Abstract
The Mining Innovation Commercialization Accelerator (MICA) Network was announced in July 2021, as an investment of $40 million by the Government of Canada’s Strategic Innovation Fund. MICA is a $112.4 million pan-Canadian initiative bringing together SMEs in mining and other sectors to accelerate the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that will help make the mining industry more productive and sustainable.
The goal of the MICA Network is to create a national mining technology ecosystem by connecting Regional Mining Clusters to Cross-Sector Innovation Centres across the country. Critical to this effort are MICA’s 6 Main Partners across Canada – BRIMM (BC), InnoTech Alberta (AB), Saskatchewan Polytechnic (SK), Le Groupe MISA (QC), College of North Atlantic (NF), MaRS (ON). CEMI will play a similar regional role in Northern Ontario and together these MICA Partners will manage Regional Network activities and connect SMEs in one Region to each of the other Regions wherever mutually beneficial opportunities are identified. CEMI will organize annual national events where the members of the Network can meet ad collaborate collectively, in person.
CEMI’s objective in creating MICA was to foster Networking opportunities and inter-sectoral collaboration to generate the technical and commercial synergies that will help increase the number, scale and market reach of Canadian SMEs. The MICA Network will create a Directory of its members and their capabilities to the MICA mining company members, nationally and globally, facilitating the search for solutions that can help improve the performance of their individual operations.
This national Network of innovators aims to increase the impact of the mining sector on the Canadian economy and support the Government’s Climate Change policy objectives. MICA will fund late-stage, high-impact projects in the clean-energy space up to $30M over 5 years, focusing on four themes:
- Increase Mine Production Capacity, at Lower Cost.
- Reduce Mining Energy Consumption and GHG Emissions.
- Implement Smart, Autonomous Mining Systems.
- Reduce Environmental Risk and Long-Term Liabilities.
Also, the MICA Network will provide support services to help mining and cross-sector SMEs commercialize innovations into the mining industry and capitalize on the Canadian advantage of SME-based innovations. These services are intended to bridge the innovation-commercialization gaps that delay commercial success, domestically and globally.
MICA is a national network initiative designed to help modernize mining and improve its productivity and environmental performance, by strengthening the Canadian mineral supply chain and increasing the domestic and export sales of Canadian innovators. By accelerating the development and commercialization of innovative and clean technologies in the mining sector, MICA aims to extend the operational life of existing mines and reduce the time it takes to bring new mineral deposits into production. Ultimately, MICA aims to build upon the collaborative efforts of MICA’s Regional Networks of mining and cross-sector innovators and create a National Innovation Ecosystem for Mining.