Digging deep: Showroom for program results
Digging deep,?is a glimpse into some of the many things that the program has contributed to, helped create or enabled during the 11 years the program has existed.
Our vision is a world-leading mining and mineral producing industry that contributes to a sustainable society. As one of Sweden's strategic innovation programs our efforts have?been towards?innovation capacity, technology development, social?acceptance and qualified personnel. In the coming months, we will share examples, large and small, narrow and broad, where Swedish Mining Innovation and our partners have contribued the vision. Short and sweet, easy to understand, gathered under one of these three headings:
DIGGING DEEP: INNOVATION DRIVERS
8 reasons?events are part of our innovation strategy?
In total, Swedish Mining Innovation has attended or organised close to 300 events, ranging from field trips, to seminars, conferences, pitch competitions, awards and networking get-togethers. As such a substantial investment of time and resources for innovation programmes, what does the experts say about events? Are they worthwhile and why?
Johan Bergstr?m , Head of Innovation Management at LTU Business , has worked in innovation for more than a decade and holds certifications from RISE Research Institutes of Sweden and 美国德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校 . He explains:
- Events play a crucial role in strengthening innovation ecosystems by facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration, resource access, problem-solving, trust-building, policy influence, trend awareness, and promoting a culture of innovation. As our world becomes more complex, and technology is rapidly becoming more advanced, it is crucial that we focus on nurturing and growing the innovation ecosystems.
8 reasons why you need events for innovation
What are the keys to successful innovation events?
Swedish Mining Innovation's strategy is to expand the stakeholder community and promote inclusion through hosting and supporting a variety of events.?
Cathrine Svakko, project manager at LTU Business and programme coordinator in Swedish Mining Innovation plays a pivotal role in delivering events that a busy audience will make time for in their diaries. With a background in the events sector, she has seen business events by the dozen. What's her top priorities when putting on an event?
- Firstly, listen to and know your audience so that you create a compelling programme and coordinate the timing of the campaign and the actual event so that it works for them. Beyond content, it is crucial that whatever the format, people get energized so make sure it's interesting, inclusive and dynamic. Surprise the audience or evoke emotion, within reason of course. You also don't want to leave anything to chance, but be well prepared down to the last detail. It's often the details that create the magic no one expected.?Finally allow plenty of down-time for people to connect and re-connect.
DIGGING DEEP: SOCIETAL SUSTAINABILITY
New tools for navigating competing land uses in Sweden
In Sweden, the competition for limited resources among various land intensive sectors poses significant challenges for sustainable land management. Increasing and improving dialogue between industry, society and other stakeholders is crucial to understand and mitigate the impacts on reindeer husbandry, the traditional livelihood of the Sami, native to northern Scandinavia and protected under the UN declaration of rights of indigenous peoples.
- The enhanced understanding and innovative methods we've developed help mitigate negative impacts on reindeer husbandry by providing better tools for mapping and measuring changes in grazing lands. This fosters greater awareness and cooperation among all stakeholders involved, says Per Sandstr?m at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) .
Combining traditional knowledge with modern technology
In?MineDeer, he and colleague Anna Skarin has collaborated with?reindeer herding comunities (samebyar)?and other stakeholders to address this challenge with a focus on the mining industry. A sameby is not a village, but a geographical areas where reindeer herding takes place. The sameby is organized as an economic and administrative association with its own board.?A coherent and working green infrastructure is a prerequisite for the survival of reindeer husbandry, nature and the Sami culture. It maintains vital functions of reindeer husbandry such as grazing and grazing peace, and enables seasonal migrations between grazing grounds (Sametinget, no date).?
- Our primary objective was to delve into the effects of other land uses on reindeer husbandry and to devise sustainable and practical solutions in the face of growing pressures.?By working closely with the?reindeer herding comunities. We?have combined traditional knowledge and modern technology such as GPS data and drone imagery to gain comprehensive understanding of impacts and develop ways of mitigating them, for example through implementing positive forestry methods, proposing the construction of reindeer overpasses to overcome physical barriers, and exploring other innovative ways to reconnect fragmented landscapes, Per says.
However, the project was not without its challenges.?The COVID-19 pandemic caused delays and made it difficult to spend adequate time with reindeer herders?during the early part of the project, who were already extremely busy. Per continues:? - We overcame these challenges by working diligently to make reindeer herders feel integral to the project, inspiring collaboration towards common solutions.
- Our efforts were supported by partnerships with various related projects and processes, notably Renbruksplan (RBP - the reindeer husbandry plan documents the different ways land is used in reindeer husbandry). These collaborations allowed us to create synergies and leverage overlapping efforts from past and future initiatives.?
Tools for monitoring?and managing land impact
- We developed new methods to measure grazing lands, particularly ground lichen, and created specific mappings of reindeer husbandry practices before and after mining activities. These efforts led to a strengthened co-production of knowledge with reindeer herders and a better understanding of cumulative impacts. This enriched knowledge base is crucial for devising effective strategies to improve landscape management and support reindeer husbandry,?Per concludes.
Looking ahead, this project represents a crucial step towards improved landscape understanding and planning. By building on these findings, we can pave the way for a more sustainable and harmonious future, where Sami reindeer husbandry can thrive alongside other land uses.
DIGGING DEEP: FUTURE TECHNOLOGY
Addressing nitrogen emissions from mining
Addressing nitrogen emissions is part of the UN's Agenda 2030 and a key issue across many industrial value chains. Much of the nitrogen in mining environments comes from ammonium nitrate-based explosives used in the mine. The risk for toxic effects in surface water systems, as well as eutrophication in nitrogen-limited aquatic environments, calls for new innovative methods to treat nitrogen emissions from waste rock deposits.
Nitrogen is an abundant element in the Earth’s atmosphere. It makes the sky blue, forms the foundation of proteins in our bodies and helps make soils fertile. However, excess nitrogen in the environment in a reactive form – which comes from the use of synthetic fertilizers, the discharge of wastewater or the combustion of fossil fuels – is a hazard, polluting land, water and air. Certain forms of nitrogen? also exacerbate climate change and deplete the ozone layer, which is finally recovering. (United Nations)
Denitrification of mine site drainage
With support from Swedish Mining Innovation, scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and 瑞典乌普萨拉大学 teamed up with mining companies to identify treatment techniques that could successfully remove nitrogen from mine site drainage.
Roger B. Herbert at 瑞典乌普萨拉大学 summarizes the findings:
- This is a passive treatment technology that has a very low energy consumption. Out of 3 different solutions, we found the greatest impact came from a bioreactor system for nitrogen removal from mine waters through denitrification. This solution was selected because it is a "nature-based" passive treatment method requiring little maintenance, while removing a high level of nitrogen.
Upscaling?to full-scale bioreactors
The project was the starting point for NITREM, an upscaling project focused on commercialization funded by EIT RawMaterials w Materials. Eventually, three full-scale bioreactors were installed to treat waste rock drainage at LKAB's Kiruna mine, removing a total of? 1.6 tons of nitrogen during 2018 - 2021. Treatment performance has met expectations and LKAB plans to install up to 50 bioreactors for nitrate removal at a future waste rock disposal site. The projects have also led to the launch of 14N AB, a Swedish startup providing NITREM service to customers. Further, the method has been adapted to other industries.
One of the main anticipated challenges was the application of a biological process in a cold environment. The first prototype was only operated in the summer months due to the risk of freezing. Later applications of this technology were able to prevent freezing and treated water during the entire year.
COMING UP
Next Digging deep Newsletter will be out in August. Our regular newsletter will be published at the end of August.
Stay tuned!