University of Arizona mining innovation engine aims to build skilled domestic workforce

With the US on a mission to increase critical minerals production and decrease its reliance on foreign imports, an executive order signed by President Trump on Thursday taps the Defense Production Act as part of an effort to provide financing, loans and other investment support to domestically process critical minerals. The move came the same day copper prices scored another high on Thursday, surpassing the $11,000-a-tonne mark in New York amid global trade disruptions. For the US to increase its competitive advantage on critical minerals and reduce supply chain vulnerabilities, it’s clear that advancing domestic mining requires innovative solutions at the regional level. Arizona is the most copper-rich state in the US, accounting for approximately 70% of domestic copper production. An initiative at the University of Arizona has positioned it as a lead on an National Science Foundation (NSF) engine. As a finalist in the NSF Regional Innovation Engine Program, the University of Arizona’s Sustainable Mining Innovation and Lifestyle Enhancement Regional Innovation Engine (SMILE) proposal would secure up to $160 million over 10 years to advance environmentally responsible mining and manufacturing in Arizona. “It’s a $160 million opportunity over 10 years – and it’s different than most NSF proposals in that you really have to demonstrate that you’re driving economic development in the region, and that your region is the place to do this,”  Kray Luxbacher, University of Arizona’s  Head of Mining and Geological Engineering and lead on the initiative, told MINNIG.com in an interview. “Looking around the United States at where mining is happening, we really see southern Arizona as the region to develop mining, and particularly mining technology and mining communities, both because of the exciting new projects here, like South 32’s Hermosa project, [and] the Resolution mine,” Luxbacher said. Kray Luxbacher. Photo credit: Leslie Hawthorne Klingler, University of Arizona. “We see our region in southern Arizona as the place to do a mining engine. In terms of critical minerals, we’re the most exciting region in the United States, and we have all the right pieces for this ecosystem.”One of the project’s aims is workforce development, which is a critical need for the industry now as it faces a wave of retirements and a critical skills gap. The project takes a high-level approach to  developing a workforce, starting at the elementary school age, up to adults looking to retrain. It will be working with the Arizona Department of Education on helping students understand careers in mining. “Pima Community College is a partner – a large community college looking to train technicians for mining. We’re partnered with the Santa Cruz Provisional Community College,” Luxbacher said. The second major component is technology and the program is looking at technology in mining and how to develop better technologies, particularly around energy efficiency.“Mining is, by its very nature, very energy intensive. So we’re looking at things like automated fleets and how those can contribute to energy efficiency. We’re looking at remote control, in particular at the Hermosa project,” she said. “They’ll be remotely mining most of their deposit, and we’re looking at how that can contribute to safety and energy efficiency.” The third component of the program is developing communities that sustain beyond mining. The 10-year approach involves looking at communities near the Hermosa project in Nogales, the San Javier Proving Ground near Sahuarita, Arizona, and proximal to the San Javier Reservation as well as communities around Superior,  where the Resolution mine will be.“We want to make sure these communities are sustainable beyond mining,” Luxbacher said.  Inspired by Canada’s NORCAT facility At the Hermosa project, there is a focus on automation, and the university is working with OEM Komatsu as they look to expand and rebuild their proving ground.“What the engine will allow us to do is to give Komatsu some additional resources so that they can provide entry to startup companies and other technology companies that simply don’t have access to mines to prove at scale,” Luxbacher said. “We’ve been looking really closely at NORCAT because we really see a need for a similar type of facility in the United States.” The NORCAT facility in Sudbury, Ontario has an Underground Centre to develop, test, and demonstrate scalable technologies such as tele-remote and autonomous operations, industrial IoT, asset tracking, and drone mapping.It is currently the only facility of its kind in North America. “We want to see a facility here in the United States where it’s an extensive proving ground. It’s a place where startup companies can come to prove so they don’t have to be on a producing mine, but they’re near scale. And it’s a place for training, both training of technician level people, [and]  advanced engineering degrees,” Luxbacher said.“The mines that we’re looking at are the mines with the highest, most automated technology in the United States, not just Arizona. “Our project encompasses far more than a training center and proving ground, but pieces of our project are certainly inspired by NORCAT.” Luxbacher said that by educating a workforce for automation and mining, “we believe that their skills will be transferable to the chips industry and to other manufacturing in Arizona, which is attractive to young people to know that they have a skill they can pick up and carry elsewhere. “I think we’ll serve the mining industry well because we’ll be training a larger workforce, a deeper pool than we currently have.”Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com