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Canadian priorities. Practical progress.

Focus where innovation matters most.

Connect Canadian priorities with practical mining innovation: clear challenges, responsible partnerships and a credible route to commercial adoption.

Explore our focus areas
Aerial view of Highland Valley Copper Mine and its tailings storage area in British Columbia
Photo: Highland Valley Copper Mine by Alvestrand. CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized; cropped to fit.Context image; no CEMI project, partnership or endorsement implied. Download photo

Proposed portfolio

Seven connected areas. One route to adoption.

Lead with critical minerals and respectful Indigenous partnerships. Build the energy, environmental, digital and people capabilities that make responsible adoption possible.

These areas are connected, not seven new standalone programs. Supply-chain resilience runs through critical minerals; climate resilience runs through energy and water; SME growth and procurement run through every commercialization pathway.

CEMI + MICA

One mandate. Clear delivery roles.

CEMI would own the challenge, partnership design and evidence standard. MICA would support the commercialization pathway where its mandate and capacity are confirmed.

This is a proposed operating split, not a claim that MICA is a separate legal commercialization arm. Confirm governance, active programs and delivery commitments before accepting an engagement.

Start with a scoped, costed diagnostic. Progress to a separately agreed demonstration, then an adoption engagement with a named buyer. Confirm fees, partner contributions and any public support independently at each gate.

Proposed operating process

From national priority to a decision on site.

This adds a priority and partnership lens to the existing challenge identification, scouting, solution matching and commercialization services, rather than replacing them.

  1. Gate 01

    Qualify the opportunity

    Record the priority, customer need, additionality, baseline, buyer and delivery cost. Check policy relevance without treating a strategy as a funding award.

    Proposed owner: CEMI portfolio lead

    Deliverable
    Opportunity brief and initial scorecard
    Decision gate
    A named problem owner, measurable need and credible CEMI role; otherwise refine or refer.
  2. Gate 02

    Co-design the mandate

    Agree governance, resourced participation, IP/data terms, safety and environmental responsibilities. Rights-holder authorization is a prerequisite where relevant.

    Proposed owner: CEMI engagement lead with participating rights-holders and partners

    Deliverable
    Partner-reviewed charter, budget and responsibilities
    Decision gate
    Authorized participation, a viable delivery budget and agreed responsibilities; otherwise pause.
  3. Gate 03

    Build the commercial case

    Use existing scouting and matching services. Define representative test conditions, buyer criteria, procurement route, independent review and stop thresholds before a pilot.

    Proposed owner: CEMI technical lead with a MICA commercialization lead where confirmed

    Deliverable
    Costed demonstration plan and buyer-reviewed business case
    Decision gate
    A committed host, credible financing plan and pre-agreed acceptance criteria; no guaranteed subsidy or sale.
  4. Gate 04

    Demonstrate and decide

    Compare results with the baseline, including costs, risks, community-agreed outcomes and failures. Record independent review and any changes to the test.

    Proposed owner: project lead and authorized site operator

    Deliverable
    Evidence pack and documented go, revise or stop decision
    Decision gate
    Acceptance criteria and required approvals met; otherwise revise or stop rather than promote an unproven result.
  5. Gate 05

    Adopt, measure and learn

    Agree procurement, training, maintenance and follow-up. MICA may support repeat-market connections. Review results at agreed 3-, 6- and 12-month points; publish only authorized evidence.

    Proposed owner: buyer/adoption lead with CEMI portfolio oversight

    Deliverable
    Adoption agreement, outcome review and reusable lessons
    Decision gate
    A responsible owner and funded support plan; count a paid adoption separately from a pilot or introduction.

Portfolio discipline

Choose deliberately. Measure honestly.

At a proposed monthly intake review, score opportunities on operational value, policy relevance, rights-holder readiness, technical and commercial feasibility, CEMI additionality and delivery capacity. Rights, safety and authorization are non-negotiable gates, not points that can be traded for a higher score.

At a quarterly portfolio review, compare delivery cost and committed resources with evidence of adoption. Track paid deployments, time to adoption, SME sales, verified environmental performance and community-defined benefits. Separate projections from measured outcomes and avoid double-counting across focus areas.

Launch only a small, capacity-matched set of mandates. Refer out opportunities without a credible buyer, host, funding path or appropriate CEMI role. Review official sources quarterly and before any funding-related claim; assign an accountable content owner before public launch.

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Partnership and collaboration

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