Innovation Centre a boon for Laurentian, Sudbury

The mining industry in and around Sudbury, Ont., will soon have another resource to count among the already considerable number of research centres, training facilities and businesses that were spawned by the area’s vast mineral wealth.

The Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) will join the five existing research centres at Laurentian University, acting as a co-ordinating force and clearing house for mining research and information for both academia and industry.

The provincial government announced the first $10 million in seed money for CEMI in its recent budget.

Unlike the resources in the ground — which won’t last forever — the centre is aimed at creating spinoff industries and services from research it conducts and co-ordinates.

“The vision here is that we’re maximizing our present mineral resources to develop a centre of expertise and knowledge and service and equipment that can survive (the) mines themselves,” says John Gammon, director of Mining Initiatives at Laurentian.

CEMI’s business plan identifies five areas of research as priorities: exploration in shield and Sudbury-type environments, deep mining, better mine planning, telerobotics, and better environmental stewardship and rehabilitation, Gammon says.

The goal is for the centre to attain global recognition for its expertise in those areas.

“Somebody in Kazakhstan who’s discovered a new orebody that’s at a very great depth — I want them to think of northeastern Ontario,” Gammon says.

A week after the Ontario government announced the initial funding for CEMI, Inco (N-T, N-N) followed with a $5-million donation — in cash and in kind.

“Inco is proud to demonstrate significant support for this project because we believe the innovative solutions developed here will boost the competitiveness and longevity of our operations — and those of the broader mining industry — in Sudbury and around the world,” said Inco’s president of North American and European operations, Mark Cutifani, in a release.

With the two recent funding announcements, the centre is already halfway toward meeting the $30 million in startup money needed to take it through its first five years. It’s hoped another $10 million will come from the federal government, and $5 million from industry.

“I don’t see any problem getting the other $5 million from the industry because there’s a lot of research they’re very anxious to do,” Gammon says.

Although the federal government hasn’t committed to its share of the money yet, Gammon says that Tony Clement, minister of economic development for northern Ontario, has “made very encouraging noises” in response to questions about funding. In addition, FedNor, an agency of the ministry, has been involved in the concept right from the start.

The idea for the centre grew out of the Ontario Minerals Industry Cluster Council, a 2003 provincial initiative that brought together mining stakeholders from prospectors and suppliers to multinational mining companies and government representatives.

Once CEMI is up and running, it will operate with funding from industry and research grants from the federal and provincial governments. CEMI’s advisory board will meet April 12 to discuss the centre’s business plan, staffing and governance issues.