This is a significant issue, which has been raised many times by our citizens and clients. We have all seen the images of these huge basins that could and do pose short-, medium- and long-term problems. In the mining sector, for example, we have seen significant risks of spills in this regard. This explains our attention and that of the industry to develop extraction processes that do not generate large retention basins of this type. In this regard, there are various technologies that are at the demonstration stage before they can be exploited on a commercial scale.
I mentioned another initiative a moment ago. We have been talking about this for several years now, and now we have reached the stage of carrying out these large-scale projects. The aim is to be able to extract hydrocarbon residues from these large ponds that are still commercially attractive, as well as metals, in particular heavy metals such as titanium, and therefore be able to sell them on the global market in order to generate products.
This technology has been under development for several years by Titanium Corporation. It is preparing, with major oil and gas companies, to carry out a project worth $400 million to make this dream a reality. This is a golden opportunity for Canada to reduce or eliminate these types of facilities that are of concern to our citizens.