Media Advisory – Yukon Passive Water Treatment Workshop
A workshop on passive water treatment may prompt more Yukon mines to adopt this sustainable approach to remediation. Yukon College researchers, industry, regulators, First Nations, mine reclamation practitioners and land/water managers will learn about this new technology, which focuses on biological treatment (using vegetation and bacteria to uptake heavy metals) to remove impurities from water. The Yukon Research Centre (YRC) will present case studies from around Yukon and facilitate discussions on how to advance the development of passive water treatment in the Territory.
Where: Yukon College, 500 College Dr., Whitehorse – Room T1023 When: Wednesday, June 4, 2014
11:45AM – 12:00PM Presentation:
Yukon College’s research initiatives to support the local mining industry by Dr. Amelie Janin
The Yukon Research Centre (YRC) has been awarded $150,000 from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to support mine remediation research in the Yukon.
The funding will be used to build pilot-scale bioreactors at various mine sites around the Yukon and to purchase new lab equipment that will further support research in the removal of heavy metals.
Bioreactors contain natural materials like wood, gravel and peat moss that encourage bacteria to grow and eat heavy metals from soil and water. This technique is being tested by YRC researchers and local mines as a form of water treatment in the North.
“Our goal is to develop environmentally sound techniques for Yukon mines and to create scientific evidence that will be accepted by regulators in the mine closure plans”, said Dr. Amelie Janin, NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Mine Life Cycle, Yukon Research Centre.
Yukon Research Centre (YRC) scientists have just received a research grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to study a new method of sequestering heavy metals for mine site restoration.
Soil scientist, Dr. Katherine Stewart, and water chemist, Dr. Amelie Janin have combined disciplines to examine how to prevent the transfer of heavy metals to plants and water by using leonardite, a naturally occurring carbon-rich mineral. The scientists predict that heavy metals in mine tailings will bond to the leonardite, preventing plant absorption and water transportation of the metals. They also hypothesize that the leonardite will assist in revegetation by retaining nutrients and moisture in the soil, conditions beneficial for plant growth.
Yukon College and Alexco Resource Corp. have secured a PhD student to study the removal of heavy metals from water. This partnership will enhance the traditional PhD model by combining high level science with business skill development; with great benefit to the student, industry, and the Yukon Territory.
PhD student, Guillaume Nielsen, of the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique will be co-supervised by Yukon College’s NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Mine Life Cycle, Dr. Amelie Janin. Nielsen will support the Chair’s goal of building Yukon’s capacity for environmental remediation in partnership with industry and Yukon College’s Centre for Northern Innovation and Mining (CNIM).
WHITEHORSE – The Yukon Research Centre at Yukon College is pleased to welcome Dr. Amelie Janin as the NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges in Mining Life Cycle at Yukon College.
The NSERC Industrial Research Chair for Colleges grant is for an initial term of 5 years. As the new Chair, Dr. Janin will work with the Yukon mining industry to develop a business-focused applied research program on reclamation activities throughout the mining lifecycle. The program will investigate the applicability to the north of innovative technologies for both water and soil treatment.