INNOVATION January-February 2013

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Oyu Tolgoi is a joint venture between Turquoise Hill Resources (headquartered in Vancouver, BC) and the Government of Mongolia. It represents the largest financial undertaking in Mongolia’s history and is expected to account for approximately one-third of the country’s gross domestic product. Copper production from the mine is expected to reach 450,000 tonnes annually. Mongolia has been making headlines as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The government agreement with Oyu Tolgoi stipulates the mine will employ 90% Mongolian nationals during operations and provide educational scholarships for local students. In March 2012, to help ensure the success of the operating agreement, the NBK Institute of Mining Engineering and the UBC Institute of Asian Research signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mongolia’s Ministry of Education, Culture and Science aimed at advancing cooperation between UBC and Mongolian universities to promote best practices in mining. One of the goals of the MOU is to implement a 2+2 exchange program for undergraduate students with the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST). Students would spend two years of university study in Mongolia and two years at UBC, resulting in a Bachelor of Applied Science degree. As part of the agreement, the universities will generate industry financial support to assist

contribute to global well-being. The BC mining industry has an opportunity to be a global model of sustainable development. Engineering and Mining in a Global Context Engineers Canada (the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada) is an active member of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO). The role of engineers, as stated by WFEO, includes helping developing countries devise adaptation strategies through financial assistance, technology transfer and capacity building. One key UBC and MUST professors with Oyu Tolgoi Mine engineers-in-training. (Mongolia, June 2012)

outcome reported by the WFEO attendees at the 2008 United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development meeting (CSD-16) was: “To achieve sustainable development in these key areas there will need to be an enabling environment, good governance, and institutional structure that encourage and assist, as well as capacity building.” 1 Early UBC global initiatives in capacity building for sustainable mining were led by various NBK Institute faculty members, for example Dr. Marcello Veiga, P.Eng., within the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Global Mercury Project. These studies revolved around capacity

Mongolian nationals in obtaining Master of Engineering degrees at UBC. The agreement also facilitates collaboration of MUST and UBC faculty for joint teaching, seminars, personnel exchange and research. The benefits of this collaboration to MUST include improved capacity in terms of curriculum, facilities and technology, as well as faculty expertise in terms of teaching, research and industrial experience. The Norman B. Keevil Institute benefits from exposure to real world mining development and the experience of serving to establish what will be the emergence of a major global mining country in the next decades. The Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining

UBC’s Dr. Marcello Veiga, P.Eng., talking with miners in Mozambique as a part of the Global Mercury Project.

building and artisanal mining, focusing particularly on health hazards associated with the use of mercury and cyanide. Capacity Building in Mongolia’s Emerging Mining-based Economy A more recent development in mining capacity building initiatives out of UBC relates to the training of engineering and geoscience graduates within the Mongolian mining industry, recruited by the Mongolian industry to launch a new generation of very significant mining projects. Mongolia, a remote landlocked country of around three million people between Russia and China, is starting to experience a phenomenal economic boom. This is based largely on mining development, such as the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the south Gobi Desert, planned to commence production in 2013.

Engineering and MUST have started training engineers for the Oyu Tolgoi Mine as well as the Mongolian Mining Corporation (one of the largest Mongolian coal companies) through the UBC Certificate in Mining Studies Program. Currently, 47 Mongolian engineers and geoscientists are enrolled in the program and plan to graduate in early 2013. As part of the program during 2012, a sequence of six UBC mining professors travelled to the Oyu Tolgoi mine site and delivered short courses on mine design and planning, rock mechanics, ventilation, and asset management. Engineering–Business School Collaboration for Global Sustainable Mining Practices In November 2012, the Canadian government announced that UBC Mining and the Simon Fraser University Beedie School of

1 Danyluk, D., 2008. Consultation for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Canadian Academy of Engineering, Newsletter, v. 63, pp. 9-11.

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