Innovators with unique ideas to modernize the mining industry can now apply for up to $2.5 million in development funding from the Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA).
Launched in 2021, MICA is a pan-Canadian organization devoted to speeding up the commercialization of new technologies aimed at making the mining industry more productive and sustainable.
Based in Sudbury at the Centre for Excellence in Mining Innovation (CEMI), the Accelerator is looking for ideas that will improve mining’s productivity and environmental performance, strengthen the Canadian mineral supply chain, and increase the domestic and export sales of Canadian innovators.
Funding of $2.5 million is available for successful applicants.
This marks the third and final call for submissions. MICA doled out $11.5 million in funding in 2022 and another $15 million in June 2023.
"We are very pleased to be able to champion emerging made-in-Canada innovations within the global mining industry through the MICA program,” Chamirai Charles Nyabeze, MICA’s network director, said in a March 3 news release.
“The MICA Network is advancing innovations that will enable the global mining industry to produce the minerals and metals necessary for the energy and green transition.”
MICA is seeking solutions that address four industry challenges: increasing mine production capacity at lower cost; reducing mining energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions; implementing smart, autonomous mining systems; and reducing environmental risk and long-term liabilities.
Additional information, including detailed application instructions, is available here.
Applicants must submit their initial proposal by March 18.
