The growing demand for critical minerals presents a generational opportunity for the Canadian mining industry. As we move toward a low-carbon economy, large amounts of minerals such as graphite, copper, lithium and nickel will be needed to power the green and digital economy at home and around the world. The mining industry is responsible for 665,000 jobs in communities from coast to coast to coast and is proportionally the largest private sector employer of Indigenous Peoples. That is why the Government of Canada is investing in innovative mining solutions that will better equip Canada’s mining sector to become a major industrial player in the new green economy.
Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced the 24 recipients of support selected through the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network’s second call for proposals. A total of more than $15 million in funding has been allocated to the recipients. They will use this funding to develop projects focusing on the commercialization of mining technologies that will make the mining sector more productive and sustainable and that will strengthen our economy.
MICA’s second call for proposals invited applicants to submit projects that will position Canada as a global leader in mining innovation by accelerating the commercialization of made-in-Canada groundbreaking technologies.
Applications came in from across Canada with projects spanning the four technical themes of MICA:
- Increase mine production capacity, at a lower cost.
- Reduce mining energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Implement smart, autonomous mining systems.
- Reduce environmental risk and long-term liabilities.
MICA’s funding will allow the recipients to create new tools that will, for example, reduce the carbon emissions in the potash sector or expand the use of autonomous driving for underground mining. With this second call for proposals, MICA will attract over $100 million in private investment and create and retain over 400 highly skilled jobs for Canadians.
Quotes
“Our government is determined to make innovation the cornerstone of the low-carbon economy. As the demand for essential minerals grows, our mining industry will continue to play a vital role in this green transition, thanks in part to groundbreaking projects like those presented today. They will not only enable us to take full advantage of our domestic mineral resources but also position Canada as a world leader in the production of minerals essential to new technologies and renewable energies.”
– The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
“With this announcement, we further solidify our commitment to establishing MICA as a small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) network for innovation in mining. We are extremely proud of the pan-Canadian approach to both our network and our successful applicants. Ensuring we support SMEs across this great country not only supports our economy but also plays a critical role in the green transition. Many SME innovators have already developed the solutions needed to achieve this—what they lack is the investment required to commercialize solutions and companies willing to implement them. The funding announced today provides the investment necessary to help achieve results, and by utilizing the MICA Network, we help introduce their products to the companies that need them.”
– Douglas Morrison, President and CEO, Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator Network
Quick facts
- The MICA Network has six main partners across Canada: the Bradshaw Research Institute for Minerals and Mining (British Columbia), InnoTech Alberta (Alberta), Saskatchewan Polytechnic (Saskatchewan), MaRS (Ontario), Groupe MISA (Quebec) and the College of the North Atlantic (Newfoundland and Labrador).
- MICA intends to connect Canada’s regional mining clusters and bring together companies, suppliers, academic and research institutions, innovators from all walks of life, and others to foster knowledge sharing and collaboration and to create technical and business synergies among its members.
- The mining industry continues to be a critically important part of Canada’s economy and contributed $125 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021, 5% of the total GDP.
- The Strategic Innovation Fund has provided MICA $40 million to date to support projects for the development and commercialization of new mining technologies.
Associated links
- Strategic Innovation Fund
- Innovation and Skills Plan
- Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation
- MICA Network
- The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy – Canada.ca
Contacts
Laurie Bouchard
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
laurie.bouchard@ised-isde.gc.ca
Media Relations
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
media@ised-isde.gc.ca
Stay connected
Find more services and information at Canada.ca/ISED.
Follow Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on social media.
Twitter: @ISED_CA, Facebook: Canadian Innovation, Instagram: @cdninnovation and LinkedIn
Annex: Funding recipients
| Recipient | Project name | Total project costs | MICA funding | Province/territory |
| KorrAI Technologies Ltd | Satellite-based mine site monitoring using AI & InSAR to support engineering decisions | $989,400 | $329,400 | N.S. |
| GRi Simulations Inc. | Dynamic operations simulation and digital twin platform development for autonomous mining operations | $1,882,574 | $621,249 | N.L. |
| Novamera Inc | Surgical mining – Rumbullion Vein – Hammerdown mine site – Newfoundland | $7,898,750 | $850,005 | Ont. |
| Red Paramount Iron Ltd. | Lac Virot project – Phase 1 and 2 pilot plant | $13,818,500 | $1,400,000 | B.C. |
| Baie Minerals Inc. | Sustainable extraction of industrial minerals and decontamination of toxic waste from abandoned asbestos tailings in Baie Verte | $1,500,000 | $500,000 | N.L. |
| Prairie Clean Energy | Reducing the carbon intensity of heat consumption in Saskatchewan’s potash sector up to 80% using local biomass resources | $23,229,494 | $1,100,000 | Sask. |
| Expeto Wireless Inc. | Seamless handover between disparate networks for autonomous vehicles | $4,301,228 | $1,032,294 | B.C. |
| Rockburst Technologies Inc. | Transcritical CO2 pulverization core advancement upgrades | $1,211,080 | $360,000 | B.C. |
| SafetyScan Technologies (a division of 1695482 Alberta Ltd.) | SafetyScan 2.0 cloud software development/mine implementation project | $647,391 | $213,639 | Alta. |
| Telescope Innovations | Carbon-negative production of lithium carbonate from continental brine | $877,000 | $292,333 | B.C. |
| Litus Inc. | Ultra lithium DLE portable demonstration plant | $1,199,818 | $400,000 | Alta. |
| DMT Geosciences Ltd | Continuous autonomous tomographic monitoring for tailings dams and embankments | $879,000 | $289,000 | Alta. |
| RockMass Technologies Inc. | Automated geological and geotechnical mapping with LiDAR, machine learning, and computer vision | $1,944,696 | $579,696 | Ont. |
| Maclean Engineering | A fully automated bolter for underground mining (985 Abi Bolter) | $4,400,000 | $900,000 | Ont. |
| Sight Power Inc. | Mineshaft Inspection Automated System (MIAS) | $2,100,000 | $612,150 | Ont. |
| LoopX Innovation Inc. | Reliable 5G-enabled autonomous driving for underground mining | $1,000,000 | $333,333 | Ont. |
| Symboticware | First integrated IoT+AI software solution for mining powered by satellite connectivity such as SpaceX | $4,503,900 | $1,000,000 | Ont. |
| MIRARCO Mining Innovation | Battery mineral recovery and waste reduction through bioleaching of pyrrhotite tailings | $950,027 | $280,027 | Ont. |
| KPI Digital | KPI-COSMO stochastic mine planning software suite | $8,611,150 | $1,150,000 | Que. |
| KORE GeoSystems Inc. | Core Logging Accelerated: Continuous learning AI platform | $8,202,590 | $1,000,000 | Ont. |
| ELEMISSION Inc. | ECORE mobile laboratory | $2,047,978 | $686,000 | Que. |
| Emily Thorn Corthay Inc. (operating as Thorn Associates) | Artificial Intelligence-enabled (AI) Energy Management Information System (EMIS) | $855,105 | $284,241 | Ont. |
| RIINO Inc. | RIINO – Zero Emission Monorail Haulage | $8,012,932 | $780,000 | Ont. |
| Destiny Copper Inc | Destiny Code Blue | $2,484,691 | $350,000 | Ont. |