The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - October 2, 2024
A Fleet Space Geode installed and ready to receive and transmit geophysical data at Salares Norte.
Gold Fields' Salares Norte newly developed gold-silver-copper mine project in Northern Chile.
Fleet Space's LEO satellites collect streamlined geophysical data from Geodes and relay that information for processing.
As part of its ongoing commitment to leveraging new technologies that maximize productivity and minimize its environmental footprint in some of the harshest conditions on Earth, Gold Fields has deployed Fleet Space Technologies' ExoSphere mineral exploration solution to expand upon its reserves of gold, silver, and copper at the newly minted Salares Norte gold-silver-copper in the Atacama region of Northern Chile.
Perched high in the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 12,800 to 15,400 feet (3,900 to 4,700 meters) above sea level, Salares Norte is a new mine expected to produce more than 550,000 ounces of gold-equivalent, which accounts for the value of the silver and copper also produced, once it has ramped up to full production.
To overcome the challenges associated with developing and operating a mine in a remote area of Northern Chile with challenging terrain and harsh seasonal conditions, including nighttime temperatures that can reach 20 degrees below zero Celsius (minus five degrees Fahrenheit), Gold Fields has developed innovative strategies and adopted new technologies to enhance their exploration activities while minimizing their environmental footprint.
The South Africa-based gold mining company is further augmenting its exploration with ExoSphere, an integrated solution that utilizes low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, advanced geophysics, and artificial intelligence to scan rock formations buried up to 2,000 meters below Earth's surface.
Geoscientists at the remote mine site can use the 3D maps generated by these surveys to identify the best locations to look for buried deposits of gold, silver, and other metals and minerals.
"Fleet Space and Gold Fields share a vision of applying the powerful capabilities enabled by advanced satellite connectivity, 3D multiphysics, and AI to unify the end-to-end exploration journey and deliver more sustainable outcomes at scale on the path to discovery," said Fleet Space Technologies CEO Flavia Tata Nardini.
Gold Fields' Salares Norte newly developed gold-silver-copper mine project in Northern Chile.
While geophysical surveys to map buried rock formations are a tool geologists have been using for decades, Fleet Space's ExoSphere platform advances this mineral exploration technology into the 21st century.
By providing geologists with images of subsurface rocks to better refine targets for drilling, geophysical surveys have saved billions of dollars and reduced the environmental footprint at mineral exploration projects around the world.
Traditional geophysics, however, involves stringing out sensing equipment connected by miles of cables over the area being scanned or use specialized equipment mounted to aircraft that must fly back and forth over the prospective area on a grid to collect the data.
The geophysical data retrieved from these ground-based or aerial surveys is then physically transported to a location where it can be interpreted and then returned to the exploration company – a process that often takes weeks before useable data is returned to the geologists on the ground where the survey was conducted in the first place.
ExoSphere leverages Fleet Space's constellation of LEO nanosatellites, earthbound sensors called Geodes, edge computing, and AI to carry out ambient noise tomography (ANT) geophysical surveys to simplify and accelerate the process.
This solution offers several sustainability and efficiency advantages.
These advantages begin with Fleet Space's Geodes, which are hand-transportable, wireless, and battery-powered seismic sensors that are easier to deploy than their cable-connected predecessors. Once sufficient ANT geophysical data is gathered by a grid of Geodes, these sensors use built-in edge computing to partially process and streamline the raw information before transmitting it to Fleet Space satellites.
In less time than it would take to pack up traditional geophysical sensors and roll up the cables connecting them, the ExoSphere data can be relayed via satellites to a ground station, processed, and return the first 3D mapping of mineral systems and AI-powered insights into the subsurface geology with near-zero environmental impact.
Over the past two years, senior and junior mining companies have successfully used ExoSphere to explore for copper, gold, nickel and other metals at projects around the world.
"In the field of mineral exploration, ExoSphere's real-time 3D subsurface imaging has been used to conduct the world's largest real-time ANT survey in Australia's Macquarie Arc and now the world's highest real-time ANT survey on Chile's Maricunga Belt – radically scaling the mining industry's ability to enhance mineral systems knowledge of highly remote opportunity zones across vast distances and at unprecedented altitudes while minimizing environmental impact," said Nardini.
Fleet Space's LEO satellites collect streamlined geophysical data from Geodes and relay that information for processing.
Gold Fields, which has already leveraged ExoSphere at its St. Ives gold mine in Australia, saw this integrated mineral exploration platform as an ideal solution for low-impact and rapid 3D mapping to assist its mineral exploration at Salares Norte.
The global mining company is utilizing ExoSphere to generate 3D subsurface imaging of the Brecha Principal and Agua Amarga resource areas to gain new insights and understandings about the mineral system and structural setting in and around these deposits at the Chilean mine.
The survey will also be used to generate new exploration targets around these gold-silver-copper deposits.
By unifying the data acquisition, processing, integration, and targeting steps of the end-to-end exploration journey, ExoSphere is expected to make exploration at Salares Norte more dynamic and precise by providing onsite geologists at the remote mine with real-time access to actionable insights.
"We are proud to deploy ExoSphere to further Gold Fields' data-driven exploration and ESG targets, reinforcing their position on the forefront of innovation and supporting the development of their world-class operation in Chile," said Nardini.
This marks the second mineral project in the Atacama region this year that has leveraged ExoSphere to enhance mineral exploration, and Fleet Space sees wider applications for its satellite-enhanced technology in Chile.
"We look forward to partnering with the dynamic Chilean mining industry to unlock next-level insights and sustainability benefits across their exploration value chain," Nardini added.
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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