The Government of Canada is helping establish a smart mineral exploration and mining research centre at the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences (EOS) at UBC.
The $960,000 Western Economic Diversification (WED) investment will strengthen research and industry collaborations, and help maintain Canada's global leadership in environmentally responsible mineral exploration and mining.
"This funding will help create the high-quality, knowledge intensive jobs that build a more globally competitive and productive British Columbia," said Mark Warawa, Federal MP for Langley, in making the announcement on behalf of Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for WED. "Our Government's support will assist UBC students, faculty and industry access the essential infrastructure needed to investigate sustainable mining and mineral resource exploration options."
The new Centre for Environmental Change and Planetary Stewardship will house three inter-related research facilities: an Environmental Interfaces Laboratory to investigate and mitigate industrial impacts on the environment; a Visualization Facility to conduct three-dimensional modeling for mineral exploration and mining research; and a Field Support Facility to improve and enhance field-based mineral exploration research and training. The funding will go towards computer hardware, software, scientific analytic instrumentation, and other required equipment.
The Centre will become a core component of UBC’s future Earth Systems Science Building, a project which has received significant support from the Government of British Columbia and industry.
"We are extremely grateful to Western Economic Diversification for their investment in sustainable mineral exploration and mining research at UBC," said Don Brooks, UBC Associate Vice President Research. "The funding announced today will enable the Department to build on its strong partnerships with the minerals exploration community, and to expand our work in training the next generation of industry leaders."
