Green Mining Value Chain Lab
For responsible mining in Canada and internationally by strategically managing sustainability and resilience challenges across the mining value chain
For responsible mining in Canada and internationally by strategically managing sustainability and resilience challenges across the mining value chain
Assistant Professor of Green Mining
The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, Smith Engineering, Queen's University
Research Interests:
Topics: Carbon Footprint, Industrial Ecology, Water-Energy Nexus, Waste Management, Circular Economy
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 natural resource management. More information is available at Our Team.
[We are hiring!] More information can be found at Join Us.
20200901: Dr. Zhang launches his Green Mining Value Chain (GreeMVC) Lab at Queen's University.
20210402: A 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. He talks 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 a 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 an SSHRC Institutional Grant.
20230331: Dr. Zhang receives an NSERC Alliance Missions 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 Missions Grant as a co-applicant. More information at Lumet.ca.
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)!
20240516: Dr. Zhang receives an NSERC CREATE Grant as a co-applicant.
20240520: Welcome two new members, Mr. Allister Poulos and Mr. Sourabh Choudhary, to join us.
20240708: Alireza receives this year's MetSoc Sustainability Scholarship! Big congratulations!
20240913: Allister receives this year's Graduate Entrance Tuition Award and Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship. Big congratulations!
20241216: Alireza and Chenyang each passed their comprehensive exam. Congratulations on attaining this milestone on the PhD journey!
20250102: Welcome Zhikang to join our team!
20250207: Nic and Allister have each secured an oral presentation at CIM 2025. Congratulations!
20250220: Alireza's work has been selected for oral presentation at COM 2025. Congratulations!
20250306: Our review paper on mining and the SDGs has been published in The Extractive Industries and Society (SSCI).
20250310: Welcome Shengnan to visit our lab!
20250312: Allister receives this year's JSPS Summer Fellowship. Congratulations!
20250324: Nic's submission has been accepted as a Case Study paper for the upcoming Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) Annual Conference. Congratulations!
20240411: Dr. Zhang has been promoted to Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Springer journal Environment, Development and Sustainability.
20250502: Dr. Zhang receives an SSHRC Institutional Grant.
20250603: Dr. Zhang receives an NSERC Alliance-Mitacs Accelerate Grant as a co-applicant.
20250605: Alireza and Marion receive this year's MetSoc PhD/Master's Student Scholarships, respectively! Congratulations!
20250629: Dr. Zhang participates as a co-applicant in a project funded by the NRCan Energy Innovation Program (EIP).
20250708: Dr. Zhang receives an NFRF Exploration Grant (two years).
20250716: Nic has passed his thesis examination. All the best for his future endeavours!
20250826: Paramon has passed his thesis examination. Congratulations!
20250828: Welcome Zeyu, Bin, and Alexa to join our group!
20250829: Dr. Zhang is invited to talk to the Mineral-X group at Stanford University.
20250905: Allister receives the R.S. McLaughlin Fellowship. Congratulations!
20251205: Alireza receives the Mitacs Globalink Research Award. Congratulations!
20260504: Welcome Colm and Zixuan to join our group!