Not Your Grandfather’s Mine

The five ways in which technology and innovation are making mining more sustainable

When asked to picture a mine, many Canadians imagine a deep pit filled with noisy trucks belching diesel fumes and dust into the air. The miners they picture may be older men with dirty faces and scruffy beards, working in dark, cramped conditions with hand-held tools. Each day, this image becomes further from the truth. As the Mining Association of Nova Scotia says, it’s “not your grandfather’s mining industry” anymore.

Modern mines use a range of technologies, including machine learning, supercomputers, automation, monitoring sensors and artificial intelligence, to reduce the environmental footprint of mining. By tapping into renewable energy sources and reducing, reusing and recycling water onsite, companies are creating climate-smart mines to produce the minerals and metals needed for a low-carbon future.

Mines built in Canada and Canadian companies operating overseas are governed by stringent environmental regulations and driven by social awareness to build each new mine better, safer and cleaner than the last. Here are five ways in which mining is becoming more sustainable.

Read the full story: The Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan