FORT NELSON, B.C. — Fort Nelson-based Cheyne Industries Inc will be assisting the University of Northern BC with a research project on phosphate removal.
The project is a continuation of work done by UNBC, Mitacs and another manufacturing company between 2018 to 2020, where various clay deposits in the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality were studied in hopes of finding commercial applications.
The latest project will be conducted in partnership with UNBC to study what is involved in phosphate removal by clay minerals for environmental applications.
Cheyne Industries Inc. funded 25 per cent of a $160,000 grant that will go to UNBC for the project. Mitacs and the provincial and federal governments are covering the remaining amount.
Through UNBC, Cheyne Industries recruited Dr. Mohammad Kavand, a recent post-doctoral graduate, to lead the project while operating out of a lab on UNBC’s campus in Prince George under Dr. Hossein Kazemian.
Dr. Kavand began the project in April 2022 and visited Fort Nelson in August to inspect Cheyne Industries’ Pilot Plant facility.
Cheyne Industries was formed in 2020 by Robert Cheyne, though he has been researching local natural clay deposits since 2017.
Cheyne said he hopes to create local job opportunities by developing a commercially viable product that can be sourced and manufactured in Fort Nelson.
To learn more about Mitacs, click here. To learn more about Cheyne Industries, visit their website.
