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Cambrian gets funding for the new Centre for Smart Mining

Feds will provide $1.75 million over a five-year period

Cambrian College in Sudbury has received $1.75 million in federal funding along with the prestigious title of being a Technology Access Centre (TAC) for its expertise in mining research and techology.

The money is being allocated over a five-year period through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for the creation of the college's new Centre for Smart Mining.

The announcement was made Thursday by Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré on behalf of the federal government. It means Cambrian is one of 47 NSERC research and technology centres located in post-secondary schools across Canada.

Ironically, Serré made his presentation via a video-conference link from Ottawa that had a technical audio glitch that lasted for nearly three minutes before the audio level was restored.

Serré said Cambrian was well-positioned to advance more entrepreneurial ventures in the mining supply and service sector because of the college's existing wealth of experience, expertise and existing relationships with the mining industry.

“We can confidently expect that through its Centre for Smart Mining, Cambrian will become an even greater resource for mining technology developers and producers in Nickel Belt, Greater Sudbury, Northern Ontario and around the globe,” he said.

Also speaking to the crowd at Cambrian's e-Dome was Mike Commito, Cambrian's Director of Applied Research, who said it was an exciting milestone for Cambrian.

“To establish a Technology Access Centre is really the high water mark of college applied research activity in Canada,” said Commito.

He said the process began last summer with a formal application to the federal government. From there, a group of scientists visited Cambrian to review the college, its facilities and its research programs. There are only two TAC facilities in Canada with mining related applied research; the one in Sudbury and another one in Quebec.

Commito thanked industry partners in Sudbury who stepped forward to vouch for the research done by Cambrian staff and students to help their businesses.

One of them was Kris Holland, president of Pure Realism in Sudbury. It is a company that specializes in creating 3D imaging, animation and virtual reality of large venues, something that can be applied to the mining industry.

Holland told the audience that his business needed research funding, but Cambrian helped out beyond that.

“We came to the college first and foremost for money. But when we got here, we found so much more. We found people who knew what they were doing, who had expertise that we were lacking and were able to take that money and bring it together into a project that we were able to move forward,” said Holland.

After the presentation Commito said the federal money and the TAC designation means that over the next five years, Cambrian should be able to attract more students for mining research as well as attracting more researchers.

He said the funding is only guaranteed for five years and that means Cambrian will have to re-apply for continued funding.

“Our main focus right now over the next three to four is to really build up the business model for the TAC and start delivering these services,” said Commito. He said this would demonstrate the value of the Cambrian program.

College president Bill Best said the TAC announcement was the culmination of more than 10 years effort by staff, students and business partners.

“It's a real marker in the sand that shows our ability to enrich the student experience, to increase our influence globally, and actually make a difference for everybody and everything that is happening,” said Best.

“We are making a difference for our small and medium-sized enterprises. They come to us with problems. We connect up with that and we come up with solutions,” Best continued.

– Sudbury.com



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Len Gillis

About the Author: Len Gillis

Graduating from the Journalism program at Canadore College in the 1970s, Gillis has spent most of his career reporting on news events across Northern Ontario with several radio, television and newspaper companies. He also spent time as a hardrock miner.
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