Melanie Joly used her first-ever visit to NORCAT, Sudbury’s centre for technology and innovation, as an opportunity to announce government funding for cutting-edge digital tools to advance more precise mineral extraction and improve ecological restoration.
Canada’s minister of industry and minister responsible for economic development for Quebec Regions, Joly announced a total of $6.7 million in federal funding through Digital, Canada’s Digital Technology Cluster, to be divided between Novamera Inc. of Oakville and Koonkie Canada Inc. of Vancouver for Canadian-led mining innovation projects.
“When you think about Sudbury, people here don’t wait for things just to happen — they roll up their sleeves and say yes,” Joly told attendees at a press conference on Thursday. “For generations here, we have seen miners, engineers, researchers, tradespeople and Indigenous partners really developing the potential of the community and the potential of the fantastic natural resources. Sudbury has everything Canada needs and of course, we have been hearing a lot about critical minerals and that’s why I am also here to talk to you about it.”
Joined on Thursday by Rhonda Barnet, interim CEO for Digital, and Viviane Lapointe, MP for Sudbury, Joly announced Novamera will receive $3.8 million toward a $10.9-million project to advance its surgical mining technology, which combines advanced subsurface imaging, artificial intelligence, robotics and conventional drilling equipment to access deposits of critical minerals such as copper and rare earth elements with greater precision.
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