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The Bharti School of Engineering at Laurentian University in Sudbury will establish Canada’s first Research Chair in Open-Pit Mining, with the support of a significant investment from Canadian mining firm, IAMGOLD Corporation.
The company’s investment of $1.25M, dedicated to the creation of a Research Chair, was announced by IAMGOLD’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Letwin at a celebration at Laurentian University this afternoon.
“This investment represents a critically-important enhancement of our research capacity at the Bharti School. This new Research Chair will attract more cutting-edge knowledge to our mining engineering programs, and will certainly augment our international reputation in mining,” said Dr. Ramesh Subramanian, Director of the Bharti School of Engineering.
(Left to right): Stephanie Fontaine (2nd Year Mining Engineering Student), Ramesh Subramanian (Laurentian University), Gordon Stothart (IAMGOLD), Dave Brown (IAMGOLD), Philip Gaultier (IAMGOLD), Albert Nelmapius (IAMGOLD), Pierre Pelletier (IAMGOLD), Stephen Letwin (IAMGOLD), Tracy MacLeod (Laurentian University), Dominic Giroux (Laurentian University).
“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 Steve Letwin, IAMGOLD’s President and CEO. “Creating Canada’s first Research Chair in the highly specialized field of open-pit mining, positions Laurentian University as a leader in mining research. We are honoured to support this unique and valuable program, and given Laurentian’s reputation expect it to attract the best and the brightest. 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 leading mid-tier gold mining company producing approximately one million ounces annually from five gold mines (including current joint ventures) on three continents. The company’s Côté Gold project, which is being developed to become an open-pit gold mine, is located south of Gogama, about 180 kilometers north of Sudbury.
“This is fantastic news for Laurentian and for the Bharti School of Engineering,” said Laurentian University President and Vice-Chancellor, Dominic Giroux. “This position will be the first Research Chair at Laurentian that is fully funded by a private sector investor. We are especially proud to be associated with a company like IAMGOLD, whose corporate philosophy enshrines the highest standards in human health, environmental impacts, social responsibility and co-operation with host communities,” added President Giroux.
The search for the Research Chair in Open-Pit Mining is expected to begin soon and it is hoped that the successful candidate will be in place by July, 2013. The Chair will provide leadership for national and international collaborative research into open-pit mining involving the Bharti School of Engineering and the Department of Earth Sciences. The ideal candidate will bring both academic experience and expert knowledge in aspects of the field, including open-pit design and slope stability, resource estimation, optimization of drilling and blasting, and practical application of grade simulation.
About Laurentian University
Laurentian University is one of the fastest growing universities in Canada in the past decade, now serving close to 10,000 students. With its main campus in Sudbury, it offers a growing number of programs in Barrie to the 1,200 students located on that campus. Laurentian has the highest post-graduation employment rates in Ontario. Laurentian also receives high recognition for its enviable class sizes, having one of the lowest average class sizes in Canada.
