Projects

The HSU project is a collaboration – led by College of the North Atlantic (CNA), and funded by ACOA (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) via its Regional Economic Growth though Innovation (REGI) program, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and by industry partners Iron Ore Company of Canada, and Agnico Eagle Mines.

Our team is working on processing a constant stream of mineral core spectroscopy data. With samples coming to us from several locations across the province, the Office of Applied Research has begun scanning the samples in order to identify rich deposits and save resources on appraisal. Using hyperspectral scanning technology, this project aims to reduce waste in the mining and drilling sector and provide a system by which the data can be sorted and viewed seamlessly.

Our College Innovation Network (CIN) serves as an innovation hub for Newfoundland and Labrador, directly supporting the start-up, growth and sustainability of small to medium-sized enterprises (SME) and the development of talent that these businesses require. The framework of the CIN is two-pronged – through the Innovation at Work Program, which focuses on community outreach and promoting STEM related careers to pre-post secondary students, and the Innovation Transfer program, which aims to leverage the College’s expertise, equipment and students to help solve industry challenges.

Through the course of three years, the CIN completed over 150 projects with local industry and community partners, completed outreach with over 900 youth, and engaged with 227 college students, equating to over $800,000 paid to students over the duration of the project.

CNA’s OARI was tasked with mapping underground drifts apart of Fabled Copper’s Muskwa Project in Northern British Colombia in August, 2022. The Muskwa Project is an abandoned copper mine that was active briefly in the early 1970s. In order to re-open the mine, accurate positioning of the pre-existing drifts and adits , as well as the assets inside them, is required.

While with open pit operations a global navigation satellite system-enabled UAV (Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle) is able to collect georeferenced images and/or LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) with limited contact to the site itself, underground mines must first be georeferenced throughout the entire desired area before scanning can commence. Adapting to the less than ideal conditions an abandoned mine presents, OARI was able to map the entire accessible length of two drifts with GeoSLAM’s Zeb Horizon, a handheld mobile laser scanner, during the four-day trip. Two georeferenced, dense 3D point clouds covering the drifts were generated, showing not only the spatial position of the drifts, but also the copper mineralization along the walls and ceiling of the drift, using the intensity of the laser after it reflected off of a surface.

Vale approached us with a request to solve their issue with the repetitive stress of filtering hundreds of acid samples each week. Our solution was to automate the process with this pneumatic press which contains all the safety features. Using the CAD files provided, and their own procured 3D printer, the company was able to make more components to expand sample throughput.

In partnership with the Department of Education and the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, students who are participating in the Technology Careers Pathway program can enroll in Tech Teams, a four-week experiential learning opportunity that sees students province-wide work together under the guidance and mentorship of a CNA student to develop a technology-based solution to a community problem.

Projects completed by students include: a virtual museum using QR code technology, an “aerial views” website that provides tourists with a new perspective, and provincial mapping of the social determinants of health. Since the summer of 2022, over 60 high school students have participated in the program.

Golden Ticket is a company that rents and deploys large industrial tents for use at various gatherings. They were frustrated by the physical difficulties of deploying tent walls and the dirt that spreads across the sections when folded as per convention. Their hope was to roll up the material, but their initial concept was fraught with issues; we were able to resolve this with the development of a very simple device now named the Cobra Roller.

On a subsequent project they asked to create a power tool to rotate the tool; using 3D scanning and 3D printing, we developed it into the Auto-Drive. The system is now in production and being marketed internationally.