Established in (SCSSA-month/year) by Gordon Bell, B.Sc. (Eng) 1980. Awarded on the basis of academic excellence to funding eligible Masters or PhD level students enrolled in the
Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, whose areas of research show potential for transforming the means by which mineral resources are extracted. A key objective of the scholarship is to foster interdisciplinary research to develop new or apply emerging technological advances to the mining and processing of minerals, or by advancing and applying new or developing technologies in other industries which can be transformative to the mining industry.
Award winners:
Fariborz Faraji, PHD candidate
&
Masih Soleymani Naeini, PHD candidate
Fariborz is a graduate student in Hydrometallurgy and Environmental group in the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, Queen’s University. His research focuses on environmentally friendly techniques of metal recovery/recycling from both primary and secondary resources. As his PhD, Fariborz is exploring application of some living microorganism to make some chemicals that are applied in gold production. It is indeed an interdisciplinary area of topic that can change the shape of future of mining industry.
Masih is a PhD student in Hydrometallurgy and Environment Group and is investigating gold extraction mechanisms in thiosulfate solution as an eco-friendly (non-toxic) and economical alternative for cyanidation process. Masih is applying state-of-the-art electrochemical methods to understand gold oxidation/leaching mechanism and maximize its recovery.
Established in May 2018 by Modular Mining Systems Inc. and awarded on the basis of academic excellence to funding eligible research Masters or PhD level students enrolled in the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining. Preference will be given to students pursuing research in the fields of Mining Optimization, Automation, Technology, and/or Innovation.
Award winner:
Ryan Kealey, MASC candidate
Ryan's research is focused on creating a scaled autonomous mining fleet using swarm robotics and reinforcement learning. He hopes this system proves that autonomous fleet management can be done more simply and can be applied as a more universal solution to open pit mines.
Established in October 2019 by Dr. Christopher Pickles and awarded on the basis of academic excellence to funding eligible Masters or PhD level students enrolled in the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining. Preference will be given to students pursuing research in the field of sustainable processing in extractive metallurgy.
Award winner:
Atefeh Azizitorghabeh, PHD candidate
Atefeh is a Ph.D. student in the Mining Department, Queen’s University. She has joined the Hydrometallurgy and Environmental group in 2019. Her research focuses on developing an environmentally friendly and cost-effective process for gold extraction.