MICA is a national innovation ecosystem initiative designed to modernize mining and improve its productivity and environmental performance, strengthen the Canadian mineral supply chain and increase the domestic and export sales of Canadian innovators.
Canada’s mining sector is a crucial part of our economy, and the global demand for critical minerals is only adding to its potential. As countries around the globe shift toward net-zero, the mining sector will be relied upon to meet the rapidly increasing demand for those minerals. By accelerating the development and commercialization of innovative autonomous and clean technologies in the mining sector, the MICA initiative is expected to extend the operational lives of existing mines and reduce the time it takes to bring new mineral deposits into production, thereby positioning Canada as a global leader in sustainable mining as well as cleantech development.
Saskatchewan Polytechnic and MICA
Saskatchewan Polytechnic is proud to be the MICA representative for Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories and Manitoba.
Sask Polytech engages the minerals industry innovation ecosystem to deliver applied research projects with mining companies, suppliers, other researchers and innovators. Our MICA focus for training and applied research are:
- Digital transformation
- Environmental science, solutions and sustainability
- Reliability and maintenance—Internet of Things, automation and processes
- Supply chain development and management
Sask Polytech works with companies on innovations that can be readily commercialized as part of the MICA Network.
Sask Polytech’s Applied Research centres, including our Digital Integration Centre of Excellence (DICE), Centre for Health Research, Innovation and Scholarship (CHRIS), and Sustainability-Led Integrated Centres of Excellence (SLICE) position us as a key regional partner in the MICA Network.
For more information about Sask Polytech and MICA, view our PowerPoint slide presentation (pdf) from the MICA launch event.
MICA membership
MICA offers membership to a wide range of individuals, organizations and businesses—from students to professionals, not-for-profits and associations to small- and large-scale companies. To learn more about MICA, including the benefits of membership, visit the MICA network website.
MICA officially launched with a kick-off event on November 17, 2021. View the MICA launch session one and session two videos. The session two video explains membership in detail.
Events
There are currently no scheduled events.
Call for proposals
MICA is pleased to announce the third call for proposals for SME-based and industry-driven network-supported projects. Application deadline is March 29, 2024.
These Acceleration Grants are for up to $500k and up to 30% for medium to late-stage mining product or services innovation development projects to help move them to market more quickly. This call is focused on teams that can be to market by September 2026.
Visit MICA’s program guidelines page for further information.
Submit applications through MICA’s portal.
News
Contact us
For more information, please visit micanetwork.ca or contact: