Kingston Process Metallurgy (Canada)

A review of information from Statistics Canada and the Council of Chairs of Canadian Earth Science Departments examined the geoscience workforce in Canada over the last two decades through economic cycles and environmental transitions. After a period of growth in Canada (2006 to 2011), geoscientist numbers in the labour market declined by 11% from 2011 to 2021, whereas the numbers of geological engineers grew by 56%. The combined total for both classifications remained fairly constant. By Census 2021 Canada had about 11,000 geoscientists (including oceanographers) and about 4,000 geological engineers. Professional, scientific and technical services, mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction are the major employment sectors. Employment for geoscientists is cyclical and tied to economic and commodity-price cycles. Alberta experienced the largest decline in geoscientist numbers (-34.5%), correlated with reduced oil- and gas-development investments from 2014 to 2020. Growth in other provinces (e.g. British Columbia, Ontario) partly offset the decline in Alberta. Nearly 30% of geoscientists are immigrants, as defined by their countries of birth. The university education supply pipeline shows that enrolment in core geoscience and geological engineering undergraduate programs dropped significantly (50% decline from 2015 to 2022) with a corresponding drop in graduations. However, enrolments in Earth Science programs related to aspects beyond core geoscience and geological engineering (e.g. environmental science in its broadest sense) tripled between 2007 and 2022. If these trends continue, the majority of students will be enrolled in these associated programs rather than graduating with core geoscience knowledge and skills. There is a need for more comprehensive and up-to-date data to represent the characteristics of the geoscience workforce accurately and to inform policy decisions and individual career choices. The current situation implies that shortages of qualified geoscience professionals could develop in future years.

Research results are often not easily accessible or readily digestible for decision-making by natural resource managers. This knowledge-action gap is due to various factors including the time lag between new knowledge generation and its transfer, lack of formal management structures, and institutional inertia to its uptake. Herein, we reflect on the Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Science Transfer Program and its evolution from ‘Mode 1’ (i.e., scientists conduct research autonomously) toward ‘Mode 2’ (i.e., co-production of knowledge with practitioners) knowledge production to understand and overcome the knowledge-action gap. Six success factors and strategies and tactics used to achieve those factors were critical to the shift from Mode 1 to Mode 2: (1) dedicate funding and staff support; (2) obtain top-down commitment from organizational leadership; (3) break down silos; (4) build relationships through formal and informal interactions; (5) emphasize co-production in program and project implementation; and (6) obtain buy-in among relevant actors. By way of three project case studies, we highlight knowledge transfer approaches, products, and lessons learned. We anticipate this contribution will benefit those working on knowledge mobilization, particularly in boundary-spanning organizations, and those involved in resource program management, administration, and design; it is also intended for resource managers seeking to have their science and information needs met more effectively.

Abstract Titanium diboride (TiB 2 ) is considered as a promising cathode material for Al production. However, the manufacture of TiB 2 cathodes is facing numerous challenges. In this study, electrodeposition of TiB 2 on graphite was performed in molten fluoride (FLiNaK) electrolyte at 600°C by using a periodically interrupted current technique for various electrodeposition times (from 10 to 75 minutes) and at two different current densities (−0.12 and −0.5 A/cm 2 ). It is shown that the TiB 2 coating morphology/microstructure strongly depends on the applied current density. Denser coatings were obtained at j on = −0.12 A/cm 2 with a growth rate of ca. 0.7 µm/min. The thicker films display a preferential crystallographic orientation along the [110] plan. At j on = −0.5 A/cm 2 , TiB 2 coatings are deposited at a growth rate of ca. 6 µm/min with no crystallographic texture. They present a porous and stratified morphology with numerous transversal macrocracks. All TiB 2 coatings show excellent wettability for molten Al as confirmed by sessile drop experiments. However, significant molten Al infiltration occurs in the TiB 2 coatings, which accumulates at the coating/graphite interface, inducing the coating delamination.

The resource recovery market has significant interest in new process development. One reason is that valuable materials for hi-tech applications are now present in sufficient quantities to warrant recycling efforts. Another is due to broad efforts on environment such as green chemistry and urban mining. However, many of these projects end in early development due to a lack of up-front integration on a broad range of issues such as experimental work, techno-economics, supply/demand, safety, regulatory landscape, and product quality. Using Li-Cycle, a Canadian lithium battery recycling company now engaged in process piloting, and as an example, this paper discusses the key barriers that companies developing new chemical or metallurgical processes face and how they can be overcome through an integrated approach. In the integrated approach, economic and market analyses commence as soon as possible in the project’s life. These are used to establish a clear process/project scope, define specifications for the process products, identify the key cost drivers to appropriately focus technical work, and ultimately provide an objective, effective, and efficient method to evaluate the merits of the project.