North America Mining Expo Focus on Education, Research and Development

Today mining is as much about high tech applications as it is about drilling and excavating.

The future of the Sudbury Mining Cluster is brighter because of the nexus between operating mines, strong supply and services sector and organizations that promote mining education, research and development.

The North America Mining Expo brought to the fore leading mining educators like the Goodman School of Mines at Laurentian University and Cambrian College. Their focus will be on educating post-secondary students about the mining sector and to meet the needs of the Sudbury mining community.

Modern Mining and Technology Sudbury promotes mining education for youth and the general public with an emphasis on mining and technology in Sudbury and Northern Ontario. On September 10th and 11th, Modern Mining Technology Sudbury (MMTS) invited over 125 secondary school students to the North America Mining Expo Conference (N.A.M.E.). The students explored the conference exhibits, meet and networked with suppliers to learn about the modern technologies used to uncover the mineral resources in Ontario. They discovered an array of opportunities that the mining industry may present to them as they choose their career paths. They will also be encouraged to learn about the industry’s social responsibilities to the environment and communities.

MMTS seeks to ensure our sector’s continued growth and the future sustainability of our community through the education of our local youth.

NORCAT

The Northern Centre for Advanced Technology (NORCAT) has a 20 year history as a leader in mining innovation. Founded in 1995, it is a leading private, non-profit organization that empowers theirr clients, staff, and community partners to drive a culture of productivity, innovation, and life-long learning. Located in Sudbury, Ontario, the NORCAT Centre stands at approximately 70,000 square feet and is home to our training and development centre, entrepreneurial and innovation services, and our incubator and event centre.

NORCAT has worked extensively with leading companies in North America, Africa, and South America including Vale, Goldcorp, Ontario Power Generation, Suncor, Glencore, Redpath, Cementation, Barrick Gold, Health Sciences North, Stantec, Hatch, among many other leading organizations across a variety of sectors.

It also provides training in mining work environment that emphasizes safety. The goal is to reduce mining accidents.

NORCAT’s training facility includes an operating underground mine. The NORCAT Underground Training Centre provides clients with a range of hands-on training programs that are not available elsewhere in Canada. The former Falconbridge Fecunis Adit Mine in Onaping, Ontario serves as the perfect location for NORCAT’s four-week Common Core Training program and a range of specially customized programs.

NORCAT can now recreate an underground mining environment without leaving the surface, thanks to a new state-of-the-art mining equipment simulator.

The centre's new ThoroughTec CYBERMINE4 simulator has been in operation for just over a month, and provides employees with Vale, Glencore and KGHM hands-on trainer with a variety of machines, including a MacLean bolter, an Atlas Copco rocket boomer, and underground loaders by Sandvik and Caterpillar.

The North America Mining Expo brings together the key elements of the mining clusters from mining companies to supply and services companies to technology and education partners. The 2014 North America Mining Expo established a solid foundation for the next Expo in 2015.