pH7 Technologies announced up to $5 million in funding support from Natural Resources Canada through the Energy Innovation Program’s Mining Decarbonization Demonstration Call for Proposals.
The funding will support the evaluation of a first-of-its-kind copper production technology using samples from Trekor Metals’ Gibraltar Mine in British Columbia.
The project will validate pH7’s proprietary closed-loop copper extraction process.
The process is designed to convert low-grade sulfide ore directly into 99.9% pure copper cathodes on-site while generating green hydrogen as a by-product.
If successful, the project will generate operational, environmental, and economic data to support potential future scale-up and deployment across the Canadian mining sector.
pH7 said the technology represents a different approach to copper production by creating an additional pathway for producing high-purity copper cathodes directly at mine sites.
The company believes the process could improve resource efficiency and strengthen domestic critical mineral supply chains.
The project will advance through engineering and technology development phases.
These phases will generate technical data needed to evaluate future demonstration opportunities and reduce risk for commercial deployment.
The Natural Resources Canada funding is intended to support future construction and demonstration phases, pending technical and commercial evaluation from both sides.
pH7 said its technology has the potential to increase recovery from low-grade resources, extend the value of existing mining assets, and support Canada’s leadership in sustainable critical minerals production.
pH7 Technologies develops next-generation critical mineral extraction technologies for primary and secondary resources.
The company’s proprietary closed-loop organo-electrochemical process enables mining and recycling operators to recover metals from low-grade ores, tailings, and complex feedstocks that have historically been uneconomic or technically challenging to process.
pH7 operates a commercial PGM extraction facility in Vancouver and is scaling its mining-sector applications, beginning with copper.
KEY QUOTES:
“As demand for copper continues to grow due to electrification, renewable energy infrastructure, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing, the industry faces the challenge of increasing supply while reducing environmental impacts.”
“The support from Natural Resources Canada validates the importance of developing innovative Canadian technologies that can strengthen critical mineral supply chains, improve resource efficiency and help decarbonize the mining industry.”
Mohammad Doostmohammadi, Founder and CEO of pH7 Technologies
“Canada has the resources, talent and innovative technologies needed to be a global leader in critical minerals. Projects like this help strengthen domestic supply chains, improve the competitiveness of our mining sector and support economic growth while advancing more efficient and sustainable resource development.”
The Honorable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
“Meeting future copper demand will require both new sources of supply and innovative approaches to improve the efficiency of existing operations. We are pleased to support the evaluation of emerging technologies such as pH7’s process and look forward to the insights generated through this program.”
Adil Cheema, Director of Process Engineering at Trekor Metals
