Canadian Wollastonite is on track to become the first net-zero mine in North America. 

Through a partnership with carbon removal business UNDO, the Seeley’s Bay, Ontario firm is using technology and techniques such as enhanced rock weathering to decarbonize the air to achieve net-zero status. For the uninitiated, to achieve net-zero is to completely mitigate all greenhouse gasses that are emitted by an operation.

Canadian Wollastonite president and founder Bob Vasily says the project didn’t start with a desire to become the first net-zero mine in North America. He describes that as “a fortunate coincidence.” Vasily says that his intention has always simply been to build and operate the company in the most environmentally responsible way possible.

“Canadian Wollastonite mines and sells wollastonite as a non-CO2 emitting source of calcium and magnesium to industries aiming to lower their emissions by substituting wollastonite for high-CO2-emitting carbonate mineral sources,” says Vasily. “Wollastonite is also used in several environmental remediation soil amendment applications. It is essential for us to produce these products with the lowest emissions possible.”

Canadian Wollastonite own a 30 million tonne deposit which stretches across the boundaries of the City of Kingston, the Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands. Vasily says that the permitting process consisted of two steps, starting with a pilot operation on the Thousand Islands and then seven years of land acquisitions, rezoning and mine plan amendments expanded the scope of the operation before they were granted municipal and provincial approvals in 2020.

Partnership with UNDO is a good fit

Vasily says that the partnership with UNDO came about after he learned about their work with enhanced rock weathering using basalt in the U.K. Since Canadian Wollastonite had been actively involved in atmospheric carbon removal using wollastonite since 2015, it seemed like a good fit, so he reached out to them in early 2023.

“I sent UNDO our research and findings,” says Vasily. “They quickly recognized the value of wollastonite as an ideal demonstration mineral and arranged a visit to see our operation. By September 2023, we launched our first joint demonstration project, using farm fields local to our deposit. This collaboration was highly successful, leading UNDO to wholly focus on our wollastonite, aiming to accelerate the proof of their geochemical models and demonstrate their scientific approach to Enhanced Rock Weathering.”

But what is the Enhanced Rock Weathering technique? UNDO Global Operations Manager Anthony Parkinson says that it is a carbon removal technique that involves reactions with rain water.

“As it rains, it combines with the CO2 in the atmosphere and ultimately there’s a reaction which takes place with the mineralogy of the wollastonite product,” says Parkinson. “It creates a weak carbonic acid, it combines with the mineralogy and ultimately creates bicarbonate ions, which dissolve down into the groundwater, which washes out into the rivers, into the water courses, and eventually will reach the ocean, which then allows the CO2 to be locked away for 10s of thousands of years.”

Parkinson says that particle size distribution and how fine the aggregate is are key considerations. Fine aggregate creates a quicker reaction, and thus a larger reactive surface area, so more CO2 can be drawn down.

“The main thing is the feedstock – the quality of the material,” says Parkinson. “[Wollastonite is] very unique in its minerology. It’s typically a very pure product. And second to that is location – it’s an absolute hub for enhancing our technology.”

Vasily notes that while the partnership with UNDO will serve to push Canadian Wollastonite towards net-zero, the goal of the partnership is not to reduce the company’s specific carbon footprint. They already have a carbon efficiency of 99.98 per cent (i.e. less than 2kg of carbon emissions per 1,000 kg of products) due to efforts such as electrifying mining operations, incorporating solar and phasing out diesel power. The company is also working with Komatsu to integrate advanced equipment to minimize the emissions from the explosives that they use. 

The net-zero designation will refer to the company’s overall impact, as they produce and spread wollastonite on agricultural lands, generating carbon credits in that process which will be sold to corporations and individuals looking to offset their carbon emissions.

Parkinson says that one reason why this carbon removal technology is so appealing is that it uses existing and well-established technologies. 

“We’re using a typical production technique as you would for producing road surface material,” says Parkinson. “We’re using lime spreaders to spread the material, we’re utilizing typical haulage vehicle, pumping trucks. So, you can scale extremely quickly because we’re not changing anything about the process.”

UNDO covers the cost of spreading the material on agricultural lands and only asks that the farmers cover the cost of hauling. This can be a challenge for UNDO, as there can be a significant level of skepticism – after all, no one gives anything away for free. But the benefit that UNDO gets out of the process is in selling those carbon credits to other businesses. Another potential challenge for UNDO themselves will be scaling up their operations and increasing their own footprint as they likely will end up dealing with more large-scale agricultural landowners in time.

Hopeful project inspires other companies

Vasily says that the biggest challenge for Canadian Wollastonite in this effort was getting the support of Hydro One, Ontario’s largest electric transmission and distribution service provider. The permitting process has been arduous and has stretched for over two years.

“However, there’s some good news on the horizon,” says Vasily. “It seems that Hydro One has recently realized the potential benefits of our project. As a substantial industrial power user, we will predominantly draw power during the spring and autumn campaigns when Hydro One has an abundance of supply. Additionally, we’ll be feeding power back into the grid during the summer and winter when demand is at its peak. As we demonstrate this, I think the pathway for other industries may be a lot easier.”

On that note, Vasily says that he hopes the project will serve as an inspiration for others to follow suit – the strategies and approaches that the company has taken are applicable to other quarries or mines looking to achieve zero emissions. However, as with all things, it will be important for those with access to wollastonite to consider whether or not it is a perfect fit as dictated by the logistics of the business, the wollastonite deposits, or other factors.

“The motivation behind these efforts might not be as strong in other companies as it is for Canadian Wollastonite,” says Vasily. “There are certainly increased costs involved with the capital and environmental projects required to reach a zero-emissions goal.”

Vasily notes quarry operations may be working within an industry where cost is the most significant factor in securing projects. This economic pressure could make it challenging for the operators to voluntarily undertake the necessary measures to lower their emissions.

“This is where federal incentives could play a crucial role in encouraging wider adoption of these environmentally-friendly practices across the sector,” says Vasily.

Parkinson says that while UNDO’s work with mines could be more short term – simply purchasing wollastonite or other materials piecemeal – they have entered a partnership with Canadian Wollastonite to work collaboratively on enhanced rock weathering technology for the foreseeable future. But his hope is that this will be a long-term effort in Canada.

“This is certainly not something which is only going to be readily available in the near term,” says Parkinson. “The position of what we’re building in Canada is ultimately going to be the blueprint for how we move our projects globally further and further around the world. This is a hotbed for demonstrating and improving our technology which we can then just transfer over to other regions globally. This is very much a long-term initiative and will continue for years to come.”

Canadian Wollastonite expects to be carbon-neutral mine within 18 months

Beyond mines they are currently working closely with partners such as the Kingston Economic Development Group, Ontario’s Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, the Ontario Center for Innovations and a number of smaller affiliates along eastern Ontario.

Vasily says that Canadian Wollastonite’s mine electrification effort is on track and should be in place by the end of August, with a solar farm planned for a year and a half from now. Their collaboration with Komatsu is underway, and they are working with other OEMs to minimize emissions.

“In short, I believe within 18 months, we aim to be very close, if not already, across the line as a carbon-neutral mine operator,” says Vasily. “In the event of any shortfall, we plan to offset it with wollastonite ERW removals sponsored by ourselves within our own agricultural and forest lands and those of the local municipalities surrounding us.”

Canadian Wollastonite has also engaged in ecological efforts such as creating managed wetlands within the property and planting more than 15,000 trees to compensate for those removed during operations.

Matt Jones is a freelance writer with a specialization in trade publications. He is based in Fredericton, New Brunswick.