The International Minerals Innovation Institute (IMII) is pleased to announce that it has, on behalf of its mining industry and provincial government members, entered into research funding agreements with the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan for the development of the Mining Materials Research Cluster (Research Cluster) in Saskatchewan. The Research Cluster will examine the corrosion of materials used in the fabrication of mineral processing and mining equipment, and its supporting infrastructure, used in Saskatchewan’s potash industry.
The total budget for the Research Cluster is $2,600,000. Under the terms of the agreements, the IMII will provide $1,200,000 over four years, and Western Economic Diversification (WD) has provided a total of $915,000. Project funding is also being requested from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and MITACS.
“The IMII is pleased that four research and development projects are poised to start up the new Research Cluster,” says Al Shpyth, IMII Executive Director. Participating in the Research Cluster and its first four projects are the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Engineering – Departments of Chemical & Biological Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, and College of Arts and Science – Department of Chemistry, the University of Regina’s Faculty of Environmental Systems Engineering, and the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon.
“The Government of Saskatchewan welcomes the development of the Mining Materials Research Cluster and the partnership between industry, government and research institutions that has made this possible,” says Jeremy Harrison, Minister Responsible for Innovation. “The innovative efforts of this new Research Cluster have the potential to benefit the potash industry, and ultimately the province,through improved safety and reduced environmental impacts.”
More information on the four projects covered by the research funding agreements for the Mining Materials Research Cluster can be found in the attached backgrounder.
The IMII is a unique industry-government-post-secondary education and research institution partnership jointly funded by industry and government. The Institute is a catalyst to developing industry-driven education and training programs to address labour force needs in the sector, and conducting industry-driven research and development to address workplace health and safety, environmental sustainability, social license, policy research, exploration, mining, processing and economics of commodities to ensure the continued growth of the industry.
Additional media inquiries may be directed to:
IMII:
Al Shpyth, Executive Director
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-668-2057
Email: al.shpyth@imii.ca
Innovation Saskatchewan:
Deb Young
Regina
Phone: 306-787-4765
Email: deb.young@gov.sk.ca
University of Regina:
Krista Baliko
Regina
Phone: 306-337-3369
Email: Krista.Baliko@uregina.ca
University of Saskatchewan:
James Shewaga
Saskatoon
Phone: 306-966-1851
Email: james.shewaga@usask.ca
