Grant: Industrial Research Chairs

Over the past twenty years or so, the mining industry has invested significant capital in the development of tools and technologies for improving the management of waste rocks and tailings. However, despite this progress, there are still important areas that need to be studied, particularly with respect to the reclamation of mine waste disposal areas containing reactive minerals that can generate contaminated mine drainages. The long-term objective of this research program is to develop efficient reclamation strategies that limit environmental impacts and risks using novel approaches or technologies. The proposed research includes five projects: 1) Theoretical aspects related to mine site reclamation; 2) Reclamation of tailings storage facilities; 3) Reclamation of waste rock storage facilities; 4) Long-term performance of engineered mine covers; and 5) Technology and knowledge transfer. The proposed Chair will use a combination of investigative approaches, including laboratory testing, physical modeling, in situ measurements and monitoring, and numerical model development and application. This industrial chair will allow for the development of new technologies and/or the improvement of existing technologies for reclaiming mine waste disposal areas at hard rock mines that are located in varied climatic conditions. The planning of reclamation strategies is becoming increasingly crucial, even during the early stages of a project in which local communities must be convinced that a proposed mine will not become an environmental problem. The work in this Chair will be performed through the training of highly qualified personnel who will become much-needed specialists that will help the mining industry produce metals while reducing their environmental impacts.