The first of the two funding recipients is battery-electric drive system maker FVT Research, which will use its C$2 million to design, develop and test a 12-tonne battery-electric vehicle for underground mining machines. The development will allow the transition of equipment from diesel to battery power.

The balance of the money will be bestowed to the Mining Innovation, Rehabilitation and Applied Research Corporation (MIRARCO), a non-profit that is developing a Natural Heat Exchange Engineering Technology (NHEET). The method uses natural heat exchangers with fractured rocks to improve air delivery in deep underground mines.

Both projects will be funded through Natural Resources Canada's Clean Growth Program, a C$155 million investment fund that aids in progressing clean technologies that can further reduce impacts on air, land and water.

"Our government continues to invest in projects that are positioning Canada's mining industry to lead the clean energy future," saod Paul Lefebvre, the parliamentary secretary to Minister of Natural Resources Honourable Seamus O'Regan.