The Bharti School of Engineering at Sudbury's Laurentian University is establishing a research chair in open-pit mining and Iamgold Gold is assisting with a donation of $1.25 million.
"This investment represents a critically-important enhancement of our research capacity at the Bharti School," said Ramesh Subramanian, director of the engineering school, in a Jan. 15 statement.
"The future of the mining industry depends on our ability to step up the pace of innovation and this has to start with educational programs and research opportunities specializing in advanced mining techniques," said Stephen Letwin, president and CEO of Iamgold. "Creating Canada’s first research chair in the highly specialized field of open-pit mining, positions Laurentian University as a leader in mining research.
"With the development of our Côté Gold project in Northern Ontario as an open-pit mine, it’s gratifying to know that we will be both helping to address the serious shortage of skilled mining professionals in this country and creating job opportunities for our future mining engineers."
Iamgold is a mid-tier gold mining company producing approximately one million ounces annually from five gold mines. Its Côté Gold project, which is being developed to become an open-pit gold mine, is located south of Gogama, about 180 kilometres north of Sudbury.