Mineral Resources in Canada—An Overview on Mining and Metal Recycling

Abstract

Canada holds very rich mineral resources. Many world-class mining companies, such as Vale, Xstrata, Barrick, Teck, Rio Tinto etc. are involved in producing different commodities including base and precious metals from their mines located all over Canada. While virgin materials will remain the primary source of metals for the growing world, considering its sustainability and economic benefit, the policy-makers, environmentalists, and engineers in Canada are now considering metals recovery and recycling from its secondary sources to make the modern society environmentally friendly. Canada’s metals recycling sector is mature and extensive and consists of more than 2,800 firms including brokers, peddlers, collectors, processors and consumers. In 2006, Teck Cominco first started recycling metals from electronic scraps in their integrated metallurgical facilities at Trail which is located in British Columbia. Although most recycling firms are practising conventional methods to recover metals from the waste materials, some Canadian researchers have considered the needs of future generations and, as such, are now active in developing sustainable technologies. This paper gives an overview on metallurgical industries and metal recycling in Canada, focusing on recent developments on scrap mining and its technological advancement.