As EV battery metal demands are set to grow several fold in the coming decades, our ability to meet those demands with current mining levels, is not yet possible. What alternative sources of battery metals can we add to our supply chain and how quickly? Dr. Mykytczuk addresses this question while focussing on non-traditional sources of metal supply; specifically looking at mine wastes, called tailings. She will look at technologies available to extract battery metals from waste using biotechnology; a low energy, low cost alternative that can make these wastes and economical source of battery metals for our electrification supply chain.”

Dr. Nadia Mykytczuk is currently serving as the CEO and President of MIRARCO (Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation) in Sudbury, ON. She also serves in the role of Interim Executive Director of the Goodman School of Mines at Laurentian University. Until May 2021, she was an Associate Professor and Industrial Research Chair in Biomining, Bioremediation, and Science Communication at Laurentian University. She continues to operate her research lab and supervise graduate students as part of her ongoing research efforts to expand biotechnology applications in mining. She is currently working on the development of a new Centre for Mine Waste Biotechnology that will be focused on extracting metals, including battery elements, from mine wastes in a low-carbon, environmentally sustainable way.

Courtesy of the Electric Vehicle Society