Welcome

The Lassonde Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute within the University of Toronto. It is created to be at the forefront of leading-edge research in a whole spectrum of mining activities, from mineral resource identification, to mine planning and excavation, to extraction and processing. It is an international centre of excellence in mining engineering, encompassing mining, civil, materials and chemical engineers, geophysicists, geologists, geochemists, materials scientists and environmental scientists, who undertake research that cross disciplines and traditional boundaries. The Lassonde Institute solves the most important scientific problems that face mining, as it works toward extracting resources from the Earth in a sustainable way.

The Lassonde Institute comprises several research groups and laboratories within U of T, and covers the fields of mineral exploration, mining engineering, rock engineering – including rock physics, rock fracture dynamics and seismology – computational geomechanics, mineral process engineering, backfill engineering and extractive metallurgy. Faculty members conduct research in their chosen field of expertise to promote advances in science and engineering, both to the benefit of the industry and as a means to teach and support graduate students. Funding for research primarily comes from three sources: mining companies looking for a specific outcome; NSERC, a federal government agency that supports research in engineering; and fees generated from services provided.

Research groups collaborate with each other, with other international research groups and with industrial partners in extensive multidisciplinary research projects. This leads to a unique synergy contributing to world-class research and the development of exciting new technologies.

The institute was created with the financial assistance of the Canadian mineral industry, and in particular Dr. Pierre Lassonde, to conduct leading-edge research and train graduate students and professionals in mineral, mining and process engineering. The Lassonde Institute of Mining is housed in the newly renovated Goldcorp Mining Innovation Suite in the Lassonde Mining Building, 170 College Street, Toronto.