Two Edmonton-based startups recently placed in the top three at the fifth annual Mining Cleantech Challenge in Denver. 2S Water and Copperstone Technologies won first and third place, respectively, beating out nine other companies from Canada, New Zealand and Finland to showcase their clean technology to global mining organizations. According to the news release, the Cleantech Challenge featured 12 companies that leaders and technology experts in the mining industry selected through a competitive vetting process. The companies were invited to present virtually, each of whom offered sustainable solutions to improving mining operations by using clean technologies. 2S Water 2S Water's AquaValid developed a monitoring device that uses a sensor to identify metal contaminants in water and reports results in real time. This gives mining operators more accurate, timely data about water quality. Coupled with this win, Anthea Sargeaunt, 2S Water's CEO, was also recently selected as one of the Canada Clean50 for 2021. "2S Water has been a client of ours for about three years," said Alberta Innovates' Technology Development Advisor Rick Davidson. "We've invested in them through our Innovation Relief and Recovery program and most recently our GrowthX program." It was in the GrowthX program that Rick saw huge growth in business acumen. "Through Colin Christensen and other business coaches in the GrowthX program, Anthea made huge strides in transitioning from scientist to scientist/businessperson. Their win doesn't surprise me in the least." Copperstone Technologies Copperstone Technologies grew from a University of Alberta project to a stand-alone business focused on offering robotic services for hazardous site investigations. The team now has a remote robot vehicle called Helix, capable of traversing the most dangerous and difficult terrain to acquire samples. "We've worked with Copperstone for a few years now," said Mike Riou, another Alberta Innovates Technology Development Advisor. "Early on we invested in them through our voucher program and then again, more recently, through our Product Demonstration Program. The latter helped them to prepare their vehicle for meetings with an international mining company. They've been quite fortunate to bring Craig Milne on as CEO. He's got a wealth of experience and is great at the helm. "And, of course, we're always there to help make introductions, identify funding opportunities and in general be a sounding board for Copperstone." Read the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association's press release. Check out CBC's Radioactive as Adrienne Pan interviews both Anthea and Craig about their respective company's technologies.