HIGH PROFILE
MICA : closing Canada ’ s mining innovation gap
IM gets to the bottom of an influential program looking to accelerate the development and commercialisation of innovative autonomous and clean technologies in the mining sector
The Government of Canada ’ s C $ 40 million ($ 31.9 million ) investment in a C $ 112.4 million project to accelerate the development and commercialisation of innovative technologies geared towards making the mining sector more productive and sustainable has been a long time coming .
It was way back in 2014 that the Ultra-deep Mining Network ( UDMN ), a pan-Canadian initiative led by the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation ( CEMI ), was approved as part of the Business-led Network Centres of Excellence ( BL-NCE ) Program .
UDMN , which ran from 2014-2019 , had rock stress risk reduction , energy reduction , material transport and productivity , and improved human health and effectiveness as its four strategic themes . Its commercial success is still being felt to this date .
While UDMN2 was not approved to go forward to the second stage , the idea behind the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator ( MICA ) was already being germinated by CEMI more than five years ago as it filed the UDMN2 application .
Fast forward to 2021 , and CEMI ’ s new MICA Network now has the funds to connect stakeholders from a wide range of fields to bring innovative technologies to the fore .
MICA ’ s mission is to accelerate the number and scale of home-grown Canadian mining Small-to- Medium Enterprises ( SMEs ); commercialise new , late stage , high impact mining technologies ; create regional networks and rapidly increase domestic and export sales ; scale-up Canadian SMEs to participate in global mining supply chains ; and build a national ecosystem as a network of collaborative regional networks .
It is underwritten by four technical themes : n Increase mine production capacity , at lower cost ; n Reduce mining energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions ; n Implement smart , autonomous mining systems ; and n Reduce tailings environmental risk and longterm liabilities . While MICA will be headquartered in Sudbury , Ontario – where CEMI is based – it will operate across Canada through main partners the Bradshaw Research Initiative for Minerals and Mining , InnoTech Alberta , Saskatchewan Polytechnic , MaRS , Le Groupe MISA and the College of the North Atlantic .
By accelerating the development and commercialisation of innovative autonomous and clean technologies in the mining sector , the initiative is expected to extend the operational lives of existing mines and reduce the time it takes to bring new mineral deposits into production . MICA , having activities that will span the country , is expected to support the creation of 900 jobs and at least 12 new businesses ; the commercialisation of at least 30 new products , services or processes ; and the generation of “ inter-industry spill-over benefits ” by introducing innovative non-mining technologies to the mining sector and vice versa .
The network looks set to mobilise investments of at least C $ 100 million from the private sector and expand its membership to over 350 businesses and organisations across the country .
Following the July announcement of government funding and with an appreciation of the work CEMI carried out on the UDMN , IM put some questions to CEMI President and CEO , Doug Morrison ( pictured ).
IM : How do you intend to “ bridge the innovationto-commercialisation gap ” that currently exists in the mining space in Canada ? DM : The SMEs are the most innovative companies in every sector of the economy but they don ’ t all have the complete range of skill sets that allow them to bring new products or services to market . Every company is different and , once we have identified their particular limitations , we find other consultants that can help them bridge that particular gap . For most SMEs , it is very rarely a technical problem , more likely an IP , marketing or investment issue , but , regardless , we try to find them the resources they need to move forward .
IM : How will the program differ to those in other regions like NEXGEN SIMS in the EU or some of the initiatives run through METS Ignited in Australia ? DM : I think the fundamental difference is that CEMI is not trying to solve a technology problem , so finding new technologies or companies with equipment modifications is not our first goal .
Mining is first and foremost a business , and CEMI is trying to solve mining ’ s business
problems with technology . So , we first look at the
biggest business problem – for most mines , it is labour then energy cost , or the cost of delaying first production revenue . We apply the Theory of Constraints , then analyse that part of the mining process with discrete event simulations to prioritise the critical parts of the problem . Only then do we look for the kinds of answers these analyses point to .
It must be a systems-led approach because there are no simple , silver-bullet answers – we need system solutions . So CEMI goes looking for point solutions that can be integrated into new system solutions that improve business outcomes – more ore value per day , lower cost per tonne , faster approvals , etc . We need to move more ore cheaper and faster and we need new mines to get into production sooner .
We have identified the types of solutions industry needs , but they are not a collection of incremental changes , or pet projects – better candles don ’ t lead to the light bulb in this case . Disruptive solutions are , often , too uncomfortable for many companies to consider but they are absolutely necessary .
IM : How does CEMI ’ s experience to date enable it to best leverage the C $ 40 million of government funding and at least C $ 100 million of private sector funding within the MICA network ? DM : The first SME Network program CEMI managed was the UDMN project ( 2014-19 ) and this was focused only on the kinds of technologies needed to meet the needs of the hot , humid and seismically-active conditions in many mines in Canada , which have to operate at a depth below 2.5 km .
“ The fastest way to produce more metal , more cheaply is to support the development and implementation of the technologies that make this happen ,” Doug Morrison says
We recognised there were several excellent projects we could not fund within the relatively narrow UDMN criteria , and we recognised the need for another network with a broader scope . This was the genesis of the MICA proposal .
From the UDMN experience , we learned important lessons about managing a collaborative network of SMEs in a ‘ managed cluster ’ with rules of engagement to ensure the participants were treated equitably . When we could see some projects were not going to meet their target , we
24 International Mining | SEPTEMBER 2021