The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) is supporting five teams of UK researchers to collaborate with Canadian research teams, researching efficiency and reduced environmental impacts for mining and recycling of critical minerals. The programme is funded by the International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF).
This programme is supporting UK researchers to partner with Canadian research teams funded through the NSERC Alliance Missions grants in critical minerals, to build on the research being undertaken in shared priority research areas of responsible and sustainable mining and developing a critical mineral circular economy.
UK researchers are collaborating with a relevant Alliance Missions research project to:
- add value to the research
- expand the project in line with UK expertise and priorities
- forge new partnerships and collaborations
A key aspect of the collaborations is the promotion of knowledge and skills exchange between UK and Canadian research communities, laying the foundations for future collaborative research. The programme will provide the opportunity for enhanced coordination, knowledge and skill-sharing across disciplines and sectors related to responsible and sustainable mining.
Research under this programme is addressing two challenge areas.
Challenge one
This challenge aims to:
- minimise the environmental impacts of mining
- optimise efficiency
- support data-driven decision-making across critical mineral value chains from exploration to recycling and recovery
This will be achieved through the development or advancement of:
- knowledge and understanding
- models
- processes
- tools and technologies
Challenge two
This challenge aims to develop efficient options to advance to a circular economy with less reliance on primary mineral resources. The developed options will take into consideration the environmental trade-offs, co-benefits and potential unintended consequences of a given approach. Examples include:
- mine reclamation
- critical mineral recycling
- reprocessing of critical mineral stocks and creating value from residual mining waste
Outcomes
This programme will deliver the following outcomes:
- excellent research to improve knowledge, capabilities and innovations to optimise efficiency, minimise environmental impacts and advance a circular critical mineral economy
- enhanced collaboration and synergy between UK and Canada critical minerals research communities, resulting in greater impact than could be achieved alone
- strengthened capacity and capability for UK and Canadian researchers to support future partnership
- enhanced knowledge and skills transfer between UK and Canadian researchers
- identifying shared future research priorities related to critical minerals
This programme is funded by the UK government’s International Science Partnerships Fund (ISPF). The fund is managed by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and delivered by a consortium of the UK’s leading research and innovation bodies, including UKRI.