Mining and Mineral Technology

CanmetMINING a branch of the Minerals and Metals Sector of Natural Resources Canada contributes to the departmental commitment of improving the Canadians’ quality of life through a sustainable resource advantage.

This goal is achieved by continuously aligning our priorities and activities with NRCan’s Strategic Outcomes of Economic Competitiveness and Environmental Responsibility.

To deliver on these objectives CanmetMINING has aligned its activities to the following seven priorities:

Clean Water– This priority addresses water usage in mining and milling through recycling and removal of process contaminants. It also focuses on water and effluent management with the goal of cleaner effluents, greater compliance, lower toxicity, and lower cost treatment alternatives.

Best Practices in Mining Environmental Management– This research area will develop, improve, evaluate and demonstrate technologies for environmental stewardship, which includes tailings management, transfer of Canadian expertise and technologies internationally and Environmental Assessment reviews.

Energy Efficiency in Mining and Milling- Research in this area focuses on energy intensive aspects of the extraction and milling processes specifically energy reduction comminution. In addition, the green mining vehicle roadmap, ventilation automation and initiatives to reduce ventilation volume requirements would also be targeted

Northern Mineral Development- This priority area would focus on the development of better treatment and waste management technologies for the North.  This would include the assessment of climate change impacts and development of adaptation measures for water and waste management in the Northern mining industry. Activities will target engagement of Aboriginal  and Northern stakeholders.

Critical and Strategic Metals Processing- The supply of rare earth and critical metals is both a national and international issue. Research in this area will focus primarily on the processing of these ores but would also investigate the environmental risks associated with their development.

Mining Extraction Innovation- This research priority fills the technological gaps that reduce the risk for mining extraction in deep mines or weak rock masses.Reducing the technological risk affords access to deep Canadian high grade mineral resources and greatly contributes to the reduction of the mine site footprint. This priority includes elements of innovation in explosives-free rock breakage, mine openings integrity, rock mass stability, deep mining methods and innovative hoisting technologies.

Radioactive Waste Management- The waste stabilization priority will develop methods and innovative techniques to characterize, treat and stabilize both solid and liquid forms of nuclear wastes