Examining the sustainability of mining critical resources in Canada

With today's huge demand for critical minerals, a University of Calgary researcher is on a mission to turn what is commonly trash for the mining industry into treasure.  

Dr. Adriana Guatame, PhD, cross-appointed in the Faculty of Science's Department of Earth, Energy and Environment and the School of Public Policy, hopes to generate research results that will support more-sustainable mining operations and frameworks to optimize mineral extraction and reduce waste. 

She says creating government policy with incentives based on findings from this research will help encourage the industry to adopt these methods.

“These critical minerals are the building blocks of our society. They are the raw materials we use for technologies, for things that we use every day,” says Guatame. “And these technologies are being developed for energy transition, making quality of life better.” 

Enhancing current active mining operations

Guatame’s research examines the scientific implications of critical mineral-resource extraction. 

When a mine is opened, the operation focuses on finding a specific commodity or metal. Once that metal is found, operators discard the rest of the rock. Guatame examines common metal occurrences to determine what other metals can be found and extracted. 

“There is always a rush to open new mines, and, yeah, we need more minerals, but I don’t think that’s a great idea because of all the environmental and social implications that has,” she says.

Guatame’s approach is to use active mining operations to extract overlooked metals that occur together naturally.

“If we take the example of zinc, we also have other metals like cobalt, gallium or germanium, and normally these metals go to waste. It’s literally a waste of money," she says. "And we are doing this because we don’t know how those metals are formed or found together with zinc.” 

She works with the Geological Survey of Canada and collects rock samples containing metals listed in the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS). The CCMS has identified 34 critical minerals. Out of those 34, Guatame is focusing on two that are priorities for Canada – zinc and lithium.

“We have some lithium potential here in Alberta. And, for zinc, I have some collaborations in Ontario, due to the natural system that goes from upstate New York into Ontario and Quebec,” she says.

Because there are no current active zinc or lithium mines in these provinces, Guatame reviews historical data from old exploration campaigns in those areas. 

Transdisciplinary approaches are essential

Guatame partners with Dr. Benjamin Tutolo, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment, and Dr. Robert (RJ) Johnston, PhD, director of Energy and Natural Resources Policy at the School of Public Policy, on this work.

“Transdisciplinary scholarship is important because it helps us to have a broader view of the problem. On the scientific side, it is very easy to get excited about a topic and get tunnel vision, so you need to get out of your bubble. I like having that dimension of why this is important, who is going to use it, and always having help to solve a problem,” she says. 

One problem Guatame runs into when pitching this new process to mining companies is the lack of business incentives. Part of her work with the School of Public Policy is to create better policy frameworks to encourage industry to support the extraction of more minerals.  

“You need to listen to, and have discussions with, people who have different perspectives to make sure that the purpose of the scientific work is there and that you can deliver or create outputs that can have an impact and solve real life problems,” she says.

Meaningful community inclusion is essential for transdisciplinary scholarship, and in this line of work, that means including those communities implicated in the problem. In the Canadian context, those communities are often Indigenous, and inviting them to be key partners in mining operations can improve the success of a project.

Federal funding supports the research 

In October 2025, the federal government announced the recipients of the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund, and Guatame's was one of 19 UCalgary projects on the list.

The funding will support her project, "Integrating the mining cycle for the sustainable supply of critical mineral resources." Guatame intends to purchase two instruments used to analyze the chemical composition and mineralogy of rock samples to better identify the additional minerals found at active mining sites. 

“These instruments are also quite commonly used in the industry, which means students working with me and in our department can have access to those instruments, getting immediate skills to work on things that are used in the industry,” she says.