Science, industrial sectors converge at CLRA event.

AuthorStewart, Nick
PositionCanadian Land Reclamation Association, International Affiliation of Land Reclamationists

Industrial and environmental sectors are increasingly working together as more countries begin to demand that industrial companies conform to environmental requirements and regulatory approval.

An upcoming Ottawa conference on land reclamation represents a place where corporate and scientific worlds are able to find common ground.

The 31st Annual Meeting and Conference of the Canadian Land Reclamation Association (CLRA) and 9th Meeting of the International Affiliation of Land Reclamationists (IALR) takes place Aug. 20 to 23.

More than 150 attendees, ranging from academics, consultants, as well as representatives from industries and governments from around the world, are set to make their way to Ottawa's Crowne Plaza Hotel, where the event is being hosted.

The conference will feature approximately 80 technical presentations, covering a broad spectrum of topics related to land reclamation, including revegetation strategies, city stream restoration and erosion control, mine rehabilitation and the use of biomass in mine recovery.

Northern Ontario will be well-represented at the conference. Representatives from Inco Ltd. will be on hand to discuss their work on the decommissioning of the Whistle Mine near Sudbury. Other presentations will deal with reclamation studies being undertaken by Laurentian University on behalf of De Beers' Victor project at Attawapiskat, as well as metal availability in Sudbury soils.

While there will be a number of Canadian speakers, the discussions will not be limited to a strictly North American perspective.

"We have a plenary speaker from Australia who will talk about advances in mine site rehabilitation in that country," says Bryan Tisch, conference chair and co-president of the Ontario chapter of the CLRA. "We also have a speaker from Britain who will be discussing survey results on the current state of closure practices within the mining industry, as well as two speakers from Montana who will talk about their experiences in community involvement in the reclamation of environmental sites and the effect of smelter emissions and tailings deposition, respectively."

An industry tradeshow and student paper and poster competition will also be featured at the conference.

On Aug. 24 and 25 delegates can partake in a field trip to the Deloro mine site, a multimillion-dollar initiative of the Ministry of Environment to clean up the abandoned mining and manufacturing site in Deloro, Ont. Participants will have a chance to...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT