Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont. will be getting a $440,948 investment from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario (FedNor), supporting increases in the discovery and development of mining opportunities.
Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu made the funding announcement on Monday during the Prospector and Developers Association of Canada 2026 convention.
The funding is coming from FedNor’s Regional Economic Growth Through Innovation (REGI) Fund. It will be used to equip Lakehead with important mining research instruments that will make the core of a new microanalytical facility, housing the work of a new industry research chair. The funding will also be used to help in electrical panel upgrades to the existing lab space.
“When we invest in natural resource development we invest in Northern Ontario’s economy, and Canada’s future,” Hajdu said in a press release.
“As Northern Ontario is laying the groundwork for strong and resilient communities, investing in cutting-edge research and innovation helps us remain global leaders who maintain a position at the head of the table by staying smart and adaptable. This project will define the future of mining research, support our industry experts, and ensure our regions stay competitive for generations to come.”
The new research at Lakehead will assist directly in finding new deposits of gold as well as other future mining opportunities with more efficiency and is intended to help in the development of the mineral exploration industry of Northern Ontario.
“Mining is foundational to the economy of northwestern Ontario,” Lakehead’s President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Gillian Siddall said in the release. “Today’s investment from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation and FedNor strengthens not only the industry, but the people, communities and economies that depend on these raw materials. This strategic investment in Lakehead’s unmatched expertise doesn’t just support discovery, it strengthens Canada’s position as a world leader in responsible mining innovation.”
Lakehead Department of Geology Chair Dr. Andrew Conly spoke to the Times, explaining what the new pieces of equipment are and how they function.
“The main one is what we call a micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometer,” Conly said. “That’s for elemental mapping of geological materials. We can get a two-dimensional map of the elemental distribution and from combining those elemental maps, we can then map out what the mineral distribution within a sample happens to be.”
“The other one is a micro-Raman spectrometer,” he said. “It’s somewhat similar in that we’re using it for mapping out and identifying minerals and geologic materials. it’s a spectroscopic type technique which is a little different than X-ray fluorescence. For example, I do a lot of work in graphite and I use it to make structural determinations and get an idea of the crystallinity and the crystal graphic structure of various graphite deposits.”
“The third piece is another microscope based system, this is a what we call a hot-cold-cathode luminescence microscope,” Conly said. “It bombards electrons and causes certain minerals to fluoresce. based on the intensity and colour, we can make certain inferences in terms of compositional variations within those minerals.”
“They look like a standard binocular microscope, and then there’s particular attachments to that that actually is providing the analytical capacity,” he said. “To put it in layperson’s terms, they’re kind of funky looking microscopes. All three pieces, pretty much any anything nowadays, is computer controlled, even the most basic microscopes.”
The new equipment at the university will support the training of students in skills required to answer research questions and meet industry standards as geologists for years to come.
More than 700,000 Canadian jobs are indirectly supported by the mining and mineral sector, which also contributes over $150 billion to the national GDP annually.
