Grant: Alliance Grants
University of Saskatchewan
$75,000.00
Testing effects of soil amendments on nutrient poor mine covers soils at the MOST Facility
FY 2022-23
Summary
This Alliance partnership between the University of Saskatchewan MOST Facility, Sunterra (Canada) Inc., and Okane Consultants Inc. (Okane) is designed to evaluate and test soil amendments for mine covers in cold regions. Mine covers are crucial to mine closure where constructed slopes store and release water to the environment and prevent water and oxygen ingress into waste rock and mine tailings. We will test a suite of new soil amendments as a follow-on to our previous research collaboration with Profile Products, Sunterra (Canada) Inc.'s parent company. This new follow-on work will focus on the effect the amendments have on soil nutrient content and water availability on poor mine cover soil. The evaluation and testing of soil amendments for mine covers is both an economically and environmentally important research topic to Canada. We estimate that in Canada, about $25 million in "demand" and ~$500 million in "risk" exists for mine covers and their life-cycle over the next 10-20 years. This project will test a suite of soil amendments designed to stimulate vegetation growth, limit hillslope erosion risk, and improve hydrological functioning of created mine covers. Following the project's completion, Sunterra will invest in advancing these results in the Canadian mining and reclamation sectors. This research will cover a two-year period and result in the training of a research Technician, a post-doctoral fellow and two Masters of Water Security (MWS) students. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are interwoven into the training plan. McDonnell has a uniquely strong track record of diversity in his lab with 50% female membership (in a field of 28% female participation overall) with high international and ethnic diversity. Current members in the McDonnell lab group hail from Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and China and one of the 3 members who graduated this year was First Nations. Diversity of ideas, backgrounds, genders, and ethnicity is his goal for team building for research excellence-described in his 2016 paper in Science magazine titled "Orchestrating a Powerful Group". Our diversity will aid this partnership and help us answer the pressing questions for our business partners.
Program
Alliance Grants
Recipient
Location
Saskatchewan, Canada
Recipient Type
Academia
Type
Grant
Source
NSERC's Awards Data
As published
Application id
571034-2021
Name nom
McDonnell, Jeffrey JJ
Department département
School of Environment and Sustainability
Organization id
16
Institution établissement
University of Saskatchewan
Province en
Saskatchewan
Province fr
Saskatchewan
Country en
CANADA
Country fr
CANADA
Fiscal year exercice financier
2022
Competition year année de concours
2021
Award amount
75000
Program id
ALLRP
Program name en
Alliance Grants
Program name fr
Subventions Alliance
Group en
RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
Group fr
PARTENARIATS DE RECHERCHE
Committee code
96
Committee name en
RPP Internal Decision Cttee
Committee name fr
Cté de décision interne - PPR
Area of application code
202
Area of application group en
Natural resources (economic aspects)
Area of application group fr
Ressources naturelles (aspects économiques)
Area of application en
Mineral resources ( prospecting, exploration, mining, extraction, processing)
Area of application fr
Ressources minérales (prospection, exploration, mines, extraction et préparation)
Research subject code
4500
Research subject group en
Hydrology
Research subject group fr
Hydrologie
Research subject en
Hydrology
Research subject fr
Hydrologie
Installment
inst:1
Partie
1
Nb partie
1
Application title
Testing effects of soil amendments on nutrient poor mine covers soils at the MOST Facility
Application summary
This Alliance partnership between the University of Saskatchewan MOST Facility, Sunterra (Canada) Inc., and Okane Consultants Inc. (Okane) is designed to evaluate and test soil amendments for mine covers in cold regions. Mine covers are crucial to mine closure where constructed slopes store and release water to the environment and prevent water and oxygen ingress into waste rock and mine tailings. We will test a suite of new soil amendments as a follow-on to our previous research collaboration with Profile Products, Sunterra (Canada) Inc.'s parent company. This new follow-on work will focus on the effect the amendments have on soil nutrient content and water availability on poor mine cover soil. The evaluation and testing of soil amendments for mine covers is both an economically and environmentally important research topic to Canada. We estimate that in Canada, about $25 million in "demand" and ~$500 million in "risk" exists for mine covers and their life-cycle over the next 10-20 years. This project will test a suite of soil amendments designed to stimulate vegetation growth, limit hillslope erosion risk, and improve hydrological functioning of created mine covers. Following the project's completion, Sunterra will invest in advancing these results in the Canadian mining and reclamation sectors. This research will cover a two-year period and result in the training of a research Technician, a post-doctoral fellow and two Masters of Water Security (MWS) students. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are interwoven into the training plan. McDonnell has a uniquely strong track record of diversity in his lab with 50% female membership (in a field of 28% female participation overall) with high international and ethnic diversity. Current members in the McDonnell lab group hail from Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and China and one of the 3 members who graduated this year was First Nations. Diversity of ideas, backgrounds, genders, and ethnicity is his goal for team building for research excellence-described in his 2016 paper in Science magazine titled "Orchestrating a Powerful Group". Our diversity will aid this partnership and help us answer the pressing questions for our business partners.
