The Hyperspectral Scanning Unit

The HSU project is a collaboration – led by College of the North Atlantic (CNA), and funded by ACOA (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency) via its Regional Economic Growth though Innovation (REGI) program, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and by industry partners Iron Ore Company of Canada, and Agnico Eagle Mines.

What we're doing

Access the HSU Drillhole Cores Database

Access the HSU Minerals Database

The Hyperspectral Scanning Unit (HSU) laboratory offers world-class, high-resolution hyperspectral imaging capabilities in most currently accessible spectral ranges, spanning the Visible Near Infrared to the Longwave Infrared regions.

Our team is working on processing a constant stream of mineral core spectroscopy data. With samples coming to us from several locations across the province, the Office of Applied Research has begun scanning the samples in order to identify rich deposits and save resources on appraisal. Using hyperspectral scanning technology, this project aims to reduce waste in the mining and drilling sector and provide a system by which the data can be sorted and viewed seamlessly.

Learn more

Meet our Team

Director of Industry Innovation and the College Innovation Network

Dr. Gary Thompson

Director of Industry Innovation and the College Innovation Network

Faculty Research - Natural Resources (Economic Geology)

Derek Wilton is a St. Johns native with B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from Memorial and a M.Sc. degree from UBC.  He has been engaged in mineral deposit research in Newfoundland, and most especially Labrador, and elsewhere in Canada and internationally since 1984. Most of his research has been conducted in Labrador. Along with collaborators from the Labrador Institute, he co-wrote “The Polar Bear in the Rock: Two Windows on the Planet”, a children's book on aspects of northern Labrador geology funded by International Polar Year (2010).                                      
In 2013, he received the inaugural “Geoscientist of the Year” award from the Newfoundland and Labrador section of the Canadian Institute on Mining and Metallurgy (CIM). He was awarded the Barlow Medal by the CIM (1984), and the Gross Medal by the Mineral Deposits Division, GAC (1991). In 2004, he received the Education Award from the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Newfoundland and Labrador (PEG-NL) for outstanding contributions to Geoscience Education.