In CEMI’s latest annual report, President and CEO Doug Morrison explains that “with 30 projects currently underway in Deep Mining and Mine Construction, we are intensifying our focus on integrated underground mine engineering, and broadening support for CEMI from major mining corporations around the globe. We are actively developing projects to increase advance rates, production rates and the efficiency of materials handling, using our industrial experience to convert knowledge and creativity into practical solutions that can be implemented into routine operations. And in doing so we are continuing to attract collaborators from Quebec to BC and building relationships globally with organisations in Australia, the US, South Africa, and Chile.
“Within Canada, we are strengthening our relationships with the other research and development organizations in mining and seeking to improve our involvement with a broader range of funding agencies. In Sudbury, we continue to cooperate with local research and development organizations (MIRARCO, CAMIRO and CANMET) to develop projects and deliver results to a number of client organisations. We are developing close working relationships with the Greater Sudbury Development Council (GSDC), the Sudbury Area Mining Supply and Service Association (SAMSSA), and NORCAT. These relationships will help all of us to identify innovation opportunities, accelerate pre-commercialization activities and facilitate implementation.
“Within Ontario we are developing a strong relationship with the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) and this past year CEMI was invited to deliver a major forum on mining with a panel discussion at the OCE’s Discovery event, and this included representatives from LU, industry and the Ministry of Northern Development & Mines (MNDM). In May, we completed a joint project workshop with OCE and NSERC for C$2 million of research on the topics of Energy, Environment, Water & Productivity. And we are working with the Ontario Mining Association (OMA) by participating in OMA Board and Committee meetings, and by actively supporting several initiatives, including the CEO, Chris Hodgson’s initiative to find support for forestry research that might benefit the mining industry.
“Nationally, CEMI is working with CIM on ways of effectively communicating mining knowledge and we are cooperating with CMIC by assigning a Research Director to work as a part-time coordinator for the Mining Committee. Our goal is to collaborate with as many mining research and development organizations as we can to reduce duplication and maximize the benefit of bringing fresh minds and fresh ideas to bear on problems that confront the industry. We hope that by increasing the scale and diversity of our network solution teams and enhancing their capacity for virtual interaction we will create a more interesting and productive intellectual environment in the service of the global mining industry.
“The range of challenges the global mining industry faces creates tremendous opportunities for CEMI to grow. Northern Ontario is uniquely fortunate in the strength of the assets we have at hand: a higher concentration of mining experience and knowledge than anywhere in the world, combined with the living laboratories of the mines, the tailings management facilities and the rehabilitated environment that enable us to attract the expertise we need from around the world to progress further. Mining is a particularly important component of Canada’s and Ontario’s economy, but mining is a truly global enterprise and the kinds of improvements we can develop in Ontario’s mines have direct and immediate application to underground mines elsewhere. The opposite is also true: the contributions CEMI is making to mines that will be developed in other countries will eventually bring benefits to the local mines. And we fully expect the local service sector will be able to spread these benefits throughout the industry globally while generating economic activity locally.
But to help our collaborators take advantage of the opportunities and assets, CEMI needs a dedicated and cooperative team of experienced industry professionals. As CEMI moves into a new growth phase, we welcome the appointment of Damien Duff as our new COO, our new Research Directors Leon Botham (SustainMine) Seppo Haapamaki (ValueMine) and George Hughes (Deep Mine, Value Mine), and the promotion of Shannon Katary as Director of Marketing and Community Relations, and of Alan Akerman as Research Director (ValueMine). And as Jane Djivré, Keith Bullock and Glenn Lyle move on to new opportunities, we recognise their valuable contributions over the years and hope to work with them in future.”