Welcome back to your weekly mining news recap, where we catch you up on some of the news you may have missed. This week’s headlines include mining with microbes, surrendered mineral claims and sustainable silica mining.

A new report released by Rio Tinto outlines rampant issues with bullying, sexual harassment and racism at the company’s operations, including 21 instances of actual or attempted rape or sexual assault over the last five years, as reported by Reuters. The report, initiated by the company’s new CEO Jakob Stausholm, stated that nearly 30 per cent of women and seven per cent of men, among the more than 10,000 employees who participated in the study, experienced sexual harassment at work and that 40 per cent of workers who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander said they had experienced racism on the job. Stausholm said the results were “disturbing” and that the company would be implementing all the recommendations included in the report.

Advances in computing power have made artificial intelligence and machine learning more available, and the mining industry is taking advantage. Using algorithms to predict the stability of underground excavations, running fully autonomous processing plants and even optimizing an entire mining ecosystem are some of the advancements that are allowing miners to integrate AI in their operations.

Sustainability is very important in today’s mining industry, but it can be a challenge to mine profitably while protecting the environment. Copper Mountain Mining, however, intends to do both by mining copper while achieving an ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2035. The company has constructed a third mill at its Copper Mountain mine, improving processing efficiency to reduce emissions, and will be implementing a trolley-assist haulage system and sensor-based ore sorting as well.

Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster announced the launch of the Mining Microbiome Analysis Platform project, a repository of microbes and geochemical data from over 15,000 mine sites. The project, a partnership between the mining industry, academia and technology companies, will identify microbes that can be used for sustainable resource extraction and bioremediation processes.

Iamgold’s chair, Don Charter, has retired just two weeks after former CEO Gordon Stothart left the company unexpectedly, as reported by Mining.com. The company says Charter’s departure is in-line with his longstanding plans, but some shareholders are  actively pushing the company for a change in leadership. RCF Management, which owns a 5.2 per cent stake in Iamgold, sent an open letter to the company’s directors, expressing its disappointment with the company’s performance and stating its intentions to nominate three candidates to Iamgold’s board of directors.

Seven mining companies have surrendered thousands of mineral claims in Yukon’s Peel watershed, most of which were located in protected areas, thanks to a land use plan signed in 2019, as reported by CBC. Some of the companies who relinquished their claims include multinational mining giant Newmont, who owns the Coffee gold project in the territory, ATAC Resources and Generic Gold.

The Association for Mineral Exploration’s Roundup 2022 convention took place this week, and numerous award winners were honoured for their contributions to mineral exploration. Some of the winners include John McConnell, who led the Victoria Gold team to bringing the Eagle gold mine into production, Gregory Dipple for his research on mineral carbon sequestration, and the Tahltan Emergency Management Committee for creating an inclusive forum for communication between Indigenous communities and the mining industry in B.C.

The Institut national de la recherche scientifique and Quebec Silica Resources have teamed up on a research partnership to determine optimal mining and exploration methods to mitigate environmental impact.  The project will evaluate a high-purity silica deposit in the Charlevoix region and will be employing drones for aerial imagery as well as automated weather stations and security cameras to track local wildlife.

Suncor will be adopting mining safety technology at its oil sands operations for the first time, as reported by CBC. Last month, a haul-truck accident at the company’s Base Plant mine near Fort McMurray resulted in the death of a contractor and raised calls for the company to improve its safety efforts. Suncor says it will implement collision-avoidance and fatigue-management technology in all its mobile mine equipment within the next two years.

Epiroc and Canadian Malartic have partnered to train operators working at the Odyssey mine on battery electric vehicle simulators, as reported by International Mining. The simulators are designed to replicate the sensations of operating a vehicle underground and will feature several training scenarios. The Odyssey mine is expected to begin production using the Odyssey South ramp in 2023 with peak operations of 19,000 tonnes per day beginning by 2029.

That’s all for this week. If you’ve got feedback, you can always reach us at editor@cim.org. If you’ve got something to add, why not join the conversation on our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram pages?