The RIME’s research program focuses on several major themes related to mining and the environment. Our program currently includes several research chairs and a dozen major research projects. In addition to the financial support provided by our industrial partners, funding for research is provided by both provincial and federal funding agencies from Quebec and Canada.
Chairholder : Carmen Mihaela Neculita
This Chair focuses on: (1) the optimization of passive treatment systems for the reclamation of closed and abandoned mine sites, and (2) active treatment systems for both classical contaminants and emerging contaminants. Results from this Chair will improve the design and efficiency of contaminated mine water treatment systems.
Chairholder : Lucie Coudert
The purpose of this Chair is to develop waste reprocessing techniques to reduce the impact of mine wastes and maximize the exploitation of mineral resources in Canada. The research will focus on the development both physical and chemical treatment processes.
Chairholder : Vincent Boulanger-Martel
Technological advancements and the growing global demand for natural resources have led to an intensification of mining activity across the country, pushing operations into less populated regions. As a result, the development of projects in Canada’s northern and remote areas has increased, raising numerous technical, environmental, and social challenges. The impacts of mining operations are significant, as large volumes of mine waste—particularly tailings and waste rock—must be stored on the surface in a manner that ensures their long-term physical and chemical stability. Over the years, various approaches to the management and rehabilitation of mine waste storage areas have been developed. However, few solutions have been specifically tailored to the unique conditions of Canada’s cold regions, in order to mitigate the environmental impacts of mining activities. The Canada Research Chair in the Geoenvironment of Mining in Cold Regions focuses on issues related to regions affected by seasonal freeze-thaw cycles and permafrost, within the context of climate change.
Chairholder : Benoît Plante
The global economy is undergoing a profound transformation, driven in part by the rapid development of new technologies. In response to this economic shift, the demand for critical and strategic metals (CSMs) is growing steadily.
The Québec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (MERN) defines critical minerals as those that are currently of significant economic importance to key sectors of the economy, that carry a high supply risk, and for which no commercially available substitutes exist. Strategic minerals, as defined by MERN, are mineral substances essential to the implementation of Québec’s economic policies, notably the 2020–2030 Electrification and Climate Change Plan and the 2030 Energy Policy.
The creation of an Institutional Research Chair in Environmental Geochemistry of Critical and Strategic Mineral Resources aligns with the Québec government’s commitment to strengthening upstream knowledge in the CSM sector and to promoting responsible and sustainable economic development.
Chairholder : Abdelkabir Maqsoud
The mining industry is one of the most significant economic sectors in Québec and Canada, contributing approximately 5% to the national GDP. However, the extraction of mineral resources and their metallurgical processing generate major environmental challenges, particularly in terms of mine and metallurgical waste management, as well as the rehabilitation of storage areas.
…coming soon
