Photo taken at an innovation roundtable with Minister Carr and government officials on June 16, 2016. — Photo courtesy The Mining Association of Canad
Photo taken at an innovation roundtable with Minister Carr and government officials on June 16, 2016. — Photo courtesy The Mining Association of Canada
Innovation is happening every day in our industry with companies investing millions in R&D every year. At the same time, there is growing recognition that expediting change across the industry will require greater collaboration. The Canada Mining Innovation Council (CMIC) has taken this concept and turned it into action by creating the Towards Zero Waste Mining (TZWM) innovation strategy. The goal of TZWM is the eventual elimination of mine waste and tailings and the radical reduction of mining’s environmental footprint.
Today, TZWM involves 40 mining companies and service providers – and that number is growing as some of Canada’s largest producers come on board. These companies are investing in the development and adoption of technologies that will greatly reduce mine waste and emissions at all stages of the mining life cycle.
- Replacing diesel-powered equipment with electric or renewable continuous mining technology to reduce energy use and emissions for underground mines.
- Capturing lost energy by recovering heat loss during mineral processing.
- Developing new environmental management technologies to minimize waste (tailings), treat waste water, track water quality in real-time and accelerate reclamation.
- Improving ore reserve definition during exploration to minimize waste extraction during mining.
Government support for TZWM will catalyze industry’s innovation investments, enabling the industry to turn promising opportunities into proven technologies. In June, MAC, CMIC and executives from Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Goldcorp, IAMGOLD Corporation, New Gold and Hatch, discussed opportunities for industry and government to partner in mining innovation to achieve mutual goals. The event was an innovation roundtable with the Honourable Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources and senior government officials from Natural Resources Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
There is strong alignment between what TZWM will accomplish and what the federal government is working to achieve through innovation: addressing climate change, establishing world-leading environmental practices, and providing Indigenous peoples and businesses with new and exciting opportunities.
For more information visit: www.cmic-ccim.org/towards-zero-waste-mining.
Source: The Mining Story newsletter: The Mining Association of Canada.
