Testing effects of soil amendments on nutrient poor mine covers soils at the MOST Facility

萨斯喀彻温大学MOST设施，Sunterra（加拿大）公司，和Okane Consultants Inc.（Okane）旨在评估和测试寒冷地区矿井覆盖层的土壤改良剂。矿井覆盖层对矿井关闭至关重要，因为建造的斜坡储存和释放水到环境中，并防止水和氧气进入废石和尾矿。我们将测试一套新的土壤改良剂，作为我们之前与Profile Products，Sunterra（加拿大）Inc.的母公司。这一新的后续工作将侧重于改良剂对土壤养分含量和贫瘠矿区覆盖土壤的水供应的影响。对加拿大来说，矿山覆盖层土壤改良剂的评价和测试是一个经济和环境方面都很重要的研究课题。我们估计，在加拿大，在今后10-20年中，地雷覆盖物及其寿命周期的“需求”约为2，500万美元，“风险”约为5亿美元。该项目将测试一套土壤改良剂，旨在刺激植被生长，限制山坡侵蚀风险，并改善所建矿井覆盖层的水文功能。项目完成后，Sunterra将投资推动加拿大采矿和复垦行业的这些成果。这项研究将为期两年，并导致一名研究技术员，一名博士后研究员和两名水安全硕士（MWS）学生的培训。公平、多样性和包容性交织在培训计划中。McDonnell在他的实验室中拥有独特的多样性记录，女性成员占50%（女性参与率为28%），具有高度的国际和种族多样性。McDonnell实验室小组的现任成员来自加拿大，巴西，智利，墨西哥和中国，今年毕业的3名成员之一是第一民族。思想、背景、性别和种族的多样性是他为实现卓越研究而进行团队建设的目标--他在2016年《科学》杂志上发表的题为《精心策划一个强大的团队》的论文中对此进行了描述。我们的多元化将有助于这种合作关系，并帮助我们回答业务合作伙伴的紧迫问题。

This Alliance partnership between the University of Saskatchewan MOST Facility, Sunterra (Canada) Inc., and Okane Consultants Inc. (Okane) is designed to evaluate and test soil amendments for mine covers in cold regions. Mine covers are crucial to mine closure where constructed slopes store and release water to the environment and prevent water and oxygen ingress into waste rock and mine tailings. We will test a suite of new soil amendments as a follow-on to our previous research collaboration with Profile Products, Sunterra (Canada) Inc.'s parent company. This new follow-on work will focus on the effect the amendments have on soil nutrient content and water availability on poor mine cover soil. The evaluation and testing of soil amendments for mine covers is both an economically and environmentally important research topic to Canada. We estimate that in Canada, about $25 million in "demand" and ~$500 million in "risk" exists for mine covers and their life-cycle over the next 10-20 years. This project will test a suite of soil amendments designed to stimulate vegetation growth, limit hillslope erosion risk, and improve hydrological functioning of created mine covers. Following the project's completion, Sunterra will invest in advancing these results in the Canadian mining and reclamation sectors. This research will cover a two-year period and result in the training of a research Technician, a post-doctoral fellow and two Masters of Water Security (MWS) students. Equity, diversity, and inclusion are interwoven into the training plan. McDonnell has a uniquely strong track record of diversity in his lab with 50% female membership (in a field of 28% female participation overall) with high international and ethnic diversity. Current members in the McDonnell lab group hail from Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and China and one of the 3 members who graduated this year was First Nations. Diversity of ideas, backgrounds, genders, and ethnicity is his goal for team building for research excellence-described in his 2016 paper in Science magazine titled "Orchestrating a Powerful Group". Our diversity will aid this partnership and help us answer the pressing questions for our business partners.