The mining industry faces challenges being innovative, a U.S. expert told the Copper To The World Conference in Adelaide today.
“Developing reliable industrial technology requires a lot of time and financial investment to reduce risks and assure performance. That’s not a simple task in mining which has seen only a few major changes in extraction and processing,” said Hal Stillman, Director, Technology Development and Transfer for the International Copper Association in Washington, D.C.
“It’s an urgent problem. The world is demanding more & more copper, but is also demanding it be greener, cleaner & smarter, with minimal impact on the environment.”
Mr Stillman pointed to the $65M Aurus III venture fund Aurus III as the only fund solely focused on copper mining innovation. Before closing this year it met with over 480 companies, entrepreneurs & startups, selected 41 for further evaluation, and invested in 10.
Mr Stillman described five of them, including their positive impact on energy and water use, increased productivity and margins, and less impact on communities:
1.Aquamarina-soil stabilisation through biomineralization. 12 years in development, the technology promises robust, truck ready surfaces through a customised mix of water & bacteria.
2.MineSense-with a breakthrough in ore sorting. Over decade in development & with range of other investors, the technology embeds in-shovel or conveyor sensing of ore quality & impurities.
3.CiDRA-new beneficiation processing technology. Eight years in development, the process improves mineral recovery at all sizes, meaning higher throughput, less energy and higher profitability.
4.Scarab Recovery Technologies-recovering valuable materials from tailings. Created by the Aurus fund to reduce the level of calcium going into tailings.
5.ProActive Office-integrated mine operations management software. Combining previously incompatible software systems to manage complex displays, it currently has government, telecom and mining customers, but requires additional funding to expand.
“There is a need for long term funding to incubate innovations toward commercial use. A venture fund can bridge this gap, but a venture funding ecosystem can do even better.”
A new fund, AurusIV, is currently raising $100M to address industrial technology innovation in extractive industries including copper, lithium, precious metals, and others.
Presentation: https://copperalliance.zoom.us/recording/share/bVsygnIW8fZ6Rb8ddD2C_33dQWEVmbyIVpJJoVlaU6iwIumekTziMw?startTime=1559231259000