We plan to look at four different activities. The first activity is large-scale controls on ore deposit formation. Then we're going to get into transect scales, much closer scales than deposit scales, and then data-analytic scales. The key premise behind metal earth is understanding endowed versus less endowed. Research is going to begin, again, at various scales in endowed areas, where we have known metal resources and have an understanding of the geology and all the features responsible for that metal endowment. We'll be doing geological, geochemical, and geophysical surveys.
The idea is to produce MRI-like images through the crust, just like when your spouse is going for an ultrasound. Sound waves bounce back and you see your new child. We want to visualize the earth in that manner, but apply geology and geochemistry to it, so we have a complete view, a virtual MRI, of endowed areas. Then we're going to go to areas where it's geologically similar, but less endowed, and we're going to measure and do the same rigour of science there, so that we can do a comparison. This has never been done in the research before, mainly because we haven't had the dollars to do it.
By making that comparison, we'll be able to identify the key features that are responsible for metal endowment and then we can understand the processes and develop new tools to explore. These tools will certainly be usable in our Far North where the geology is the same, but we just don't know it as well, and although they are developed in Canada, they will also be used globally.
This endowed versus less endowed comparison will provide us with the criteria we need and the new tools to export exploration to Canada's north and Far North. That's how we plan to use it. At the same time, we're going to be training 80 post-graduate students, 107 bachelor students, and 80 post-doctoral students. These will become the next generation of leaders in mineral exploration research in Canada.
Metal earth is a consortium of 21 partners. We have five universities besides Laurentian. We have six geological surveys in all the areas as partners, representing 70% of Canada's land mass. We have industry and we have research centres, so this is a consortium. This is about building the strength we need. This cannot be done at any one single university. It cannot be done by any individual. This is why we need research centres where we can build the teams to undertake these types of problems. This is a consortium that's built and a consortium that will last. That's how metal earth will address this problem in the first phase, over the first seven years.
I hope I've answered your question.