Laurentian University to Receive Funding for Research Advancing the Canadian Digital Core Library

August 20, 2026— Laurentian University will collaborate with Creative Destruction Lab on a two-year research program to help build a national, AI-ready platform for Canada’s geological data.

Laurentian University announced today it will receive research funding of up to $1 million over two years from Creative Destruction Lab to advance the Canadian Digital Core Library, a national initiative to digitize Canada's geological record and make it openly available through an AI-ready platform. Enabled by the Government of Canada's investment in the Canadian Digital Core Library, the funding will support a dedicated research program led by Laurentian’s Harquail School of Earth Sciences that will run through March 2028.

Since signing the Declaration of Intent on March 2, 2026, Laurentian University has worked with industry collaborators Agnico Eagle, Anglo American, BHP, HudBay Minerals, Teck, Vale Base Metals and Creative Destruction Lab to provide design recommendations for the Canadian Digital Core Library.

Canada holds significant critical mineral deposits and stores millions of metres of geological drill core in government repositories across the country, which together form one of the largest drill core libraries in the world. The Canadian Digital Core Library will digitize this geological record using advanced scanning technologies and make it openly available through an AI-ready platform, giving the entire industry, from major producers to junior explorers, access to a shared foundation for mineral discovery.

Known as Canada's Mining University, Laurentian brings more than 65 years of research and teaching across the full mining cycle to the Canadian Digital Core Library, through the Harquail School of Earth Sciences and the Mineral Exploration Research Centre (MERC), the Goodman School of Mines, and the Metal Earth research initiative. The research program will characterize the contents, coverage, and research value of the initial Canadian Digital Core Library dataset, and develop AI and machine-learning proof-of-concept use cases that demonstrate the opportunities the data creates. It will also help train the next generation of Canadian geoscientists, supporting postdoctoral fellows and graduate students at Laurentian as they help build the national initiative.

“Through its partnership with Creative Destruction Lab, Laurentian University’s research expertise will help advance the Canadian Digital Core Library and unlock the potential of Canada’s geological data and natural resources. By supporting innovation and collaboration in the mining sector, we are driving economic growth, creating new opportunities for Canadians, and strengthening Canada’s competitiveness in the race for secure critical minerals.”— Claude Guay, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources

“Sudbury has earned a global reputation as a centre of excellence in mining research, innovation, and expertise, and this partnership is a natural extension of that legacy. For generations, our community has helped drive advancements in the mining sector, contributing knowledge and solutions that are recognized around the world. I am especially pleased to see Laurentian University playing a key role in the Canadian Digital Core Library initiative. This partnership reflects not only the strength and leadership of Northern Ontario’s mining ecosystem, but also Laurentian’s standing as Canada’s Mining University.”— Viviane Lapointe, Member of Parliament for Sudbury

"Making Canada's geological record openly available through an AI-ready platform offers novel opportunities for innovators, explorers, and builders. We are pleased to collaborate with Laurentian University, the Government of Canada, provinces and territories, and industry-leading resource companies to develop the Canadian Digital Core Library."— Sonia Sennik, CEO, Creative Destruction Lab

“As Canada’s Mining University, we are proud to have our researchers contribute their expertise to this critical project. We are committed to enabling innovation within the mining industry and continuing our collaborative work with industry partners.”— Dr. Tammy Eger, Vice-President, Research, Laurentian University

About the Canadian Digital Core Library

The Canadian Digital Core Library (CDCL) is a national initiative to digitize Canada’s geological drill core data and make it openly accessible through an AI-ready platform. The Government of Canada is investing $40 million over two years to advance the initiative, including up to $15 million to Creative Destruction Lab to develop the Canadian Digital Core Library platform. The platform will bring together geological data from across Canada, including data held by provincial and territorial geological surveys, to help accelerate mineral discovery, reduce exploration risk and strengthen Canada’s critical minerals sector.

About Creative Destruction Lab

Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) is a nonprofit organization that delivers an objectives-based program for massively scalable, seed-stage, science- and technology-based companies. Founded by Professor Ajay Agrawal in 2012 at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, the program has expanded and now has 17 sites across ten countries: Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Halifax, Paris, Madison, Seattle, Estonia, Berlin, Melbourne, College Station, Milan, London, San Sebastian, Doha, and Cleveland.