Goldcorp has announced that the Government of Canada intends to support its Borden Project as the recipient of a C$5 million investment designed to spur innovation in cleaner, more sustainable mining. The Borden Project, located in Chapleau, Ontario, will be the first underground mine in Canada to replace all diesel mobile equipment with battery electric vehicles.

“We believe the days of diesel use for underground mining equipment are numbered and electrification of our mobile fleet is a logical way to significantly reduce the mine’s environmental footprint,” said David Garofalo, Goldcorp’s President and CEO. “We are partnering with like-minded technology suppliers like Maclean Engineering and Sandvik, provincial and federal governments and First Nations to commercialise clean technologies, improve health and safety performance, and reduce GHG emissions with the aim of improving the viability, sustainability and profitability of our mines. It’s gratifying to see multiple levels of government support innovation and our vision of a safer, greener mining industry.”

The project would be funded by Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Program, which is a C$155 million investment fund for clean technology research and development and demonstration projects in three Canadian sectors: energy, mining and forestry. “Improved environmental performance in Canada’s mining sector is one of the key paths to a low-carbon economy,” said  the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. “This project helps advance clean technologies to commercial readiness, creates good middle class jobs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.” Borden is a key part of Goldcorp’s plan to increase production by 20% by 2021 and is expected to begin commercial production in the second half of 2019.