INNOVATION July-August 2013

f ea t ures

sizes. “When you grind rock you create different physical and chemical characteristics,” he explains. While the grinding reduces the material’s size, it also creates cracks and microfissures plus surface chemical changes that positively enhance the absorption of CO 2 . The quest is now finding the optimum size of rock with the right grind to absorb CO 2 . “That’s what we have been doing for the past six years,” says Hitch, who is searching for just one part of the solution. He doesn’t believe that a field-sized autoclave is viable as it would require too much energy and would negate the original purpose of the carbon-sequestering project. The next step, instead, lies in finding a low-cost means of simulating both the work of the autoclave and nature, but in a less-costly way that is energy efficient out in the field. “We are starting to consider how mineral carbonation can be directly fixed into the mineral processing portion of the metal recovery flow sheets at the mine site,” he tells. “We also have part of our research team looking at whether bacterial action can be used to speed up the process.” Impact on the Bottom Line By the end of this decade, Hitch is confident there will be a pilot plant up and running. “The biggest questions that we face are how do you quantify it and how do you do this to make money,” he relates, adding that industry will only adapt the technology if there is perceived net financial gain. “They want to get the carbon credits and convert that to their bottom line.”

Dr. Michael Hitch’s research on the CO 2 -absorbing properties of mine waste rock may change the dynamics of mining operations.

The impact has not been lost on the mining industry. “The Mining Association of BC is supportive of opportunities that make mining in British Columbia more competitive, including the use and sale of mining by-products in other segments of the economy,” says Dave Ewing, vice-president of environment and technical affairs for the association. But, it also has concerns regarding the ability to bring forward carbon tax in a cost-competitive way as it is forced to compete on a world market where some suppliers do not carry this extra tax. “MABC’s primary concern lies with how government decision-makers translate this principle into sound policy,” Ewing states. “The mining sector,

oscienceBC-Innov-qtr-JulyAug13_Layout 1 13-07-11 12:17 PM Page 1

unlike other sectors, is a price taker in the global market place and cannot pass on costs to consumers. As a result, the mining industry is particularly vulnerable to rising costs, including those from carbon taxes, and it continues to require a competitive provincial cost structure within which to do business in order to compete internationally.” Financial support has come from the mining sector with Hard Creek Nickel supplying $100,000 to help Hitch’s initial research. But, if research is going to find a viable option that provides industry with a technological solution to the carbon tax, it needs more industry support to move towards a pilot project, Hitch points out. A pilot plant in the field is not a “test- tube” situation and, if the project achieves a 30% capture rate, “we would be doing well,” he says, as even that amount will translate into significant cost savings for the industry. However, to get there, he estimates “we will need probably $500,000 to $1 million” in funding support for a pilot project.

Congratulations! to our 2013 Geoscience BC Scholarship Recipients

Antonio Celis UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Irene Del Real UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Rameses D'Souza UNIVERSITY OF VICTORIA

Noga Vaisblat UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA Ewan Webster UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Geoscience BC scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each are awarded annually to exemplary earth science post-graduate students working on a thesis project directly relevant to mineral or energy exploration in British Columbia.

www.geosciencebc.com

Geoscience BC - Innovation July-August 2013 Quarter page double col 4.625” x 3.75” Tech: sharon@xy3design.com 604.925.9232

2 2

J u ly/Au g u s t 2 013

i n n o v a t i o n