Green Mining Value Chain

Assistant Professor of Green Mining

The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, Queen's University

Research Interests: 

• Topics: Carbon Footprint, Industrial Ecology, Water-Energy Nexus, Air Quality, Circular Economy, Climate-Smart Mining

• Methods: Carbon Accounting, Life Cycle Assessment, Material Flow Analysis, Value Chain Analysis, ESG/SDG Impact Assessment

Zhang is an industrial ecologist interested in climate change mitigation/adaptation, sustainable urban systems, and mineral resource management. More information is available at Our Team.

• 20200701-Dr. Zhang has been appointed as Awards Coordinator for the Journal of Industrial Ecology.

• 20210402-New review paper entitled "Greenhouse gas emissions associated with urban water infrastructure: What we have learnt from China’s practice" has been accepted in Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews (WIREs) - Water. More info at Research.

• 20210901-Welcome two new members, Dr. Da Huo and Mr. Batur Tokaç, to join our group!

• 20211110-Dr. Zhang is one of the organizers of the symposium "Towards Sustainable Circularity: Mining to Materials"  at the 61st Annual Conference of Metallurgists (COM 2022). 

• 20220502-Dr. Huo presents at the 2022 CIM convention @Vancouver. His talk is about reducing GHGs through AI-based fleet management in mining operations.

• 20220601-Dr. Huo will join the University of Toronto as one of the Rising Stars in Clean Energy Postdoctoral Fellow in September 2022. Congratulations!

• 20220624-Dr. Zhang receives an NSERC Discovery Grant (five years).

• 20210920-A new research paper entitled "Reinforcement Learning-Based Fleet Dispatching for Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction in Open-Pit Mining Operations" has been accepted in Resources, Conservation and Recycling. More info at Research.

• 20221202-Dr. Zhang has been selected as an Associate Editor for the IWA journal AQUA - Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society.

• 20221213-Welcome new member, Mr. Alireza Gholami, to join our group!

• 20230126-Welcome new members, Dr. Yvette Baninla and Mr. Nicholas Murray, on board!

• 20230223-Alireza receives the Gordon Bell Fellowship in Transformative Mining Award. Congratulations!

• 20230321-Dr. Zhang receives a SSHRC Institutional Grant.

• 20230331-Dr. Zhang receives an NSERC Alliance Grant as a co-applicant.

• 20230516-Batur receives the Paul D.D. Chick Memorial Scholarship. Well done!

• 20230608-Dr. Baninla will be an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Queen's University starting on July 1st. Congratulations!

• 20230622-Dr. Zhang receives a Mitacs Accelerate Grant.

• 20230824-Batur has successfully defended his master's thesis. Congratulations!

• 20230901-Welcome three new members, Dr. Siavash Hedayati Nasab, Mr. Chenyang Wang, and Mr. Nicolas Pagé, on board!

• 20230908-Nicolas receives the R.S. McLaughlin Fellowship. Congratulations!

• 20230926-Dr. Zhang contributes to CIM's newsletter regarding ICMM's Scope 3 emissions guidance. 

• 20240105-A new research paper entitled "Smart dispatching for low-carbon mining fleet: A deep reinforcement learning approach" has been published in the Journal of Cleaner Production.

• 20240328-Nicolas receives the JSPS Summer Fellowship. Congratulations!

• 20240402-Alireza receives this year's Gordon Bell Fellowship in Transformative Mining Award. Congratulations!

• 20240403-Dr. Zhang receives an NSERC Alliance Grant as a co-applicant.

• 20240405-Dr. Zhang has accepted the role of Associate Editor for the Springer journal Environment, Development and Sustainability.

• 20240410-Chenyang will present his work at CIM 2024 in Vancouver. The title of his talk is "Decoding Mining's SDG Commitment: A Comprehensive Analysis of Sustainability Disclosures and Priorities." Check it out (Technical Program-ESG performance session)!