Electrical heating of oil sands allows for production in situ in a mode similar to conventional liquid oil production. This avoids disturbing and redistributing the overburden and production sands. A further advantage of electrical heating is that the power consumption can be matched to the availability of sources such as wind power.

Currently, the design method of haul road pavements cannot address the rolling resistance under the effects of stabilizers in pavement design. To address this, the overall objective of this research is to develop a new design approach using finite element modeling for mine haul road pavements with stabilized layers. In particular, the prediction of rolling […]

Recent years have seen many advances in the application of artificial intelligence tools in almost every industry, and the mining industry is no different. HLS Hard-Line Solutions Inc. is a leading developer and manufacturer of systems that allow mining equipment (such as trucks) to be controlled by operators, safely and comfortably from great distances, including […]

The oil and gas industry often contain a certain amount of CO2, H2S and chlorine compounds. H2S can cause sour corrosion and sulfide stress cracking (SSC) of stainless steels. Failures due to H2S are usually sudden with no warning. SSC is the worst type of corrosion in the presence of H2S. Many methods have been […]

The removal and movement of water is an essential activity for the safe and productive operation of mines. In the mining industry pumps are often required to operate several km underground. If a pump were to fail in such a location, the results can be costly and potentially unsafe. It can be exceedingly difficult to […]

The Montney Formation in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) is a productive low permeability natural gas reservoir. Alongside natural gas, it contains high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas, which is both economically and environmentally detrimental to the exploration and production of natural gas from the reservoir. This research proposal aims to examine the […]

With the growth in demand for electric vehicles and mobile devices powered by rechargeable lithium batteries, demand for lithium is expected to increase by over 200% in the next decade. Current lithium production comes primarily from Australia, South America and China. There are significant lithium reserves in the same Saskatchewan aquifers currently being exploited for […]

Acid mine drainage (AMO) is a significant environmental concern at many hard rock mines. Laboratory-based predictive tests are used to determine if AMO will be generated by mine wastes, but these tests do not generally examine the role of microbes in acid-generating processes. This study will extend the capabilities of the advanced customizable leaching columns […]

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a serious threat to humanity worldwide. It is known that COVID-19 is a respiratory infection, which can be transmitted from person to person via small aerosolized droplets. The goal of this project is to develop advanced functional graphene-based nanocomposites with robust antiviral and antibacterial activities. The graphene-based […]

This project will study the effects of CO2 sequestration in mine waste tailings using a robotic mixing system. Mine waste tailings represent a large opportunity for carbon storage, assisting mining companies with goals to improve their carbon footprint. Robotic mixing of the surface of tailings is expected to accelerate carbon storage and mixing and measurement […]

Natural Canadian zeolite is an attractive mineral for the restoration of lands disturbed by the extraction of natural resources such as metals, oil and gas. Dr. Wonjae Chang’s Environmental Engineering Lab developed a dualmineral prototype, using Canadian zeolites, for the desalination of potash brine-impacted water. Dr. Chang also demonstrated the significant accumulation of residual potassium […]

The effect of a collapse in oil prices coupled with a province-wide lockdown due to the COVID-19 outbreak will have a significant impact on the economic future of NL. A spiking unemployment rate due to job losses in the services and tourism sector will be difficult to mitigate in the short to medium-term; if not […]