Technology of mining in the future (Part 2)

Technology of mining in the future (Part 2)

Published by Donna Schmidt in www.miningmagazine.com

The prospect cohort

Each company of the Prospect Mining Studio cohort has its own take on something that may well shape the industry's future in a significant and lasting way.

Vimson Group director and Prospect Mining Studio co-founder Vivek Salgaocar said of the chosen companies: "This year more than ever before, the world is looking to sustainable, responsible solutions, and the mining industry is no different.

However, rather than seeing this as a hurdle, Prospect sees this as a tremendous opportunity, and has selected and continues to seek out promising startups that provide environmentally and socially responsible solutions that directly contribute to the profitability of a company, thereby ensuring acceptance and implementation."

Allied Microbiota - Stony Brook, New York

Allied Microbiota develops microbes and their enzymes to clean up environmental contamination and create sustainable bio-chemicals. Their disruptive augmentation cultures have shown groundbreaking results to treat polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins and chlorinated compounds in soil and sediments.

Founded in 2017 by Ray Sambrotto and Frana James from Columbia University, Allied Microbiota has developed bioremediation methods using naturally isolated bacterial cultures and their enzymes for the remediation of soil, sediments and groundwater using techniques like composting and flowthrough reactors.

"While the environmental remediation industry has expanded significantly in the past few decades, its capabilities remain far below that needed to reduce the inventory of contaminated soils and sediments," it said of its work.

Carbon Upcycling Technologies - Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT) converts CO2 gas emissions from point sources such as power plants into solid products. Its technology chemically absorbs CO2 emissions into exfoliated inorganic solids to create a portfolio of fine nanoparticles.

From those it produces functional additives for use in plastics, consumer products, pre-cast, ready-mix and others, with its system working in just a few steps: placement of graphite and fly ash powder feed stocks in its reactor, pressurization with gaseous CO3, and the resulting nanoparticule additives for commercial applications.

In May 2020 the company took delivery of a new carbon dioxide capture at its energy centre.

CyanoGuard AG - Zurich, Switzerland 

CyanoGuard combines chemical sensing technology with a cloudbased data visualisation and analysis solution that enables further integration of sensor data for monitoring and optimization of cyanide usage in gold leaching processes.

The group's first product, which can test for cyanide, is the world's fastest, it claims, giving a user accurate results in less than 30 seconds, no matter where they are located, and without lab equipment or training.

"[For vat or heap leaching], chemical detection and toxicology testing are a required and costly discipline across various mining categories and a myriad of other industries," CyanoGuard said.

"Cyanoguard has a vision for delivering a consistent, certified and calibrated product that enables mining operators on-site to safely and effectively execute this process without requiring deep technical knowledge or extensive training."

Exyn Technologies - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US

Exyn Technologies develops autonomous aerial robot systems, also referred to as autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles, for data acquisition and collection in complex, GPS-denied industrial environments. Their products can be used for tasks such as three-dimensional mapping of mine drifts and stopes, asset location monitoring, or search and rescue.

"Exyn's Autonomous Aerial Robots (A3Rs) automate data acquisition to improve operational efficiencies and safety," New Lab said of the group. "Exyn robots require no GPS or infrastructure, nor do they require communication during a mission."

The company is currently focusing on mapping of underground mines. It is especially interested in operations that use conventional cavity monitoring systems (CMS) for mapping underground areas, where cameras are placed on poles or vehicles and then taken through underground workings to record ground, wall and ceiling dimensions.

"Exyn is aiming to be a core solution for automated cavity monitoring and environmental control systems, key to making mining more efficient and safer for workers."