Coming out of DEMOday2024, IMII is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Innovation Award. This celebrated award recognizes the most innovative technologies emerging from the supply chain for the minerals industry in Saskatchewan. For the first time, IMII handed out two awards – Most Novel and Most Actionable.
This year’s winner for Most Novel Innovation is Polycontrols Technologies Inc. for their cold spray hybrid additive manufacturing. Polycontrols technology has enormous potential to provide significant cost savings and become a powerful tool to lower long-term maintenance cost for both corrosion and wear across the mining industry, a sector known for its stringent requirements for durability and efficiency.
Metaspectral’s ORES: Ore Resource Evaluation System took home the award for Most Actionable Innovation. Their hyperspectral-based innovation leverages the unique spectral signatures of minerals to provide comprehensive, real-time data on ore composition and distribution. A technology capable of fully automating the sampling of potash and uranium ores would be highly valuable and could not only improve operational efficiency by providing real-time, accurate mineral analysis but also support sustainable mining practices by reducing environmental impact and enhancing worker safety.
“IMII remains committed to fostering innovation for Saskatchewan’s minerals industry. The Innovation Award is a testament to our dedication to recognizing and supporting technologies that drive productivity and sustainability,” stated Al Shpyth, Executive Director of the IMII.
The award-winning technologies were selected from among the applications submitted for DEMOday, an event that invites innovators to pitch their solutions to industry needs to a panel of experts from IMII’s principal minerals company members, including BHP, Cameco, Fission Uranium, Mosaic, and Nutrien.
For more information about the Innovation Award and the winning technologies, please visit IMII’s Innovation Award page.