On May 20 and 21, InnoTech Alberta opened the doors of its Edmonton Research and Development Park facility to welcome mining industry operators, suppliers, and researchers for the MARIOS Consortium May Technical Workshop.
“These workshops are a great opportunity to share new experiences from in the field and new solutions that have come through our partners,” says Gary Fisher, the MARIOS Consortium Program Director and Expert Researcher with InnoTech Alberta’s Advanced Materials and Monitoring team. “It’s also a great opportunity for project managers within the consortium to provide an update on the great work they’ve been doing.”
The two-day event saw 20 presentations from MARIOS members, including researchers providing updates on their latest projects and industry suppliers sharing insight into their experiences working in the field. The main lobby was also converted into an expo space where companies displayed technologies, answered questions, and networked with attendees.
Discussion topics ranged from ways to address corrosion to evaluating material performance in conditions mimicking real-world environments to spotlighting new products. Regardless of topic, each presentation sought to address an existing problem within the mining and related industries.
“I think the success behind the MARIOS Consortium is strongly linked to the fact it clearly addresses the needs of the industry,” Fisher explains. “We’re not proposing solutions in the hope that there’s a need. It really is an industry pull.”
Fisher notes that while MARIOS found its inspiration in Alberta’s oil sands, the consortium has captured the attention of other industries with shared challenges. The knowledge and expertise of its members can be applied in more diverse sectors, such as defense and forestry. He hopes this drives membership and workshop attendance to continue growing.
“MARIOS is collaborative by nature in our projects,” Fisher says. “Part of that collaboration is gathering as a group to come up with the best way to solve issues.”
The approach to the biannual workshops clearly resonates with MARIOS members. Approximately 170 people from across Canada, the United States, and Europe attended the in-person event, including two mine operators and several industry special guests. It was the highest attended Technical Workshop to date.
The next MARIOS Consortium Technical Workshop will take place in late 2026.