Cape Breton University is hosting the Science Atlantic Geology Speaker Tour on Thursday, January 16, from 11:45am-12:45pm. Dr. Michael Parsons, Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada in Halifax, will be on campus to discuss Critical Minerals in Canada: Mitigating Mining Impacts in the Quest for a Low-Carbon and Digital Economy. The presentation will touch on geology, mining, environmental sciences and decarbonizing society. The event is free and offers options to attend in-person or virtually.
“In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in global demand for many elements used in green energy and high-tech applications, including antimony, cobalt, germanium, indium, lithium and the rare earth elements (REE),” says Dr. Parsons. “Canada contains abundant resources of these critical minerals, and many companies are working hard to bring new mines into production.”
This talk will provide an overview of Canadian critical mineral deposits and ongoing efforts to develop these resources in a manner that minimizes impacts on the environment and local communities. Case studies will focus on characterizing pre-mining baseline conditions, predicting cumulative impacts of new mining in old mining camps and reprocessing historical mine wastes to recover valuable critical minerals. Earth scientists have a key role to play in identifying new sources of critical minerals and ensuring that Canada is an environmentally responsible supplier of these resources.
Dr. Parsons looks forward to meeting with the CBU community and members of the public who have an interest in learning about ongoing efforts of Natural Resources Canada to determine and implement best practices.
The Science Atlantic Geology Speaker Tour is co-sponsored by the Atlantic Geoscience Society. If you would like to attend the talk either in-person or virtually, please email research@cbu.ca for details.