Innovation Summer 2024

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS 2023•2024

Photo: Yad Rana

Photo: Marcello Veiga

FORT ST. JOHN NEW RCMP BUILDING

ALTERNATIVE TO USING MERCURY IN ARTISANAL GOLD MINING

The new RCMP building in Fort St. John is equipped to generate its own power. In accordance with the guidelines of the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model, Status Electrical has successfully finished installing the electrical, communication, CCTV, access control, block heaters, Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), and solar-system infrastructure at the new 3-storey, heavy mass timber RCMP detachment. Newly installed 600-volt incoming service is scaled down by modern electrical switchboards to a 208/120-volt level, suitable for power distribution inside and outside the building. During a BC Hydro power outage, an effective power transition can be accomplished using a 500 kW diesel fuel generator that has a 72-hour runtime. In an economically feasible way, the 128-kW photovoltaic (PV) solar generating system installed on the roof meets BC Hydro’s Net Metering Program requirements for net-zero energy-efficient buildings. On sunny days, the system may produce enough energy to power about 40 energy-efficient homes. Company: Status Electrical Corporation Participants: Keith Falardeau; Yadvirender Rana, P.Eng.; Chris Eldridge; Taylor Callaway.

Worldwide, more than 2,000 tonnes of mercury (much from Canada) is released annually into the environment by 20 million artisanal gold miners (AGM). This represents the world’s largest human-made source of mercury pollution. These miners usually extract less than 30% of the gold with amalgamation, a process that uses mercury. As an alternative to amalgamation, manipueira, a cyanide-rich liquid by-product from the cassava starch industry, is being studied by researchers at UBC and in Brazil. In two studies in Brazil and Colombia, a higher gold extraction rate was achieved with manipueira. A strategic advantage in Brazil is that the mine is close to a starch production factory that generates up to 128,000 L/day of manipueira. Company: UBC, Norman B. Keevil Institute of Mining Engineering Participants: UBC: Marcello Veiga, P.Eng.; Pariya Torkaman. University of São Paulo, Brazil: Emiliano M. Silva; Giorgio de Tomi. Maná Alimentos Agroindústria, Brazil: Maria do Carmo S. Barreto. Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil: Jorge Valença Mariz.

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Summer 2024

Innovation