Green Mining Investment Coming to North Eastern Ontario

August 28, 2019                    Ottawa, Ontario                      Natural Resources Canada        

The Canadian mines and minerals industry is important to our economy and to communities across the country. Developing Canada’s natural resources in cleaner, more sustainable ways will create good, middle-class jobs, increase competitiveness and reduce pollution as we move toward a clean energy future.

Paul Lefebvre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, today announced an investment of $2.1 million for a green mining project aimed at developing an alternative to the mechanical compressors currently used in underground mining, one that is expected to reduce energy consumption and costs for compressed air by almost 40 percent. The alternative compressors will be deployed at Kirkland Lake Gold Ltd.’s Holloway Mine.

Kirkland Lake Gold will use Sudbury-based Electrale Innovation Ltd’s hydraulic air compressor (HAC) technology, which relies on water and gravity to compress air. The cooler, drier, oil-free compressed air will also improve equipment maintenance and reliability at Kirkland Lake Gold’s Holloway Mine.

Funded through Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Program, this project is harnessing the HAC technology to bring it to commercial scale in an operational underground mine and to build a new industry standard for compression in applications beyond underground mining.

The Clean Growth Program is a $155-million investment fund that helps emerging clean technologies further reduce their impacts on air, land and water while enhancing competitiveness and creating jobs.

Canada’s climate plan includes measures to protect the environment and leave a healthier planet for future generations, including actions to protect our oceans, phase out coal-fired electricity, invest in renewables and public transit and reduce plastic pollution. Green mining technologies are a key part of Canada’s plan to combat climate change while growing the economy.