Geotechnical News • September 2017
33
WASTE GEOTECHNICS
geotechnical engineering, nanotech-
nology, environmental microbiology,
resource economics, environmental
sociology, and Indigenous interactions.
In a thoroughly integrated approach,
the team will develop improved, cost-
effective, socially acceptable strate-
gies for managing mine wastes and
mitigating contamination.
TERRE-NET brings together 15 lead-
ing researchers from seven universities
across Canada (University of Water-
loo, University of British Columbia,
University of Alberta, University of
Saskatchewan, University of Ottawa,
Université du Québec en Abitibi-
Témiscamingue, and Memorial
University of Newfoundland) and
numerous partner organizations and
end-users, including provincial, terri-
torial and federal government agen-
cies, mining companies, and industry
associations. This research network’s
members have extensive expertise
in all areas of mine-waste manage-
ment and remediation, as well as in
interaction with First Nations, Métis,
and Inuit communities. TERRE-NET
collaboration with key industry part-
ners, industry associations, govern-
ment organizations and regulatory
agencies in Canada, as well as with
international partners, will ensure
that this network provides real-world
solutions for mine-waste management
and remediation technologies both in
Canada and around the world.
TERRE-NET’s mission is to research
and develop cutting-edge approaches
and technologies for environmentally
and socially responsible handling of
the wastes generated during extrac-
tion of mineral and energy resources.
TERRE-NET’s research projects are
organized under the following seven
themes, each with a defined overall
research objective that is directly
relevant to the needs of the network’s
partner organizations.
• Abandoned Mine Site Remedia-
tion
: develop a comprehensive
framework to assist in the optimi-
zation of remediation strategies for
abandoned mine sites.
• Predictive Tools for Mine-Waste
Management
: develop novel, ro-
bust, efficient numerical models to
predict the environmental impacts
of mine wastes.
• Cross-Cutting Methods and
Technologies
: provide fundamen-
tal knowledge of the biogeochemi-
cal, mineralogical, and hydrologi-
cal mechanisms and processes that
control the physical and chemical
stability of mine wastes.
• Indigenous Knowledge Integra-
tion for Understanding Risks
and Costs/Benefits of Resource
Extraction
: integrate local and
Indigenous knowledge indicators
and monitoring practices, as well
as cost/benefit analyses, into mine-
waste management approaches.
• Innovative Treatment Technolo-
gies for Mine-Impacted Water
:
develop cost-effective strategies
for treatment and remediation of
mine wastewater.
• Remediation Strategies for Mine
Wastes
: develop and optimize the
performance of remediation strate-
gies for preventing the release of
contaminated water at active and
decommissioned mine sites.
• Mine-Waste Design
: transform
mine-waste management practices
through the development of new
methods for creating physically
and chemically stable mine-waste
structures that are easily remedi-
ated at the
end of mine
life.
The results that
TERRE-NET
achieves will
help its part-
ners to develop
effective mine
waste-manage-
ment strategies in
addition to:
• securing Canadian leadership
in
environmentally responsible
resource extraction both in Canada
and abroad;
• developing, optimizing, and
implementing new predictive
tools, remediation strategies, and
water-treatment technologies
in
partnership with Canadian industry
and government agencies; and
• forging lasting relationships
among partners from the private
and public sector
, strengthening
collaborations among academic
researchers, the Canadian mining
industry, government agencies,
government researchers, First
Nations, Métis and Inuit communi-
ties, and international partners.
TERRE CREATE
The TERRE CREATE program is
designed to prepare exceptional sci-
ence and engineering undergraduate
and graduate students and postdoctoral
researchers for impactful careers in the
resource extraction sector. Through
the adoption of a “Life of Mine”
approach, this innovative training
program will produce highly quali-
fied personnel capable of addressing
critical long-term issues related to
mine waste management and mine
site reclamation which arise through-
out the various stages of mine site
development – prospecting, design,
construction, operation, closure, and
post-closure. To accomplish this goal,
the TERRE CREATE program offers
a wide variety of courses to address
