The future of the Ultra Deep Mining Network (UDMN) is on more solid ground with new funding announced this week.
The Sudbury-based Center for Excellence in Mining Innovation's (CEMI) network received $2.5 million in Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) funding. Northern Development and Mines Minister Michael Gravelle made the announcement on Tuesday at the Mining Innovation Summit 2016 in Sudbury.
“The world is rapidly changing before our eyes (and) we need to be prepared to invest,” said Gravelle. “Those who stand still will be left behind.”
The UDMN is an industry-led research group that works primarily with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop and commercialize technologies aimed at safety, efficiency and sustainability.
Gravelle said networks like the UDMN foster innovation and are crucial to the economic success of the province in an increasingly competitive global market.
CEMI president and CEO Douglas Morrison said Jannatec Technologies is one of their biggest members, and illustrates some of the work being done by the UDMN.
The Sudbury-based mining communications company is working on a wearable technology that warns mine workers when large equipment is near. At the moment, a warning goes to the drivers, and ground workers rely on hearing the loud equipment approach. But with the growing popularity of quieter battery-powered equipment, Morrison said devices like those designed by Jannatec are increasingly important safety solutions.
Innovations aside, Morrison said some of the first-round participants are running behind schedule on their projects. The UDMN has the potential to be extended for another five years after the first round, but Morrison said that it's essential the first-rounders have success.
With the new funding, he said participating companies will find it easier to complete their projects on schedule.
“Industry was struggling, but the province stepped in to fill a gap,” said Morrison.
The UDMN has been federally funded up until now, receiving $15 million from the Business-Led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE) when it launched in 2014. They leveraged this against in-kind and cash funding from members to make it a $35-million network.
This is the first provincial funding for the UDMN, although the province has supported other CEMI initiatives.
