GSM as an administrative unit at Laurentian: “We operate in parallel and in collaboration with the six disciplines that comprise the mining cycle,” he says. These six disciplines: Earth Sciences, Engineering, Indigenous Relations and Studies, Occupational Health and Safety, Environment and Ecology, and Management, make up the key facets of the industry, and in essence, “they’ll get you from one end of the mining cycle – which is discovery – all the way through to closure.”

Their support of these disciplines includes, amongst other funding, financial support for the purchase of new computers and design software for Engineering; access to a new mining equipment simulator at NORCAT for researchers at the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH); “For Earth Science, GSM bought a number of new microscopes for their microscopy lab.

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