The Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI) has announced the submission of a full application for a clean resources Supercluster as part of the Government of Canada’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative. The CLEER (lean, Low-energy, Effective, Engaged and Remediated) Supercluster – prepared on behalf of the mining sector by CEMI, CIMRE, CMIC, COREM, IMII, and MSTA  – represents a C$700 million investment (C$450 million in cash and C$244 million in-kind from 162 partners across Canada). CLEER will build on an existing mining innovation ecosystem uniquely positioned to make Canada a global leader in clean resource development and the responsible sourcing of raw materials.

This CLEER Supercluster will transform the mining sector’s productivity, performance, and global competitiveness by harnessing innovation across the ecosystem to tackle global challenges of water, energy, and environmental footprint, with bold targets of 50% reductions in each area by 2027. CLEER will execute its strategy through tapping into regional clusters of expertise within British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. Through collaborative activities, CLEER will engage Canadian mining services and supply (MSS) sector, anchor companies, R&D innovation support organisations, post-secondary institutions, and partners from a wide variety of other sectors across Canada, including clean tech.

If successful in the final application process, the CLEER Supercluster will provide widespread economic benefits across Canada, with the potential of creating more than 38,000 new, direct high-paying jobs and training opportunities within the cluster (>100,000 jobs including indirect sectors), anticipated GDP contribution exceeding C$26 billion after five years, plus an additional 8,000 jobs and C$21 billion in ripple effect impacts throughout Canada.

A decision on the success of this initiative is expected in early 2018.