Goldcorp awarded $5M from Federal Clean Growth Program

Government of Canada has announced plans to invest $5 million to help position Goldcorp Canada Inc.’s Borden Mine as a mine of the future — producing ore in a more environmentally sustainable way.

The Borden Project located in Chapleau, Ont., will be the first underground gold mine in Canada to replace all diesel mobile equipment with battery electric vehicles.

This project brings significant environmental benefits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and will create approximately 250 jobs for local and Indigenous communities.

Funding for the project will be provided through the fast track stream of Natural Resources Canada’s Clean Growth Program (CGP) — a $155-million investment fund for clean technology research, development and demonstration projects in the energy, mining and forest sectors. 

“We believe the days of diesel use for underground mining equipment are numbered and electrification of our mobile fleet is a logical way to significantly reduce the mine’s environmental footprint,” said David Garofalo, Goldcorp’s president and CEO in a company release. “We are partnering with like-minded technology suppliers like Maclean Engineering and Sandvik, provincial and federal governments and First Nations to commercialize clean technologies, improve health and safety performance, and reduce GHG emissions with the aim of improving the viability, sustainability and profitability of our mines. It’s gratifying to see multiple levels of government support innovation and our vision of a safer, greener mining industry.”

The Borden Mine is expected to begin commercial production in the second half of 2019.