MICA to Announce $16M in Funding for Mining Innovation Projects
MICA is led by the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation and brings together mining companies, industrial suppliers, academic organizations, researchers, and industrial innovators. The organization was created with a $40 million investment from the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund and aims to bridge the innovation-commercialization gaps that delay commercial success domestically and globally.
MICA vets and selects late-stage, high-impact projects that are poised to dramatically change the industry. The organization focuses on four areas of concentration: improved productivity, better environmental performance, a strengthened Canadian mineral supply chain, and increased domestic and export sales of Canadian innovators.
The first round of funding was awarded in November 2022, with 16 projects receiving $11.5 million in funding. The recipients included a range of innovations from artificial intelligence and automation to waste management and emissions reduction.
MICA received more than 80 project submissions for the second round of funding. The organization expects to award funding to 20 projects that have the potential to make a significant impact on the industry. The announcement will be made on June 22 during an event themed MICA: Celebrating Innovators – Bridging the Mining Innovation Gap in Toronto.
The event will also feature guest speakers and panellists who will discuss the use of artificial intelligence in mining, the challenges associated with the emerging low-carbon economy, and building successful collaborative environments. The aim is to foster networking opportunities and intersectoral collaboration to generate synergies and help increase the number, scale, and market reach of Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
MICA’s vision is to invest in and advance made-in-Canada solutions and integrate cross-sector innovators nationally. This will benefit the mining sector domestically and globally and boost the Canadian economy. The organization aims to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies to make the mining sector more productive and sustainable.
In conclusion, the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) is set to announce $16 million in funding for innovators working on mining innovation projects. MICA aims to modernize the industry and make it more efficient and sustainable through the development and commercialization of innovative technologies. The organization has already awarded funding to 16 projects, and it expects to fund 20 more in the second round. MICA’s goal is to bridge the innovation-commercialization gaps that delay commercial success and foster networking opportunities and intersectoral collaboration to generate synergies and help increase the number, scale, and market reach of Canadian SMEs.