The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - July 3, 2024
Mining tech start-up Novamera has received a $2.6 million (C$3.5 million) investment from Canadian technologies accelerator DIGITAL to advance a technology to surgically mine metals from high-grade deposits that have been overlooked because they are uneconomic with conventional mining technologies due to their size and shape.
Many high-grade narrow vein deposits are hard to mine economically because their geometry is tough to define and often require mining of unmineralized material that dilutes the high grades that make these small deposits attractive in the first place. For this reason, mining companies tend to gravitate toward much larger but lower-grade deposits that are more predictable.
Novamera designed its AI-powered Surgical Mining Technologies to unlock the value of some of the more than $4 trillion (C$6 trillion) worth of metals that have been identified in narrow vein deposits around the world that are not currently being mined.
These deposits have the potential to offer new sources of the mined materials needed to build the clean energy future.
"We can't transition to clean energy without mining," said Novamera CEO Dustin Angelo. "Technology and innovation will be key to finding new ways to get the material we desperately need while minimizing the impact on communities and the environment."
Novamera's AI-powered surgical mining solution combines innovative new tools along with conventional drilling equipment to quickly and precisely extract ore with a much smaller environmental footprint, less waste, and at a fraction of the cost of conventional mining methods.
Likened to laparoscopic surgery, where surgeons use a tiny video camera to perform operations through a small incision, Novamera's Surgical Mining Technologies uses guidance technology and smart drilling to pinpoint, map, navigate, and extract high-value narrow vein deposits.
The key to surgical mining of narrow vein deposits is accurately targeting ore in real-time. The key to mining these deposits is knowing precisely where they lay, which can be difficult to determine with drilling from the surface due to shape and often unpredictable geometry.
To overcome this challenge, Novamera has developed proprietary downhole sensors designed to capture roughly 49 times more subsurface data than traditional methods. This data is fed into Novamera's software, which uses algorithms, machine learning, and AI to determine the deposit's geometry.
The output from Novamera's guidance technology is then used to calculate the optimal trajectory for its smart drilling system. This system includes a positioning control system, course correction device, and predictive steering technology.
When coupled with a conventional large-diameter reverse circulation drill with air-lift assist, this smart drilling system transports the ore to surface. The hole is immediately closed by backfilling it with cemented waste material.
Essentially, laparoscopic mining.
Seeing the potential of Novamera's innovative solutions to offer a more precise and sustainable means of producing some of the enormous quantities of metals needed to phase out fossil fuels in favor of zero-carbon transportation and energy, DIGITAL has agreed to back the advancement of this AI-powered Surgical Mining initiative.
"AI has tremendous potential to advance environmental health and support the global transition to clean energy and a net-zero future," said DIGITAL CEO Sue Paish. "DIGITAL is proud to co-invest alongside innovators like Novamera and support partnerships that continue to showcase the expertise and accomplishments of Canadian industry in building globally relevant AI and advancing international commercial pathways for Canadian companies."
As Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for digital technologies, DIGITAL also brings cross-sector collaboration to the Surgical Mining initiative.
Great Atlantic Resources and Maritime Resources, companies with mineral projects in eastern Canada, are also partners in this initiative led by Novamera.
Great Atlantic Resources is exploring for gold, antimony, tungsten, vanadium, and other metals at its projects in Newfoundland and New Brunswick. Maritime is exploring high-grade gold, silver, and copper projects in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Surgical Mining initiative, which is already underway and is expected to be completed next year, aims to showcase the potential of Novamera's technologies to economically mine narrow vein deposits with a small environmental impact.
"We are dedicated to equipping the mining sector with the necessary tools to meet the growing demand for metal in a profitable, rapid, and sustainable manner," said Angelo.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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