Xstrata Nickel invests $5M in CEMI

Xstrata Nickel has invested $5 million in the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont.

“We believe this unique institution will become a competitive advantage to our company and to the Sudbury community,” says Mike Romaniuk, vice-president of Sudbury operations for Xstrata Nickel.

The Ontario government has agreed to match any private contributions to CEMI in addition to a commitment of $10 million in the 2006-07 budget tabled in March.

For now, the money from Xstrata Nickel will remain in trust until a founding executive director is named during the next month or so. Twenty-two candidates applied for the position and CEMI has trimmed the list to three, all of which are said to have “industry experience.”

CEMI Opened in December 2005 via a partnership between government and industry. It’s hoped that the centre will become a spot where international researchers gather to conduct work that will give Ontario’s mining industry an advantage over other jurisdictions.

Though no formal research is under way, several proposals are before CEMI’s advisory board.

“There are several proposals in the works and they’re waiting for the final go-ahead,” says Shannon Katary, a spokesperson for CEMI.

Research at the centre will focus on mining exploration, deep mining, integrated mine process engineering, telerobotics and automation, and environment and reclamation.

Laurentian is home to eight mining research centres, and seven mining-related graduate programs, as well as six research chairs, three of which have links to exploration and mining.

The Sudbury-based university was chosen as the base for CEMI by the Ontario Mineral Industry Cluster Council (OMICC), a board created by the Ontario government to foster a more globally competitive mining industry in the province.

“Through its generous contribution, Xstrata Nickel is clearly establishing itself as a premier contributor to mining and exploration education and research, in our city and internationally,” says Judith Woodsworth, president of Laurentian and chair of CEMI’s advisory board.

About a week after the Ontario government committed $10 million to CEMI, Inco (N-T) said it would make $5 million in in-cash and in-kind contributions. The City of Greater Sudbury will contribute $50,000 over three years.

Xstrata Nickel is the fourth-largest global nickel producer, with annual managed production of more than 110,000 tonnes of refined nickel, and is a wholly owned unit of Zug, Switzerland-based Xstrata (XSRAF-O, XTA-L).