Building a better metals test.

Scientists at an analytical lab in Sudbury believe they have hit the mark with a proposed research project utilizing the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, Canada's super microscope at the University of Saskatchewan, to improve metals analysis methods in the mining industry.

Testmark Laboratories Ltd. is planning to embark on a large-scale project utilizing the synchrotron to identify species of metals and the oxidation state of various metals in the environment.

A refined acid base accounting method that measures acid-generating capacity will provide the mining industry with more accurate accounts of toxic metals, said John Scollard, PhD, director of research and development at Testmark.

"This is specific to the mining industry," Scollard said. "We're looking at better ways of doing acid base accounting (ABA) by using the synchrotron. One of the things to figure out is the oxidation state of sulfur--whether it is sulfide or sulfate. Currently, the techniques used to determine the amount of sulfur versus sulfide (in metals) don't give reliable, reproducible results."

Considering environmental regulations are based on a total amount of a specific metal, being able to identify the toxic compounds could mean the difference between a mining project falling within environmental regulations or not, he explained.

Arsenic

"If you look at the toxicity of arsenic, some forms are more toxic than others, so while the environmental regulations are based on a total amount of arsenic, you can argue that if you can properly identify the arsenic species that you're working with, you may actually have a lower arsenic number when you take away the non-toxic compound," Scollard said.

But differentiating the species is only one aspect of improving ABA processes, Scollard pointed out. Quantifying the species is also vitally important, and that is where Testmark scientists believe they have hit the mark.

"That's the secret," Scollard said. "We know how to do it. We can put a number on it."

Scollard is in the midst of writing up proposals to submit to the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) for funding assistance to enable Testmark scientists to work with the synchrotron to improve on ABA methods, both in identifying and quantifying metals.

The synchrotron is a powerful microscope that projects brilliant and intense beams of light to allow matter to be viewed at atomic scales. Canadian Light Source Inc., housed at the University of Saskatchewan, operates as the national synchrotron research and development centre of excellence.

Partnerships

Partnerships with industry and academia will be required because of the high cost to lease synchrotron time, said Scollard.

Testmark's edge has been the ability to tap into experts in the industry, many of whom Scollard knew 15 years ago while studying at the University of Western Ontario. Today, many of those experts are based at Canadian Light Source.

With clients in 30 countries on every continent except Antarctica, Testmark, located in Garson within the City of Greater Sudbury, has come a long way since opening its doors in the late 1990s as a water-testing lab. Today, the ISO 17025-certified full-service facility conducts water, soil, air and industrial testing, as well as electrical transformer oil testing, which accounts for approximately 15 per cent of the company's business. About 65 per cent of its client base is in the environmental engineering sector. Many of the company's environmental engineering clients serve the mining industry, monitoring effluent, production streams and conducting ABA.

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Effluent

The company is also capitalizing on opportunities that have sprouted on the heels of new metal mining effluent regulations (MMER), which came into effect in 2004, making regular toxicity testing of effluents mandatory for Canadian mining companies.

Testmark is investing between $100,000 and $150,000 to construct a toxicity-testing lab on site, one of only a handful in Canada, and the only one in Northern Ontario. The laboratory tests will examine acute lethality in rainbow trout and freshwater fleas in mining effluents.

"The addition of toxicity testing is a good area to grow into, especially with all the mining companies around (Sudbury) now. There are more mining companies opening up mines, because there are the junior mining companies coming in and purchasing the old mines that Inco and Falconbridge no longer want to operate. All of these companies also will have to do their environmental monitoring, so we're positioned in a good area for servicing a number of mining companies."

Testmark's only challenge has been the ability to acquire good quality water in order to ensure survival of the organisms in the testing process. To date, the company has been de-chlorinating city water, but plans are underway to drill a well.

Scollard expects the lab will be certified and fully operational by mid-2005.

With three PhDs on staff, continued, research and development to improve on and develop new processes has been the cornerstone for Testmark's growth in the industry.

www.testmark.ca

By SARI HUHTALA

For Northern Ontario Business