Green solutions for the gold industry
Travis Osmond (鈥15) and Dr. Andrew Grant may have the Midas touch, with a green twist.
The pair co-founded the bio-tech start-up Kasis Environmental in 2015, just months after Osmond鈥檚 graduation from 快猫成版视频 A. The company focuses on a new material they developed in the lab, KCell, which could potentially replace the use of cyanide in the gold mining industry, providing an environmentally-friendly alternative.
鈥淜Cell acts like a gold sponge. It absorbs gold quickly, without any negative impact on the environment,鈥 explains Osmond, who is the company鈥檚 chief executive officer. 鈥淐urrently, the majority of the gold mining industry uses cyanide to extract gold, which is a huge health and environmental hazard. KCell could significantly change the environmental impact of the gold mining industry in Canada and internationally.鈥
Grant, Kasis鈥 chief technology officer, says the KCell material initially came out of a research project geared towards biochemistry.
鈥淲e were working on several projects in the lab at the time. Travis began working in my lab in 2013 as a student. After many tests and experiments, we found that we had a material novel enough to try and build a company around,鈥 says Grant.
Along with potential use in mining, Osmond says this technology could also assist in recycling gold used in electronics and other materials.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 realize how many things gold is used for. It鈥檚 in most of our electronics, watches, phones, even medical devices, because it doesn鈥檛 rust,鈥 explains Osmond. 鈥淚n our studies, we鈥檝e discovered that our material tends to pick up gold more quickly than other metals. It could be very helpful in recovering gold from e-waste.鈥
The pair are currently presenting their product to representatives and engineers in the mining industry, as well as potential investors, and are taking steps towards commercialization, applying for a U.S. patent.
Their ideas are sparking interest across the sector with Osmond being named one of in 2019.
Since its 2015 establishment, Kasis Environmental has received support from the New Brunswick Foundation for Innovation鈥檚 Pitch 2017 Competition (NBIF), the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), and the University through Grant鈥檚 work on campus. At 快猫成版视频 Allison, lead researchers own the intellectual property generated from their research, allowing Grant to transfer that to the company.
Grant, who has taught at 快猫成版视频 Allison for over 20 years, says this kind of commercial application is exciting and also shows the benefits of pure research taking place on campus.
鈥淧ure research, the stuff you learn in the lab, figuring out how things work 鈥 it鈥檚 very important,鈥 says Grant. 鈥淗onestly, this project started as something totally different in the lab. Environmentally-friendly gold extraction was never the starting goal 鈥 we initially thought we could build materials to remove waste, but then were able to apply this method to gold. It鈥檚 been a great reminder about the essential role pure research plays and that good ideas don鈥檛 always come from where you might expect.鈥
To learn more about Kasis Environmental, find them on Facebook: or on Twitter: .
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- (Huddle, Sept. 13, 2019)